HOW TO EXTRACT A MEDAL FROM A BLOCK OF LUCITE

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V11 2008 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 11, Number 21, May 25, 2008, Article 13

HOW TO EXTRACT A MEDAL FROM A BLOCK OF LUCITE

I met Douglas Chambers of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission in 2004 when I was General Chairman of the Pittsburgh ANA convention. We set up an exhibit of Carnegie Hero medals. He did a web search recently which led him to an earlier E-Sylum article I'd edited. -Editor

Doug Chambers writes:

Imagine my surprise when I Googled some words looking for advice on extracting a medal from Lucite and finding an article written by you!! An awardee has just returned to us his medal, which is embedded in Lucite, and was recently involved in a fire. He wants our help in freeing it. I've attached two photos to show you the condition. The medal was awarded for an act in 1968. At that time, and for a period before and after, the medals were embedded in Lucite when awarded.

The article was on extracting coins embedded in blocks of Lucite. I recalled Joe Levine's story of how he extracted a nice set of Confederate cents from a block of Lucite. I put Doug in touch with Joe, who provided some advice on two methods:

Soaking the Lucite block in acetone
Freezing the block and shattering it with a hammer

-Editor

Doug Chambers writes:

We froze the Lucite block and took a hammer to it. It took several hard blows, and with each strike more of the Lucite came free. It worked pretty well. There is some Lucite remaining and rather than risk damaging the medal with more strikes, we're going to do the acetone step.

To read an earlier E-Sylum article on the topic, see: EXTRACTING COINS EMBEDDED IN LUCITE

To read another E-Sylum article on the topic, see: MORE ON EXTRACTING COINS EMBEDDED IN LUCITE

For more information on the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission see: www.carnegiehero.org

THE JOB BAZARRE

HERITAGE AUCTION GALLERIES, one of the world’s largest Coin and Currency Auction Houses, currently has an opening for a Coin Catalog Writer. Must be knowledgeable about coins and have an impeccable writing ability. Please send writing samples and resume to Carolyn Hall at CarolynH@HA.com.

Wayne Homren, Editor

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

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