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Bent Silver coin How to straighten

CharlieT84

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
706
Location
Upstate New York
I found an old silver half that is bent. What is the best way to straighten it with the least amount of risk to damaging it?
 

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I say to just bend it gradually bend it. put it under two slabs of wood and put something heavy on top. Every day put another dumbell or something heavy.

Josh
 
Put it between 2 pieces of wood and either hit with a hammer or press in a vice.

Wouldn't this damage the coin from lots of force at one time? I used to collect those pokemon cards, and you just put them against slabs of wood to make it straight.

Josh

P.S. I know this is a coin not a card, but just my 2 cents. :D
 
Put it between 2 pieces of wood and either hit with a hammer or press in a vice.

Don't do this! First you must anneal the coin, or it could crack. due to the striking at the mint and then the bend of the coin, it will have work hardened significantly. Trying to unbend without annealing is a dangerous game.
 
Ive done it I'm talking about tapping or slowly pressing between two pieces of wood in a vice not pounding with a sledgehammer.
Heat annealing would be a good idea also. Then slowly pressing the bend out.
Ive done it the only thing that cracked was a thin piece of copper that was folded into a taco.
 
Don't do this! First you must anneal the coin, or it could crack. due to the striking at the mint and then the bend of the coin, it will have work hardened significantly. Trying to unbend without annealing is a dangerous game.

When you say annealing can I heat it with a propane torch? How hot do I get it? Do I have to worry about it making the coin black?
 
If it isnt a rear date or a collectable coin just use the pressure on it. I HAVE never had a coin crack from pressure.
 
Any numismatist will tell you it can't be done successfully. Bending , annealing , whatever. It will show in the field or design of the coin under magnification. That's if you expect a perfect result , otherwise...go for it.
 
When you say annealing can I heat it with a propane torch? How hot do I get it? Do I have to worry about it making the coin black?

Your coin will have a black firescale after heating (annealing) it with a propane torch. If you go this route, get the coin hot enough to be slightly red. Any further you might melt it. I like the 2 pieces of wood in a vice idea the best so far. You might be able to do it without annealing, the wood might be soft enough to take alot of the pressure off the coin. Anyway, let us know how it goes!
 
Your coin will have a black firescale after heating (annealing) it with a propane torch. If you go this route, get the coin hot enough to be slightly red. Any further you might melt it. I like the 2 pieces of wood in a vice idea the best so far. You might be able to do it without annealing, the wood might be soft enough to take alot of the pressure off the coin. Anyway, let us know how it goes!

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I've straightened out many bent silver coins over the years using a wooden mallet and a block of wood.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
I’ve used a bench vice plenty of times with good results. Not so sure about a valuable coin though
 
Just hit with a hammer it’s not worth anything is it a key date. I make sure it’s not worth anything if not just use a hammer.
 
Your coin will have a black firescale after heating (annealing) it with a propane torch. If you go this route, get the coin hot enough to be slightly red. Any further you might melt it. I like the 2 pieces of wood in a vice idea the best so far. You might be able to do it without annealing, the wood might be soft enough to take alot of the pressure off the coin. Anyway, let us know how it goes!

Jeff I went ahead and tried my heat gun on it for a little heat without flame.
I tried a vice with the boards when the coin was hot but it didn't flatten it enough for me. So I wrapped it in a piece of rubber roofing and tapped it a bit with a hammer. The rubber is maybe 1/32 inch thick. The hammer flattened it enough for me but I can see it does mar the surface a bit and would not recommend on a good coin. This one had been pushed around by a dozer most likely. I will post a picture in the "finds" thread.
 
I have found several bent silver coins over the years...I leave all my bent coins... bent... as a matter of fact I just started a bent coin box for this year ...
 
Hard rubber mallet, pound away, actually quite enjoyable. I just straightened a clad quarter and dime using my table saw top and mallet with great results.
 
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