Does money smell? For the more ambitious this is an easy question to answer, after all, they feel from afar when a business is going well, they really “smell the money”.
But what is the chemical explanation for the smell that attracts a lot of people? It is important not to confuse, we are speaking in a concrete way and not in the figurative sense of the expression, because indeed our little notes do have a smell.
Know now that smelling the odor of “dim-dim” is not an attribute only for those who are more familiar with it, everything has a scientific explanation. What gives the notes their characteristic odor has to do with their frequent use. As we touch them, they undergo a chemical reaction due to the acidity present in our sweat. As a note passes through several hands, it ends up acquiring a certain unpleasant smell.
Of course, it all depends on the paper on which the money is printed. Paper money in our country is made with cotton fibers. Some countries, like the United States, for example, print their money on paper based on 25% linen fibers and 75% cotton fibers, which in turn produces a different smell.
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A similar situation happens in coins, they have in their composition the metals, Iron (Fe) and Copper (Cu), these, in contact with sweat, are responsible for the oxidizing reaction. In this case, the presence of metals acts to aggravate the odor, which is why aged coins produce a strong and unpleasant smell.
See one of the equations that represents the oxidation of coins.
2 Cu + ½ O2 → Cu2O
You can make your coins new and unscented by soaking them in a hydrochloric acid solution. Check it out at: Money laundering - procedure that allows you to clean aged coins.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "Does money smell?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/dinheiro-tem-cheiro.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
