How to Clean Dirty Pennies Using Only 3 Things

Do you want your old, dirty pennies to be shiny and glistening again? This article will demonstrate how to return their lovely allure using only three items: salt, lemon juice, and a jar.

THINGS YOU'LL NEED

• Lemon Juice
• Salt
• Jar With a Screw On Lid
• Dirty Penny or Pennies

Put lemon juice and salt into the jar so that that the bottom of the jar is filled about 1/4 of an inch. The two combined will dissolve the dirt and tarnish off of the penny or pennies you are attempting to clean.

Place the penny or pennies in the jar and screw on the lid tightly so no mixture can come out.

Shake the jar 15-20 times for about 15 seconds, and then unscrew the lid and take the penny or pennies out.

Examine the penny or pennies. The penny or pennies should be clean and shiny.

Tips

• If your penny or pennies aren't entirely clean, add some more salt and lemon juice to the jar and shake harder and longer than you did the first time you attempted.
• If you don't have lemon juice, you can squeeze juice from a lemon into the jar. I'm not sure whether or not this will work the same, but I don't think it'll affect the result much.

Warnings

• Don't try this with other coins; this method works with pennies only.
• Never clean collectible pennies. Removing the tarnish (patina) from the coin can reduce the value of the coin by up to 90%.