Uncirculated 1959 Lincoln cents in plastic container jammed

I’m in trouble. Don’t want to damage these uncirculated 1959 Lincoln cents. They are jammed. Does anyone have a recommendation for loosening them up?

 

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Can't tell if they're are uncirculated with that blurry picture LOL but as far as the container I use my Carpenters knife with a new razor blade and gently cut the sides.

Now that's me I may get in trouble for saying that some of these Old-Timers around here.LOL
Dave

 

I hear ya... hmmmmm... once I get it open, I’ll send better photos.

 

Really? They are safe with wd-40?

 

I have a Mint BU roll of 1969S cents stuck in a tube just like that. I bought the roll in about 2005 and I have kept them just how I found them. I figure with them being so tight in the tube it is an ideal way to preserve them as they are being well protected from the air and the environment. You may wish to do the same for the same reason.

 

Saw a post here where a fellow used a PVC pipe cutter to get into a shrunken tube. Thought that was pretty ingenious.

 

No.. kidding

Try lightly tapping the Cent Container on a soft surface.. Like on cardboard.

 

Hair dryer.

 

First one out..

 

The hotter the better.

 

Put the tube in a zip lock into the freezer for an hour and then take out, remove the lid and tap gently on a cardboard or soft towel and the coins will probably come out. Different rate of temperature caused contraction between the copper and plastic.

 

I had the same happen to me with an old cent roll. But my tube was the old softer plastic and not brittle styrene. Once I got the first coin out I used wire cutters to start by snipping a small piece from the top. Then a pair of pliers to slowly peel the soft tube away.

 

In the past I've used a hacksaw and cut a slit down the length of the tube, almost deep enough to hit the coin edges. Then I take a flat blade screwdriver and pry the cut open until the tube breaks a little, and the coins will then come out easily. I have a bunch of these I've accumulated over last few years, so I may end up putting them onto my table saw to cut the slit rather than doing it by hand. Much more precise.

 

The reason I would never freeze the roll to free the coins, in spite of decades of folks suggesting it, is that once the coins come out of the roll, water immediately condenses on their surface. Condensed water on BU coins (EVEN ONCE) ruins them as it starts a corrosion process. This is because the water is not just water, but is an acidic chemical soup of whatever is in the air around you. It is true that you must be very careful when you do the removal mechanically, but you end up with completely clean coins with no underlying damage.

 

A rinse with acetone and allowing them to dry will remove all water and whatever is dissolved in the water. The air that the water might condense from is the same air you breathe and the same"acidic chemical soup" depending on the environment you live in. Freezing is the best method for the stuck coins, IMO. Jim

 

And the debate will continue ad infinitum. Meantime, I will open my Meghrig rolls by carefully cutting them open, revealing the pristine BU coins inside without damage or risk of future corrosion due to mishandling.

edited to add: the chemicals in the air don't react with the surface the same way when in gaseous form as they do when in solution.

Plus, I have perhaps 1000 or more coins (>20 rolls) of these sealed Meghrig tubes. Are you actually suggesting I individually rinse 1000 coins in acetone to remove the damaging surface moisture that I could have avoided with a more prudent method? I like my method better.