Safely breaking open slabs?

holadude

How would I go about breaking open a slab from a non-reputable company without damaging the coin?

Compa

It all depends on how careful you want to be ... you could use a Dremel tool to saw the case open - you could crush the sealed edges in a large vise - you could crack it open with pliers and a pair of vise-grips - you could shatter the slab with a few whacks of a hammer.

Or maybe toss it in a fire and let the plastic melt and burn away.

holadude

Cool! I was thinking of using a blow torch so I get some toning out of it as well!

LanLord

Everyone seems to have their own special way.

I use set of bolt cutters and split the slab at the centerpoint of the coin inside.

It will split apart north to south and the coin will be easy to pull out. No muss, no

fuss, no crashing asunder!

Barndog

Do a search on the subject and I think you will find dozens of threads offering many dozens of opinions on what works best.

Personally, I just use a hammer on the edges of the slab and I have never had a problem.

F117ASR

<< <i>Cool! I was thinking of using a blow torch so I get some toning out of it as well! >>



If you do that you will become a coin doctor. I would not do such things. The coin may lose value all together (AT) and it is unethical to do such things. Not to mention it ruins the originality of the coin for future collectors. I would stick with what the other forum members suggested.

Edited to add:

Oops! I thought you were serious. Haha. A little slow today

Barndog

<< <i>If you do that you will become a coin doctor. I would not do such things. The coin may lose value all together (AT) and it is unethical to do such things. Not to mention it ruins the originality of the coin for future collectors. I would stick with what the other forum members suggested. >>



Umm, I think holadude was making a joke there...

F117ASR

Oh. Sorry. LOL. Didnt catch that. Forgive me holadude. it's a lttle early for me.

holadude

Yes! I made a funny!

Preussen

I cracked out two PCGS slabs last evening...one with a hammer and the garage floor, and the other in the vise. Both work well - Preussen

Scioto

Tin snips, sheet metal shears.

BlindedByEgo

ccrdragon

band saw - saw the edges off all around and remove the coin

Steve27

I use a vise with a clean rag covering the slab (wear goggles). After the first crack or two, you can open the slab by hand.

GTOster

Wear safety glasses so you can see the coin after it's out
Plastic in the eye HURTS
Paul

grip

When I use the band saw,the edges melt back together.I use BlindedByEgo
way.

Al

Cameonut

I use a set of end cutters similar to Blindedbyego. A bit smaller but they still do the trick.
Haven't damaged a coin yet.

jdsinva

Buy you some of those sampleslabs tile cutters off of eBay, they'll snip through anything!