when i was elementry school, we watched some guy use chemicals to change the color of a penny. i think he turned them to silver and gold color

how do you do this?
im pretty sure it involves zinc

I think you boil the penny in zinc iodide or some shit then hold it in a flame for a few seconds and it turns gold colored. What youre actually doing is making bronze.

You can also electroplate them, as described here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroplating

Also, if you scroll down this mentions plating a penny with zinc:

http://www.finishing.com/faqs/howworks.html

And I wouldn't advise what the poster above said, iodine gas is nasty.

get a 2p piece. stick it in a pan of boiling water. add caustic soda. add either iron, steel or copper - coloured nails (i cant remember which) and boil for a while. bring out the penny and it should be silver. heat it and it will turn gold

cool

ill try later and see what i can do. you think i could still buy stuff w/ them?

eh...maybe. They accept badly oxidized pennies.

Just be careful not to get shocked.

I believe this is the alternative to electroplating.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Gold-And-Silver-Pennies/

Cool!

I've also read that if you mix vinegar and salt, it'll form sodium acetate and hydrogen chloride, which readily cleans those blue-green oxidized pennies. It may also work on the gold and silver ones, but I don't know.

i find baking soda to be a better substance for making sodium acetate.

though im suprised you havent mentioned its ability to form hot ice

i find baking soda to be a better substance for making sodium acetate.

though im suprised you havent mentioned its ability to form hot ice

I read about that chemical a while ago but all I remembered was that it's the stuff that gives salt + vinegar its distinctive taste, and the penny thing. I looked it up on the spot to get the chemical name.

Interesting to know.