Rescuing a two dollar bill.

I am sure most folk have seen a paper money stacks or mint set coins entombed in Acrylic blocks. I have released a Canadian mint set from its confines for a friend who wanted the silver. Then he gave me a block like this with a stack of two dollar bills inside it. A UV flashlight is helpful to determine that the paper in between the two note is just paper an not real notes.
What a fun experiment, I cut the slab in half lengthwise and then cut off the the edges to the same size as the bill. I let it soak in Acetone for 24 hours, removed (peeled) the note from the surface of the acrylic block and then into another 24 hour soak in clean acetone, as it had small bits of plastic on. Removed from soak and let air dry in well ventilated area.
I think the low serial number is a bonus for being successful in this experiment.
I am truly surprised I was able to release this note. I had never put paper money in acetone before, and now I know that happens, didn't hurt it one bit that I can tell.

Cut in half lengthwise.


A little damage on the top right obverse where the saw chipped the acrylic.


I still got the reverse side to do.

 

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Nice! I've got several potty seats with embedded coins, including one set with maybe $20 face in 90% silver. I tried breaking up one of the seats with clad coins in it; some of the coins came loose, but they were bent from the force. (And they were all polished, so don't even think about "preserving numismatic value").

I figured acetone would loosen things up, but I also figured that the expense of the acetone would make it pointless. How much did you have to use for your experiment?

Also, what did you use to do the cutting? I trashed a hobby jigsaw trying to cut the seat -- the blade got itself irretrievably stuck in the plastic.

 

It is tough. You can't saw very fast as it just melts the plastic.

 

I cut the block on a table saw, several cuts , a little deeper each pass..
Got to avoid creating heat with hard plastics.
For the soak I used an aluminum loaf pan, the kind folk give away on the holiday.
Could not have been more than 4-5 oz. of acetone.

 

Is there anyway to neutralize the acetone odor after cleaning them ?

 

Acetone is really volatile. Just let it sit out, and it'll evaporate completely.

 

Thanks for this post. A very interesting experiment with good results. I would have thought acetone would have affected some of the ink on the note, but guess not. Now we all know.

 

A good experiment with better than expected results I’d say.

 

I did not notice any odor after the note dried.

 

Was there any fancy serial you were going for in that pack?
A few packs later would have hit 00006666.
I can't see the cut in the OP or the damage on the note. Good job.

 

No Pack, Just blank paper. And one note on each side.

 

So there was only $4.00 in the "$200" sealed strap with 98 blank pieces of paper?..

 

Yes, only $4.

 

I think it looked better inside the acrylic
Great conversation piece.

 

Wow that seems pretty dishonest...

 

Only if the buyer actually paid $200.00 for it!

 

Do you go to the other side of the wall from a deer's head expecting to see the tail?

 

No, do you go to a drive thru and order a cheeseburger and shrug your shoulders and say "oh well, I guess they got me this time..." when you only get a bun?

Like @paddyman98 pointed out, as long as it wasn't sold for $200 or more I guess I can see it as a novelty. A deceptive novelty but still, lol.

 

How would paddyman know. He's psycho not psychic, the man plays in dirt you know. Got ya PM, Merry whatever and Happy who cares. Bah-Hum-Bug.

 

Well, I wouldn't have, but now I'm seriously tempted for the first time in my life to put up taxidermy displays...