). This is some kind of hard plastic. I can't find them online at all to figure out the composition of the plastic. It is extremely durable...as in you could hit it with a sledgehammer (obviously a bad idea, and I didn't bother trying) and basically not dent the plastic or break much (or any) off from the outer plastic covering. On the most easily accessible side, the medal is buried about an inch deep into the plastic. Is there some kind of liquid material that would eat the plastic away and not harm or tarnish the medal? It is a bronze medal for sure and is about 1/4 of a pound in weight (out of the plastic). It just has a silver coloring on it instead of the typical bronze outside. I simply want to get the medal out untouched. It's an odd thing to do, yes. But is it possible? I can't imagine picking something like this out by hand...simply because the thing can't shatter like glass and it surely doesn't break like any plastic I've ever seen. It is about the diameter of a baseball and shaped like a large diamond. Here are some pics of a couple:
Posted 09/16/2012 01:27 am
You don't show what kind of plastic it is. Of course that's hard to say in the first place just by pictures. There are enough chemists around here that they might have ideas if we knew what type of plastic it is. ie lucite vs epoxy vs resin vs whatever.
You can certainly try acetone. It makes some plastics gummy. I've also used methylethylketone for such purposes, but don't know its effects on coins. I'd stay away from most other products from the hardware store.
You can always try your experiments on the surface of the plastic far away from the coins until you find something promising.
Of course if you try and fail you not only don't have the medals but you've ruined the paperweights as well. . .
Quote:
Or would all liquids harsh enough to eat this plastic also tarnish the medal?
Or would all liquids harsh enough to eat this plastic also tarnish the medal?
You can certainly try acetone. It makes some plastics gummy. I've also used methylethylketone for such purposes, but don't know its effects on coins. I'd stay away from most other products from the hardware store.
You can always try your experiments on the surface of the plastic far away from the coins until you find something promising.
Of course if you try and fail you not only don't have the medals but you've ruined the paperweights as well. . .
Edited by wheatiefan
09/16/2012 01:31 am
09/16/2012 01:31 am
