Quote: My best recommendation is with a rotary tool, often referred to by the genericized trademark Dremel (although Dremel makes more than just rotary tools).
Probably the safest, best suggestion of all of them. Always remember when taking suggestions from the internet, there are many people that just repeat something and have no idea if right, wrong, safe, etc. For example if you do not know how to open one, NEVER use things like pliers, metal cutters or other tools that could make for flying peices of plastic. If you should get one in your eyes, those that suggested it would not pay your medical bills, visit you in the hosital now ever send flowers. They would just say, to bad, I didn't really know anyway. Hammers, chissels, screwdrivers, etc. are just not the smartest methods. Might work but if you don't know what your doing, you could do more damage to yourself and the coins. If you plan on opening slabbed coins safely, always wear safety glasses regardless of the method. A Dremel or Saber saw type of cutter is probably the safest method. However, the slab should be secured in a vise or similar device. Also, note the type of blade to be used for cutting is important. Metal cutting blades work but usually the plastic will remelt as fast as you cut. Harsh toothed blades for wood create spinters. Cut off as many ends as you feel necessary. Some cut one side and pry open the slab with something. Mainly be carefull. Those eyes of yours are not easily replaced but most coins are.
I have no fancy toolset so the hammer and towel ( to keep flying plastic from being a hazard ) was a fine suggestion for me. I've now done about 10 of them and find that NGC slabs break apart the easiest, PCGS are also easy to crack, and ICG ( despite their rep as far as sell-ability ) are by far the hardest to break open. It has taken me as many as 25 good whacks to get a ICG slab open while NGC fall apart with very little trouble.
If I had a Dremel handy I'd use it, but I'm not going to buy something like that just for this purpose. I don't think I'll be cracking that many open overall. But when working on filling albums you sometimes get the best bargain on a slabbed coin. I still find it funny that it costs so much to get it slabbed - yet I can find some at $15-$20 and at better price points than non-slabbed equivalents.
This is an interesting thread => and although I love having a third party reinforce the value of my coins, I hate having them in their hard plastic holders, or even in most of the non-intrusive holders (I like putting all of my coins into attractive leather binders, with slots designed for each type of coin denomination, etc ... is it just me?) ... so often, I'll merely break/cut open a graded coin holder so I can stick the coin into one of my albums and make my OCD-problem go way for a while ... eh-heh-heh, is it just me?
QUESTION => Am I totally devaluing my coins, or am I being "normal"? ...
There is a new way to opening NGC, SGS, ANACS, ICG, SEGS, & PCI HOLDERS Finally a device to safely and easily remove coins from certified holders. Please note that all Certified Holders differ in difficulty of opening. This great tool is not designed for use with new PCGS Holders & U.S Mint Sets at this time.
Quote: There is a new way to opening NGC, SGS, ANACS, ICG, SEGS, & PCI HOLDERS Finally a device to safely and easily remove coins from certified holders. Please note that all Certified Holders differ in difficulty of opening. This great tool is not designed for use with new PCGS Holders & U.S Mint Sets at this time.
Wait. You cut a dado into a piece of wood, and are now spamming the Internet with your "new" way of cracking slabs?
Without even having the brains to include a sales link, so at least a few people would see it before you got banned?
There may be a nail on the center of the dado-ed out piece of wood...at least that is what I got out of it, the slab kinda drops a little they "smash it with a hamma" (0.15 seconds)
I have a really easy way! And it works on those silly sealed proof sets too.... You know the manual can openers? Where you put the rim of the can in and twist the handle? Well.... pretend the outline of a slab/proof set, is the can... squeeze down! It wont cut an outline, but it will crack it well enough, and if you do it on all sides, it will crack open real nice!
Just broke open a couple PCGS ones the other day myself. I agree with the towel hammer method. I actually used a large screw driver hitting the side after wrapping it with a towel and it cracked right open real easy. Took maybe 30 seconds a slab if that
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Posted 07/28/2011 10:12 am
