How do you crack a slab?

I read a lot about cracking slabs to get the coin out. How do you do it without damaging the coin?

 

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Use vise-grips or pliers and just twist.

Take Care
Ben

 

:hammer:

 

You would have to have added that about not damaging the coin. Otherwise there are many methods.
A Butane torch works well. Dropping from a tall building works if it lands on the edge. Place on a RR track and a train will do it for you. Hand it to a 10 year old kid and tell him he can't get the coin out.
For real though. DO NOT try the put in vise and break open with a pair of pliers. The flying pieces of plastic could blind you for life.
Do use a vise if possible. My method is to use a saber type saw and cut off two or more edges. Then just use a screwdriver to pry open the thing. Best and safest is to cut off all four sides. Even a had saw will work. Just remember if using an electic saw of any kind the type of blade is important. Too course a blade will cause plastic to fly and also the slab might crack. Too fine a blade such as a metal cutter will usually make the plastic melt back together as fast as you cut.

 

I haven't cracked one in a while, but I remember that some TPG slabs were harder to crack than others.
I used a vise, a hammer and a screwdriver, and LOTS OF CARE.

I'd put the slab in the vise deep enough that only the label portion showed.
Then I'd whack the top part off with a hammer.
WARNING: Put a piece of cloth over it. Plastic pieces REALLY fly; they are sharp and they hurt.
Then I'd use a thin bladed screwdriver to CAREFULLY pry open the coin part of the slab.
Sometimes the vise/hammer combo has to be used to whack off corners to additionally loosen up the slab.
But NEVER let the coin show above the vise.

P.S. Save the label.

 

Depends on the slab. I have seen NNTC or NTC or whatever slabs, that I can crack with my thumbnail. Right now I am watching a 1923-D Saint in one that they say is 67, I say is 65, and I am willing to go 65 price for. If I get her at 65 price I will run my thumbnail the course of the slab and liberate Mary from her plastic tomb.

 

My experiences are only with PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ICG, SEGS and PCI slabs.

 

.......crack a slab.............

tin snips.

 

As every parent says at one time or another ... "YOU'LL PUT SOMEONE'S EYE OUT WITH THAT THING !!!"

But seriously folks... Carl makes a very important point. Safety first ! Wear goggles.

Personally, I use a Dremel tool and saw away the edges.

Also... don't forget that you'll be handling a raw coin. Have a soft clean cloth underneath the slab at "the moment of truth", in case it leaps from your grasp.

Be aware you have an unprotected coin in an environment with plastic shards all around ! High risk for scratches. If you use a vise, it likely has grease. Keep your hands clean !

You'll be putting the coin in "something else". Before you slam the slab, have that "something else" handy . And free of those nasty plastic shards, which have a way of proliferating everywhere. They can find their way to the inside of a flip, so be careful.

Protect the coin ASAP. Get it into an air-tite or flip immediately.

If you want to observe the coin raw, great... but do it in a very clean, shard-free environment.

 

I have freed several coins from PCGS and NGC slabs. I use a bench vise to first grip the slab, horizontal to the floor. Then I apply small incements of pressure to the slab and listen for the cracking sound of the sonic weld breaking. I the turn the slab a quarter turn the do the same process. The weld of the two halfs of the slab will break or be weakened enough to pry the slab along its edge with a very small screw driver.

This is a very dangerous process as any process of freeing your coins from slabs can be. Rememeber you mess this up only once.

Fortunately I was very successful at freeing my coins from their plastic prisons. Go slow, take your time, stop if you feel its all above your head and get help.

Good Luck and Keep on Collecting.

Allen

 

I wrap the slab in a cloth and hit it on all four sides with a hammer. This usually works for me.

 

Poor good Anne had to be liberated from her plastic coffin just last month:



Poor lady, she was struck in Edinburgh in 1707, laboured through much of the 18th and 19th centuries just fine, was set aside just great after years of hard work, then some 21st century wonkhead thought it would be a good idea to put her in a coffin I liberated the old gal, and let her breathe again.

 

i have an 1881-O morgan i have been wanting to free from an old slab for 2 yrs now and still have not had the guts to try to open the slab. the sawing of the edges and opening sounds the safest to me....does anyone have any problems / this procedure?
also....is the coin in a cointain inside the slab as well or is it placed in the slab as a usual hard plastic holder? the coin in question is an old ngc slab. thanks all....steve

 

I never have opened a slab, but if I were to, I'd do this:

Break out my reciprocating saw with a fine toothed blade, clamp slab in vise, probably wrapped in a cloth, poke a half inch of slab over the vise, cut, and quarter turn and repeat until done.... wait for wife to ***** about the "sawdust".

At that point , coin would be free for sure.

 

how..............................

i don't believe the coin is in an air-tite in the slab.

 

How to open a slab - all depends on the slab.

Some cheaper and less reputable TPG's-insert names please:

- they open themselves. There is one TPG with red letters in it's logo that the slabs come apart, and I have even seen them with Scotch tape holding them together.

- There is another four lettre TPG co that I know of, you can slide your thumbnail through the seams and open the slab up.

Hmmm - sounds like quality to me!

The top tier companies, that I can identify, NGC, PCGS and ANACS, have slabs which are more difficult. I have twisted those with "robogrip" pliers, and put them in vices etc. to open them. I have not done the dremel tool thing, since cutting plastic results in heat, and released chemicals from the plastic - which may harm the surface of the coin with time.

If using a vice or pliers, do take care to carefully wrap the slab in old washclothes, towels etc. Know where the coin is in all the mess, so you don't damage it with all of your egregious efforts at it's liberation.

 

How about taking a lesson from a Three Stooges episode and use dynamite :smile

 

That would give a new meaning to the term "blast white".

 

I always place do this in a carpeted area in case the coin does drop on the floor. NCG slabs are the easiest(a few light hits with a hammer on either long side of the slab and the holder will actually flake apart. For PCGS and ICG I use a pair of cutting sheers. I cut directly across the top part of the holder(in the area with the discription of the coin.) I would try it with some inexpensive coins first such as state quarters. Also, keep in mind that once you break the coin out you may get a lower grade or even worse......a body bag. Sometimes graders may have missed something the first time around that would preclude it from being placed in a holder. Also, sometimes there are reasons a coin may appear undergraded while in a slab. It's much eaiser to see all flaws in a coin when it's raw.

 

Vice
Hacksaw
Flathead