What are the best pennies to used in a craft, pre-1980 ones that are pure copper but need lots of shining, or more current ones that are an alloy, but require little shining?

Throw them in a non-metal bowl with ¼ cup white vinegar and 1 tsp of salt. Wait a bit, then rinse off with some water. Easy peasy!

Also, the different shades of pennies can be great for other crafts.

Another option is this it will make the penny shine like new in seconds. I use it for cleaning up chrome. Use pre-1980 pennies

This may shock a fair number of regular jellies, but I have a pressed penny collection!

Use the old ones. The new ones are copper plated alloy and the machines will stretch the newer pennies, letting silver show through. I would use the oldest monument-back pennies I could find. There seems to be a big difference in weight and strength.

They are going to charge you 50¢ to $1 per penny to smash them.

Unfortunately, my penny passport is past full.

@ibstubro: That’s what a thread said on a park website – that the newer ones would be streaky.

I have a few already – I’m going to Orlando soon and want to gather more, which is why I am asking. I think for the sake of value, also, it’s better to have a pure copper one then an alloy one. Forever after, when I get them I will keep better track of them and appreciate them more.

You can try using Pepsi to shine up a penny before or after pressing. Careful with pressed pennies that show “streaks”, though.

I can speak with authority on pressed pennies, @jca. I have antique, vintage and new examples.

I want to know what happened to those machines that used to ‘type’ your message around an aluminum disk about the size of a silver dollar, and choose the center motif?

Yesterday I picked out a bunch of pre-1980 ones and put them in a container. I put ketchup on them (got that idea from a penny website) and then scrubbed them with baking soda. Then I put Weiman’s tarnish remover on them. I let them sit in that for a few minutes. Then I rinsed them and put more Weiman’s on them and let them sit in that for about 20 minutes. I then washed them off with soap and hot water. They looked good – decently shiny. This morning they look streaky and weird. I am not sure what the issue is.

To me it’s so much easier to polish silverware or when it comes to copper, the bottoms of my copper pots. This polishing tiny pennies stuff is very labor intensive.

Maybe something acidic on the cloth/paper towel you used to dry on the last step.

I had never even heard of them so I googled it. I guess i had seen them before and didnt know what they were. Thanks.

@jca Try the nevrdull.