# How do you clean coins? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687 "2014-07-21T19:20:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/1 "2014-07-21T19:20:16Z")
I’ve picked up a bunch of grungy coins scattered about a dirty floor. Is there a quick and dirty way of cleaning them up as to not offend the cashier? I don’t want to scrub them. Is there a cheap household fluid that can be used for this purpose? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/2 "2014-07-21T19:21:01Z")
Vinegar? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/3 "2014-07-21T19:27:54Z")
Denture cleaner? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/4 "2014-07-21T19:39:28Z")
By “scrubbing” do you mean individually scrubbing each one? You can get them to scrub themselves by running a handful of them in your hands under running water, with a couple drops of hand / hand dishwashing soap, and the action of the coins on themselves will scrub a lot of the dirt off. (Be careful of course to not let coins fall down the drain). (I originally wrote “under water”, and thinking on it some more I wonder if dipping the handful in the middle of a partly filled bathtub wouldn’t also do the trick, if one is worried about throwing money down the drain (heh)). ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/5 "2014-07-21T19:51:37Z")
Put them in a mesh bag and into the washing machine with your laundry. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/6 "2014-07-21T19:56:59Z")
Let the soak in warm soapy water for a few minutes. Then swish them around for a minute then rinse them off. They will be clean enough to spend without upsetting the people that have to handle them. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/7 "2014-07-21T20:07:15Z")
I refuse to participate in a money laundering scheme. But, yeah, vinegar works. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/8 "2014-07-21T20:10:25Z")
I think Calgon works, also. I know it’s used for cleaning old, encrusted coins from the Roman Empire and the like. ---
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/9 "2014-07-21T20:15:24Z")
I usually just put a bunch in my front pocket of my blue jeans for a day or two. Works fairly well. It knocks most of the grunge off. It will not get them shiney. But it will get them clean enough for the sorting machine at the bank. I do look at them to see if any of them are on my list of “collectible” coins. My Brother uses the seine in the cloths washing machine trick. Our sister uses the seine in the dish washer trick. Both seem to work. A seine is a mesh or net material that they make bags out of. I am too lazy for all that. I have heard of folks putting them in a bowl full of Coka-Cola, letting them soak for 30 minutes or so and stirring them, repeat, repeat, and rinse with lots of water. Then set on towel to dry. IHTH, 48. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/10 "2014-07-21T20:24:15Z")
Vinegar + table salt works better than plain vinegar. It makes hydrochloric acid that is great for cleaning coins. Just mix it and dump the coins in for an hour or so. I have never seen one so grungy that it didn’t come out clean. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/H4N-iGvYrbM/maxresdefault.jpg "Clean pennies with Vinegar and Salt") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4N-iGvYrbM) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/11 "2014-07-21T21:49:03Z")
Thanks. I wonder if the salt and vinegar works on non-copper coins. I think I’ll try that technique and the coins in bag in washing machine thing. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/12 "2014-07-21T21:49:06Z")
Go to Taco Bell, grab a few packs of the hot sauce, soak said coins overnight. Rinse. Et voila - clean coins! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/13 "2014-07-21T21:53:03Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > Thanks. I wonder if the salt and vinegar works on non-copper coins. I think I’ll try that technique and the coins in bag in washing machine thing. It does. I used it a couple of weeks ago on a quarter my daughter found. It was so black and crusty, you could barely tell it was a quarter at all but a little soaking in salt and vinegar cleaned it right up again. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/14 "2014-07-21T21:53:35Z")
Coca-Cola. I once ran a “roach coach” with a fountain. No drain, just a catch pan. Big seller: Coke. At end of day, if I found a coin in it, that was the cleanest coin outside the Mint. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/15 "2014-07-21T21:58:35Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Coca-Cola. > I once ran a “roach coach” with a fountain. No drain, just a catch pan. Big seller: Coke. > At end of day, if I found a coin in it, that was the cleanest coin outside the Mint. Makes me wonder what that stuff does when one drinks it. I wonder if it keeps peoples’ pipes clean. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/16 "2014-07-21T22:40:30Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Vinegar + table salt works better than plain vinegar. It makes hydrochloric acid Are you sure? It might be good for cleaning coins, but I’m pretty sure it’s not HCl. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/17 "2014-07-21T22:51:34Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Are you sure? It might be good for cleaning coins, but I’m pretty sure it’s not HCl. I am certainly not a chemistry expert but various cites say that it does create at least some HCL. It can’t be a lot because the mixture won’t burn your hands or feel like anything in the short-term but it will clean coins quickly and well. I will let the chemistry experts explain the specific reaction in more detail but it does work. > **[Easy way to make hydrochloric acid](http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/27716-easy-way-to-make-hydrochloric-acid/)** > > This a tutorial on how to make HCI by mixing salt and vinegar. I found this as a thing to make shiny pennies it uses 4 solutions number 4# is HCI. Note HCI is very dangerous and you don't want to drink it or get it on anything. Science Concept: By... ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/18 "2014-07-22T00:46:03Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Makes me wonder what that stuff does when one drinks it. I wonder if it keeps peoples’ pipes clean. Being a kidney patient, I am supposed to avoid phosphorous - which is why I heard that: Dark sodas contain phosphoric acid and clear ones use citric acid. They give the drinks their “tangy” flavor. Hansen’s Root Beer is different in that it uses citric acid. It also is not all that close to what a traditional root beer tastes like. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/19 "2014-07-22T00:50:15Z")
Did you guys realize that “cleaning coins” is a trigger phrase for **samclem**? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687/20 "2014-07-22T05:09:25Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I will let the chemistry experts explain the specific reaction in more detail but it does work. > > [Easy way to make hydrochloric acid - Inorganic Chemistry - Science Forums](http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/27716-easy-way-to-make-hydrochloric-acid/) Post #15 on that page says “NaCl and Vinegar will NOT react and make HCl! Ever!” Edit: I’m curious now so I’ll take this to a new thread. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-coins/693687.md?page=2)