Happy New Year to everyone! I have a question regarding safely opening a slabbed coin. I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the archives, but after 3 searches, it was time to ask. I am preparing to send in a few coins for recertification. I hate to admit to playing the "grading game", but am sheepishly confessing to it. These coins are coins are in various slabs ( old anacs,old pcgs, and ngc). I have never cracked out a coin before, nor have i ever sent one in to a tpg. I will probably be using ngc due to my membership in the ana. I have many tools, and if necessary, my brother has a compllete machine shop. thank you all for your advice. Once again, May you all have a Blessed 2008. sincerely....steve
I've never cracked out a coin, so I'll leave the explanation of the technique to others. I just want to say that you shouldn't apologize or feel guilty about resubmitting coins. It's part of the hobby and a good way to test your ability to grade. I've purchased coins in various slabs just to compare the same coin in the same grade in different slabs and to compare them to raw coins I own and the grade I've assigned to them.
And having never done it myself either, a part b to the original question: is it the same for opening Mint packaging?
I use vise-grips. Wrap the slab in a towel and then twist (using the vise-grips) until the seal/plastic breaks and remove the coin... Ben
When I was putting together my Lincoln Set, I purchased quite a few early lincolns in old ANA and NGC holders just so I could put them in my Dansco album. I used tile nippers that you can purchase at any hardware store and snap off the outer rim and then I pulled the insert out. Just use EXTREME CAUTION so you don't hurt yourself or the coin.
Just wondering, but if you submit a coin thats already in a slab and the company reslabs the coin, does that company modify the population repots??? So a coin isnt counted twice in the population reports.
Thats the best way short of a dremel IMO, you have more control over dropping the coin, the coin flyin out upon cracking, and it is a bit messy, but safe
Hand any slab to a 10 year old kid and tell him not to open it. They will. :smile Of course a Butane Torch works great.:goofer: If your planning on opening a slab I would suggest not using NGC. Thier slabs are much thicker than others. PCGS is the best for opening. They are much thinner. Do not use a vise and attempt to pressure open the slab. The coins could get scratched by the breaking of plastic. The best thing to do is to put a slab in a vise to hold it in place. Using a variable speed saber saw cut the edges off and the slab will simply open with no debris, flying pieces, scratched coins. Do not use a metal cutting blade or any blade with very fine teeth. Do not use a harsh wood cutting blade with course teeth. Using a blade with teeth of approximately triple the spacing of a metal cutter is best. Use on a slower speed while cutting. If using a metal cutting blade of higher speeds in cutting the heat will build up and the slab plastic will refuse back as fast as you cut it. If using a course blade, small pieces of plastic will fly around and the slab may shatter. Expecially if one of the thicker types like NGC. If you do not have a saber type saw, a reciprocating saw with variable speeds is also a possible solution. If you have a Dremmel type with a variable speed controller, make sure the cut off wheel is of a similar type tooth spacing as noted above. With this system there will be no flying plastic, no damage to your eyes, the coin, your friends and relatives. However, if you don't get along with a relative, have them stand there, use the vise and squeeze until the plastic flys all ovet the place. Note to cut off the edges and leave the info sticker intack so you could save that for identification if later required.
I've opened many slabs in the past. NGC and old ANACS are the easiest to open. Be careful with the new ANACS the plastic is very sharp once it has been cracked. I've used nips and plyers before but I think the best is placing the slap sideways, not flat, on a hard surface and giving it a couple of soft hits with a hammer on all four edges. Go slow and remember soft hits. The slab opens right up. Try it out on a very inexpensive coin first. I've been worried about using a dremmel tool. Does it create lots of heat?
thank you all for your suggestions. i had also considered using a table saw to buzz of the edges. i don't want to scratch the coin as the 1 point difference in grade on a couple of coins is $200 (hence the curiosity to see if the coin will grade higher as i believe they deserve). thank you all again for your help.....steve
