The joy of CRACK

I'm in Miami, so what do you expect? We don't know anything about "vise" here. All we know is Vice....

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I have always used my hammer. A few taps is all it takes. i have not had any problems using this method.

 

The one I busted out of jail most recently:

 

And, this process has a Puppy-Dawg Quality Control follow-up after the coin is freed! That nose at the end was great!

 

While I am in awe of the video and apparent success of the method - I cannot convince myself to try it out! Just watching the video makes me cringe - I think this advanced maneuver is only for very experienced, and professional crackers... not to be attempted by amateurs.

 

I was at a coin show once where a dealer was making a big deal out or cutting an unc $1000 bill out of its slab. Stuck a knife in one end and made a dramatic slice. The scream was when he realized he had managed to cut off about an inch of one end of the note while doing his act.

 

I always wondered about this, and the potential for damage.
I have never tried it.
Anyone ever damage a coin doing this?

 

I do not think anyone would like to admit to screwing up an expensive coin by doing a crack out. If you were going to re-sell these at some point , would it not be better to leave them in the holders ? Or do you keep the slip of info from the grader to put with the coin ?

 

You won't damage the coin if you are careful. A vise or the hammer tap on the edges are methods proven to work over and over again.

 

Most of us here buy coins because we enjoy them, not specifically for resale. I'd never leave a coin in the holder because to me it's no different than just going and looking at coins through glass in a museum and also because it's impossible to fully evaluate an ancient in a holder and most sellers' pictures of slabbed coins are garbage(not surprising when you're shooting photos through plastic). More and more I just won't buy slabbed coins for this reason.

 

The danger of busting the coin by stepping on it is that you can't predict which way the shards will go. If the crack breaks inward you risk scratching the coin. By putting pressure on the edges the plastic forces the pressure outwards.

Rasiel

 

Ha. That was pretty scary. Glad the gold made it out safely. I may be a little more "seasoned" at carnage. My most recent pillaging:


Something like 60 slabs in one sitting.
I haven't had any close calls with my low profile vise on a flat surface.

 

Oh wow, talk about a "crack-a-thon" LOL!! Like eating pistachios while watching Netflix :- )

Rasiel

 

For what it's worth, I take pictures of the coins in the slabs and the pictures go in the back of the albums..