How Long Does It Take A Penny To Rust In Water?

A penny won't actually rust in water as rusting related to iron, and a penny doesn't contain any.  A penny will corrode in water over time, however, although this could actually take years to notice. 

How do pennies corrode?

Pennies contain a certain percentage of copper, and this is vulnerable to corrosion in a process known as oxidation. 

You've probably noticed that older pennies look pretty dark and don't shine as well. This is due to the process of oxidation, whereupon copper reacted with the oxygen in the air, forming copper oxide which coats the penny. 

How to reverse the process?

The cool thing about pennies that have suffered from oxidation is that the process can be reversed.  This is because the copper oxide forms a shell around the unaffected copper in the penny.  All you need to do is remove the copper oxide, and your penny will look brand new.  Here's how to do it:

1. Simply fill a container with water, salt, and vinegar.
2. Place the coin in the mixture and wait for a few minutes.

That's all there is to it.  The vinegar helps to remove the copper oxide, and the salt helps it to accomplish this more quickly.  Your penny should now look pretty shiny, but of course, the clean surface is now exposed to oxygen and so it will slowly react again over time.

Here's a video showing you the process of cleaning pennies: