How to get rid of acrylic?

I originally purchased this based off a photo, in which the cost of the item was less than the face value of the coins. When I received the item, I learned that it was made with acrylic instead of having a glass cover.

I just want to get the coins out to spend. What’s the easiest way? I’ve been prying with a sharp knife and it’s a very slow process… any suggestions are appreciated.

 

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Can you attack it from the back of the frame?

 

It’s hard wood. I’ve considered just trying to break it in half.

 

MEK and you are not going to like the results.

 

Maybe a sledgehammer. I don't know. I believe there are solvents to break down the acrylic, but I don't believe they are worth the time.

 

It's hard to see how it was built in the images but I would take a hammer to the corner joints. I hope they did not glue the coins down.

 

Wait. Did they pour acrylic over the coins? If they did, but bricks under one side of the frame and drive a car over it a few times.

 

Messy, smelly and time consuming if the coins are actually encased in the stuff, but you could break it into small pieces and leave them in, acetone, toluene or MEK

 

So someone put the coins on a wooden board, and then poured acrylic on top. I like the idea of breaking the wood. I’ve been attacking it from the front. I need to find an easy way to break the wood. Thanks for the ideas!

 

What is the face value?

 

It looks like the coins are breaking away from the acrylic pretty clean. You might beat the heck out of both sides with a rubber mallet before breaking the frame apart.
I'm thinking the shock of the mallet hits will help break any bond the coins have to the acrylic.
We need images.

 

Major….. When that stuff breaks it breaks in shards. There was a poster very shortly after I joined this site that took a hammer to a block of acrylic entombed coins. He cut himself so deeply he had to get stitches….. I don’t know if there may be a way to dissolve the stuff…. But if you attack it with a hammer please wear gloves and eye protection. Treat it like you are shattering glass. And be very careful.

 

Acetone will counteract solidified copolymers and cause a reactive re-cure bonding upon evaporation, which can then be use as globs in a Dutch Dike. I know stuff

 

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That is not factual[

QUOTE="Seattlite86, post: 10657481, member: 59737"]So someone put the coins on a wooden board, and then poured acrylic on top. I like the idea of breaking the wood. I’ve been attacking it from the front. I need to find an easy way to break the wood. Thanks for the ideas![/QUOTE].


The problem will still exist.

That is not factual.

 

Yep, now you know why things like this trade for less than the value of the coins.

My own experiments were with a few acrylic toilet seats and lids that had coins embedded. (One lid had dollar bills embedded.) I started smashing one of the seats with clad coins embedded. I got shrapnel almost as bad as glass, and bent coins, some bent enough that they weren't spendable.

I haven't touched the seat with silver coins in it. I got it for well under melt (alas, when silver was higher), but if I got one cut that required stitches, I'd be underwater financially. Likewise if I got enough MEK to dissolve the plastic. None of the coins would have a numismatic premium anyhow; they're all "shiny", because they were polished. (Which makes perfect sense for this application.)

 

Solvents probably wouldn’t be good for the coins. I’d take a hammer and crack the acrylic or build legs and make a table out of it

 

Dependent upon the thickness of the wood backing, it should be relatively easy to break the object with just your weight.

If you have an 8 or preferred 12 inch foundation block, put the block on a side-walk, turn the display so coin visible side is down, placing one display short edge atop the block long edge, so one edge of the now diagonally positioned display is atop the block, and the other is touching the lower side-walk.

Place the long edge of your foot or a car-tire/wall against the lower edge of the display.

A step down at the center of the slanted/angled downward display, may exceed the elastic limit of the display.

A car tire driving over the the angled display with all creatures moved 20' away from the display would be more likely OSHA preferred.

You may need to search for some of the coins/projectiles, dependent upon rate of car-tire application.

JMHO

 

Car tire theory above could be fun. Sounds like a Myth Busters episode.

 

Have a spare tire on hand?