Removing coins incased in Lucite?

[MikeP2020]

Was at the coin shop the other day buying some 90%, and the dealer pulls out a Lucite incased 1964 first strike Kennedy half and offers it to me below spot, so I buy it for $8.00, can't turn down below spot silver. The thing is, the lucite cube is badly damaged, it looks like someone attacked it with a hammer and possibly a drill to try to break open the cube. The corners are broken off and there is what appears to be a 1/2" long drill hole entering one side of the cube, looks like they didn't make it very far before giving up.

Is there any good approach to removing a coin from a lucite cube without damaging the coin? Has anyone tried this before?

[TXBullion]

I was wondering the same thing about the toilet seat posted a while back. Im not familiar with material

[natsb88]

Some discussion here: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ub ... er=1517724

[Rodebaugh]

Ahhhhh lucite.....aka Poly Methal Methacrylate. (Same thing dentures are made out of)

A good aggressive toothed carbide bur with strong torque running at a lower RPM is my suggested tool.

Small teeth at high RPMs will melt not cut. And more torque is needed to go through the stuff with a larger carbide at lower RPMs.

PS….unlike men, not all PMM are created equal. Some of the high strength stuff is formed under high pressure and has a higher load of polymer compared to the monomer. Some stuff has strengthening fibers.

[Rodebaugh]

oh yeah, once the coin is close to being liberated with the burs.....just apply monomer to it until it becomes plyable and the coin can be freely removed.

[Joogaler]

Throw it on a fire!

[fasTT]

Freeze it first then smack it hard with a sledge.

Worked great when I tried it once.

[MikeP2020]

Good tips guys, I think i'll try the freezing/sledge method first, and if that doesn't work, i'll pull out the power tools. I'll let you know how it goes

[zerocd]

Monomer as in Methyl methacrylate?

Hardware store or hobby shop?

Are you a dentist or technician?

0CD

[Market Harmony]

How did they get Han Solo out of that stuff?

[Rodebaugh]

How did they get Han Solo out of that stuff?

They didn't.....they just made him into a toilet seat.

[Rodebaugh]

Monomer as in Methyl methacrylate?

Hardware store or hobby shop?

Are you a dentist or technician?

0CD

[argent_pur]

Was at the coin shop the other day buying some 90%, and the dealer pulls out a Lucite incased 1964 first strike Kennedy half and offers it to me below spot, so I buy it for $8.00, can't turn down below spot silver. The thing is, the lucite cube is badly damaged, it looks like someone attacked it with a hammer and possibly a drill to try to break open the cube. The corners are broken off and there is what appears to be a 1/2" long drill hole entering one side of the cube, looks like they didn't make it very far before giving up.

Is there any good approach to removing a coin from a lucite cube without damaging the coin? Has anyone tried this before?

I had a similar experience with a 5000 grain (~10 oz.)Franklin Mint sterling bar encased in acrylic. I dissolved the acrylic in Methylene Chloride AKA "dichloromethane", an inorganic solvent. It didn't harm the silver AT ALL. It took a couple hours but this was a large chunk, probably the size and thickness of my hand as I recall. You could probably pick some up at a local hardware store, it's just spot cleaning fluid like what dry cleaners use.

Edit: If you take the chemical route, after you pour the fluid into a container and drop in the coin, BE SURE to cover the container with something as CH2Cl2 evaporates readily, and do it somewhere where there's good ventilation

[MikeP2020]

The freezing/sledge hammer method worked just fine. I put the cube in the freezer for 36 hours, pulled it out and placed it on the concrete basement floor over a thin piece of outdoor carpet, smacked it pretty hard and the cube shattered into little bits. There was still some lucite around the coin, so I smacked it couple more times making sure not to hit the coin and eventually the coin came out of the lucite flawlessly. Anyone else who might attempt to do this, be careful! Those little pieces of broken lucite are as sharp as broken glass! wear gloves and eye protection!