Content

• Advice
• Warning
• What you need

Leave the coin in a cup of vinegar or lemon juice for about 5 minutes. If the coin is very dirty or several coins are cleaned at the same time, you can extend the soaking interval for better effect.

• For stubborn coins, you need to use a brush or a toothbrush to treat it after soaking in the solution.

Get the coin out and wash. Let the coin dry for about 5 minutes so there is no standing water. Now your coin is shining like new.

• If not washed, the coin gets a blue layer (called malachite) due to the reaction between copper, oxygen and chlorine (in salt).

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Method 2 of 5: Use Ketchup / Tabasco Sauce

1. 

   
   
   Pour a moderate amount of ketchup into the cup to cover all the coins. It is noted that this method leaves the scent of ketchup on the coins after the operation is completed. On the other hand, the Tabasco sauce gives the coin an orange color. However, the coin is still as clean as new!

2. 

   Put the coin in the sauce and wait about 3 minutes. If you have a toothbrush (no longer in use), after the 3 minutes have passed, use the brush to scrub every corner of the coin.

3. 

   Wash a coin with hot water. If you've used an old toothbrush, don't forget to rinse it off too!
   • If the coins are clean but not shiny, make a mixture of baking soda and water to scrub the coins. Finally rinse it off and you'll have shiny coins!
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Method 3 of 5: Use Coca-Cola

1. 

   
   
   Stack the coins on the plate so that they do not overlap. The acids in Coca Cola need to be reacted directly with each coin.

2. 

   Just pour enough Coca Cola into the plate to cover all the coins. You don't need a lot of Coca-Cola and can finish the rest!

3. 

   Soak a coin for about 4-5 hours. For best results, flip the coin after it has been soaked for half the time. This method is effective, but it takes more time than other methods.

4. 

   
   
   Take out the coin and rinse it off with warm or hot water. advertisement

Method 4 of 5: Use a metal cleaning product

1. 

   Wet the coin and put a little metal cleaning product on it. Oxalic acid will remove the deposit on the coin after a few minutes.

2. 

   Gently rub and rinse the coin. Now your coin is shiny enough to be used to signal a plane, call Batman or cause dazzling. This has never been this simple! advertisement

Method 5 of 5: Use an eraser (for US coins issued from 1982 on)

1. 

   Rub the eraser on a coin the same way you would remove pencil stains from paper. If you have equipment (or if you have to clean a thousand coins), you can attach a pencil (with an eraser) to the drill to do this. Great when you can make an electric eraser. Unexpectedly!

2. 

   Flip the coin and repeat the steps above if necessary. This takes about 10 seconds for each coin. The only downside to this method is that your hands will get very tired after the cleaning process and you will lose an eraser or two on the pencil! However, this is a quick and simple method for cleaning a coin. advertisement

Advice

• Try cleaning 25 cents, 10 cents and 5 cents in the US coin using the methods listed above.
• You can use tamarind juice instead of vinegar or lemon juice.
• Use 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, and 50 cents from the US with 1 cent and 2 cents from Britain.
• Wash your coins with dish soap if you don't have vinegar.
• Hand sanitizer is suitable for use on most coins before 1982.

Warning

• If you sanitize the coins in the collection, you will decrease their value and damage.
• Do not mix coins. Only dispose of coins of the same type in order not to discolor coins of the other type.
• Zinc vinegar dissolves. If your coins are scratched and released after 1982, they could be riddled.

What you need

• Coin (note year of issue)
• Plate
• Mild acid solution or eraser
• Water (for washing)