I want to thank you Ben for the great advice. Today at the shop we had a silver dollar in an NGC holder that was graded Spot Removed AU details. None of us could see what they were talking about, so it was decided to remove the coin. I've tried it in the past and it was a messy procedure. This time I took it outside to the sidewalk and hit it lightly on the edges just as you did and the the two sides separated perfectly without breaking. The white interior holder came out and the coin was retrieved without any damage whatsoever. RU-vid rocks.
Great video! Coins that are over-graded stay in their holders. Those that are under-graded are often cracked from their holders and sent out for re-grading. This is where the CAC stickers can help buyers from purchasing "lemons" for the grade when the buyer lacks expertise in distinguishing the nuances of upper grades, such as for uncirculated Morgan dollars.
The way I crack out a coin out of any holder is by wrapping it in a cloth (clean towel or t-shirt) and placing it in my 6-inch bench vice. I slowly tighten until I hear it pop or crack, then feel if it broken open or loose enough I can finish it the rest of the way. Coin stays put and I don’t damage the coin in any way. It beats all the other methods. I’d still wrap them in a cloth of some sort with the other methods. It will save your eyes even if you wear goggles. 👍🏼
Although many people forget to do this, when we break out a coin from such a holder, we have a civic duty to report the identification numbers of the coin to both the service that had graded it and the service to which we are resubmitting it to. Already, population numbers are excessive because people have not been doing this.
You simply amazed me Ben When I saw you with that hammer I was thinking no...no...no...my friend.However you delivered ! THANK YOU. I ALSO want to compliment YOU ON LEARNING US ENTHUSIASTS ON THE HOLDER OF THE BEAUTY INSIDE IT. THANK YOU BECAUSE I LEARNED THIS PAST WEEK THAT NYC IS SEALING THEIR PRODUCT TO PERFECTIONISM! MUCH APPRECIATED VIDEO. ( unbelievable when I saw a hammer and the Morgan) SMILE. GREAT JOB ❤
Thank you🙏Simple hack that actually works! I followed along and by the time the video was done my coin was out of the case! Happy holidays to you and yours!✨🎄
I cracked out a bunch of PCGS sample silver FDR dimes by putting the slab inside a kid's sock to prevent flying pieces, then clamping the edges in a vise and slowly tightening down until the slab "popped". That might not work so well for larger coins like silver dollars, however, since the rim of the coin is much closer to the edges of the slab.
There’s a guy in Colo. Springs who makes a device called the Slab-Slicer.... it cleanly and quietly cuts the slab on its sides. They’re made to order. Btw, PCGS stopped using those rings a while back. Their new slabs are the most fire resistant in the industry.
Just the video information I was looking for if I ever need to crack open a slab. I was considering using a Dremel with a small cutting blade and cut around the edge. The old primitive method worked well. 🙂
That's what I was thinking about using too I would think that it would be safer. What if you hit it with the hammer and the coin falls out, they can't get scratched on the cement or the iron beam and also in may get damaged with the hammer
Hello. Does a chipped coin slab affect the value of it at all? Can it reduce the price at all, or it doesn’t matter? What about scratches and cracks as well? The coin intact, it’s the slab/holder condition only that I am talking about. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
DEAR BEN. I REFUSE TO CRACK OUT A COIN? I BELIEVE IN MY HEART THAT ONLY THE (PCGS..NGC..ANACS) SHOULD ATTEMPT THAT. I AM ONLY A LEARNED COIN ENTHUSIAST. HOWEVER....WATCHING COINHELPu understood me that if you are buying a cracked out case maybe someone put another coin of that year in it. ? No expert here. THANK YOU for sharing. Greatly appreciated my friend ❤
I've been collecting now for 4+ years. I use flips, slabs, Whitman folders and Capital holders. What's your take on these forms of holders & should I stop using any of them please? Also great informational vids!!!
Good job! Why the companies of slabs still not introduce the crack-line for easy opening process?1.Some coins I can't buy without slabs,but not collect ones in caskets on!2.Why should I trust them?
I wrap the slab in a wash cloth. I put down a cement brick on top of the cement floor in my garage. I then strike the slab much the same as you. The cloth will prevent injury from flying debris.
Do PCGS and NGC use the same technique to crack open the slabs and reholder them, or do they use machinery specifically made for the purpose? I just bought a PCGS graded coin, but the coin is not well centered. The prongs didn't keep it in place, and the coin has slid a couple of mills out, so the reverse is basically touching the lid of the slab. Perhaps it's not a big deal, but it bothers me. I'd like to send it back to PCGS for reholdering, but I'm afraid that in cracking open the slab they might damage the coin. It's a FS MS70PL. What would you do? I've read comments of people send mint condition coins to PCGS and receiving them back damaged.
Have you seen the PBS Frontline documentary A DIAMOND EMPIRE which explores how diamonds became a valuable commodity despite having no intrinsic value?
Sorry. Hit the send by mistake... my question is is it worth cracking open the plastic slab taking it out and cleaning it with the aluminum boiling water and baking soda. I’ve seen gold coins clean like this and they come out nicely but... is it worth cracking open and cleaning it or would you just leave it as is? I’ve also heard that if you leave it in there sometimes Rust doesn’t matter... it’s just the nature of the beast if air gets in the plastic.So in your opinion, would you crack it open or would you just leave it in the PCGSMS 69 plastic slab
I agree with your first comment, and I would leave it as is. It is very hard or unlikely to get them to upgrade modern coins from MS69 to MS 70. Thanks!
For me not beeing able to touch a coin is a deal breaker. That's why I'm not interested in (modern) coins where this is an issue. If I bought a coin in a slab I would crack it without thinking twice. Thanks for the tutorial :)
Hey man! I'm just getting into coins and have been doing my research, can you recommend some good forums for reading and possibly some good websites for buying? I'm currently looking into Morgan Silver Dollars, but would also like to get into early American coinage but I'm sure I can afford it 😆Cool channel man, I just subscribed! Cheers!
ANACS, and NGC I use this method for PCGS I use a dremel with a diamond bit and just go whoever's so slightly around the center outside edge they generally pop fairly easily after that I don't do the hacksaw and I sure don't use pliers but a Dremel with a diamond bit works perfect for me
Have you ever resubmitted and has come back with a lower grade? Is that the chance you take? Does one company usually give a better grade than the other co.? Thanks
Interesting video. I was reading a book by Scott Travers, called: 'The Coin Collector's Survival Manual' that talks about this method. It further suggests that as many as 20% of all graded coins wind up being cracked open and resubmitted. So this sort of thing (if accurate) really can askew the POP reports.
I saw on the PCGS site that when you crack a coin out, you're supposed to send them the old holder so they can adjust the population report and the database. They also say that people don't always do that, and there's no way to police them.
I have a 1910 St Gaudens 20 .00 gold coin slabbed I bought many years ago and always wondered if the cases could be open . I would love to hold the coin in my hand before I'm dead and pass it on but everyone says oh no you'll damage the coin with the oils in your hands and it will lose value. Well I'm still wanting to hold it one time in my hands and feel it without having to admire it through plastic.
Just curious about your opinion... I have a PCGS 2005 gold 1,10 oz Eagle MS 69. No personally I believe anything under MS 70 is just bouillon. With that in mind the gold coin has quite a bit of rust on it. No my question is
Hello Mr. Coin geek, thanks for sharing these, how about a video on how to remove coins from the concrete?( coins as a design in a cement doorstep) 😂 one of our coin has been removed by a stranger without us noticing when or how, so I'm planning to take the 2 left in front of our gate, Thanks! Have a nice day!
Why would u not use a dremel with small saw blade to cut out the edge of the case. I use this and it works great! Beats banging on it with possibility to destroy grade. Just food for thought.
Great question - the most likely answer is that you don't want me near anything with a motor in it! Let alone a saw. I may try it sometime as I know dealers who use it - But the horror stories I've heard are from dealers that did it that way...but that may just be coincidence. Thanks for the comment.
Yes you can resubmit in the old holder, and yes it influences the grader. Cracking it out is a bit of a game when you hope to get a coin upgraded in a higher grade holder. It's a gamble.
I'd be curious to see a SEGS slab crack out. Those I read are really difficult. I submitted a coin to them that Details graded because it was spotted. I think they made a bad call on that one as it wasn't that distracting, it wasn't corrosive or eating away at the metal and it wasn't artificial toning either.
I would never waste my time or money submitting to SEGS, PCI, and other no-names. ICG is great and conservative on some denominations, but they don't bring the money like NGC or PCGS, in my experience. As for cracking out, I've used the hacksaw to cut a corner and a large flathead screwdriver to pop the holders open by twisting it around the edges once there's some separation.
I live in Phoenix and in may (not even the hottest month) I was sanitizing my masks (when I believed in them) on my dash. With my IR thermometer it was reading 180°+
Dude! Dude! Dude! Please invest in a bench and a vice. Set holder on opposing corners and slowly turn handle You will not even be able to feel the holder in there, it's just gonna crack right down the line then re-set it on the other corners if you need.
If you hit the coin with the head of the hammer as hard as you can, it will loosen the seal on all sides and loosen the coin, making it easier to come out of its slab. The coin will be protected by the plastic and will not be damaged. This method is a lot easier than the one in the video.
Can anyone help me!? I'm new to coin collecting and I just purchased quite a pricy coin in a NGC holder. I'm thinking of breaking the case to take the coin out so I can display it in a cool coin display case I found. Just wondering first off will this lower the value of my coin considerably? Secondly I'm worried when I try to pull the coin out after the plastic outer layer is removed, will it get damaged from pushing it through the four arms that hold the coin in the centre? My coin is a silver Alexander the Great, Ancient Greek coin. Thinking of getting a gold one also and doing the same. Thoughts anyone? Thanks for the advice!
Technically you won't lower the value of the coin because it's the same coin. You'll lower your ability to sell the coin for what it's worth considerably. And that's best case scenario because you can also easily damage the coin taking it out, even by handling it, dropping it, losing it, soiling it or whatever. That coin is certified (authenticated as real) and professionally graded. The newer NGC holders are awesome. It's the best way to show, store or display your coin.
@@fifteenbyfive I am late to the party, but NCG doesn't authenticate ancients. The other thing about ancients is that most collectors handle their coins. I know I do. Holding something people used 2,000 years ago is hard to describe. I just got my first two that are encapsulated and found this video so I can get them safely out of their prisons. I find them much harder to view when encapsulated, as well. That can have a lot to do with size, thickness, irregular shapes and difficulty of reading legends on some heavily toned or worn coins. I know modern coin collectors are much more concerned with grading than ancient collectors, but we all like a well struck coin. I do understand why modern coins are sent for professional grading. I am not sure I am comfortable with this hammer method. LOL.
Thanks for mentioning that. The coin can easily pop out of the inner ring, but don't touch the surface of the coin with your fingers, use some things inert.
I always enjoy your videos and always upvote them but I must say you are a glutton for punishment. May I gently suggest that you take some ANA or even better PCGS sponsored grading classes? They are generally inexpensive compared to what you have spent on resubs. While I agree that some of these coins should get another chance, there are others where you are just asking for trouble. Thank you for all the entertaining videos, I look forward to them all.
If you pay to have it graded why bust them out and resend them just learning and still watching so much to coin collecting don't think I'll ever learn it all lol
You're right. Besides most of them doesn't even know what a real coin looks like. They are so used to fakes that they have doubts with real coins. (True story. A magnificent roman coin I have found buried in the ground was not accept by a big auction house. But, as all do, they have coins listed that I would bet my life are fakes. Very obviously fakes to my unpolluted eyes. And patinas? It's a joke what they think it's real! They should study a bit of Neurology to understand how the brain can fool us.) A good analogy to coins is: boobs. Real versus plastic.
