How do you remove tarnish from a penny?

Answer 1

it depends on what you try to clean it with, things like lemon juice may work but im doing an experiment to find out what cleans pennies the best

Im doing one too, and I read that pennies lose tarnish faster when you mix salt in lemon juice, or any other mild acid. It creates a sort of hydrocloric acid that cleans the tarnish right off. It also explains why your stomache hurts if you chug too much beer salt x.x

-Aflay

Answer 2

It's generally not a good idea to try to clean coins because anything you have at home will do more harm than good, except maybe using distilled water and a cloth to rinse off some of the surface crud.

If a penny is in bad enough shape to be oxidized (FWIW, the only cents that can actually rust are 1943 WW2 steel cents) it's probably too damaged to be worth very much unless it's an extremely rare piece. In that case there are professional conservers who can use electronic tools to clean a coin.

If you can get an idea of the coin's date, please post a new question and we can try to give you a better idea of what you're dealing with.

Answer 3

You can remove tarnish from a penny by soaking it in a mixture of white vinegar and salt or by using a commercial metal polish. Gently rub the penny with a soft cloth until the tarnish is removed. Rinse the penny with water and dry it thoroughly.

Answer 4

Saliva.