How To Remove 3 Silver Soldered Coins From A Sterling Silver Spoon - Help !

Thanks BigSilver, your pypromania days story was entertaining and might just have helped me :) I have a propane torch as well as a map gas torch but I think the tiny high-temp hand-held butane torches might be the go-to tool for the job. I will apply the heat indirectly and stay as far away from the coins as I can or should I say only get close enough to make it work.

Pacificcoin, thanks for your concern and I'm not asking permission or trying to get approval, my O.P. was requesting basically a how-to and yes I will most likely attempt this as it will be a new experience & experiment. The way I see it, with the unknown dates & the price I paid, I've got nothing to lose. If the dates and the leaves had been in the forefront, that most likely would have changed everything because I love the reverses of the older CDN quarters but then again maybe not... I also think the spoon might have been much morwe attractive with the leaves out rather than hidden.

Either way, I'll post what happened, good or bad as well as photos of the final results.

Just a fact to consider. Solder is not like a glue. It doesn't "stick to" objects. It "melds with" objects. The solder has become "part of" the coins and "part of" the spoon. It will never be removed. You can get them apart, but just have individual damaged parts.

Gary

http://media.digikey.com/photos/OK%...s/DP-140.jpg

It's like a mini vacuum, spring loaded with a suction end to remove liquid solder when working on electronics.

I've used one before in a similar situation, they work well and are like under 20 bucks and good to have for future uses.

@ M_d_in_guy, that's cool. Is it made from teflon or something to resist the heat..? because I would imagine a regular syringe wouldn't work...

Ok, might be able to find one but I'm looking at the coins edges and it looks like there's a lot of residue from the soldering job. Might take it to a jeweler to get his opinion.

Thanks for the heads up on Lee Valley. Haven't ordered from them in a long time, have to check if my account's still open. If not, there's always ebay.

I was a welder for a few years and for a period of seven months I did silver soldering every day. It has a relatively low melting point so it should be fairly easy to remove, and you WILL want a solder sucker and also they make a mesh metal rope or wick that absorbs hot solder. The coins have already been heated once, when they were applied, so chances are you won't do any serious harm to them now. However, a thin film of solder might remain on the coins. As others have already suggested, you might want a jeweler to do the work for you, he or she would have the correct tools, especially to carefully apply the heat.