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How does a penny rust?

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Anonymous

15y ago
Updated: 8/17/2019

A new penny is partly made from bright, shiny copper. But after a while, it loses its shine. Why? Because the copper mixes with the oxygen in the air and makes a coating called an oxide. When you put the penny in lemon juice, the acid in the lemon chemically removes the oxide, and you're left with a bright copper penny.
Pennies can't rust, UNLESS you soak/bathe one in an acid with a PH of 1 for a month.

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Wiki User

15y ago

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