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Battery holder/compartment tool

BrianShaw

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Nov 30, 2005
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La-la-land
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My 1980’s-era Nikon cameras and motor drives feature slots for remove and replace functions. Coins are perfect tools. The slots vary in dimensions so for “perfect fit” a collection of coins is handy. But coins aren’t always in my pocket so I built this handy tool. Used 1980’s minted coins, too, for historical compatibility!

I’m sure that a professional tool exists but this was easier and cheaper to make. A few coins, a drill, some jewelry scrap parts that have been in my junk drawer for decades.

 
In the day people carried change in their pockets so coins for such slots were readily available.
You may want to delete that photo:
According to Title 18, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code, which sets out crimes related to coins and currency, anyone who “alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens” coins can face fines or prison time. The same goes for debasing – that is, decreasing the proportion of precious metals – in gold or silver coins struck or coined at an American mint.

Section 331 of Title 18 of the United States code provides criminal penalties for anyone who “fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the Mints of the United States.” This statute means that you may be violating the law if you change the ...
 
In that day and this day, I carry no change. When I get some it goes into the tip jars quickly. I once kept change in my camera bag and stopped when that started alerting TSA to do a bag check. Regarding the regulations... thanks for your effort and advice.
 
I’m not worried... From Treasury.gov:

This statute means that you may be violating the law if you change the appearance of the coin and fraudulently represent it to be other than the altered coin that it is. As a matter of policy, the U.S. Mint does not promote coloring, plating or altering U.S. coinage: however, there are no sanctions against such activity absent fraudulent intent.
 
Plastic not so convenient for battery compartment covers, though.
 
A friend of mine related that when he and some colleagues were setting up IBM's 360 computers - a LONG - time ago! they worked at night and ate at night. One of their eateries gave lousy service, so Gordon cut a few pennies in half for a tip. The message was that they hadn't forgotten a tip, but.... He said the service improved markedly; they then tipped.
I seem to recall that the slot on battery covers was sized for a Japanese coin which was a little thinner than our dime. I'll have to check my Pentax cameras, my Bronica ERTSi, and my Nikon F2 and F3.
 
I think the US government holds the record for "lightening and fraudulently altering" the US coinage, should be Gold and Silver. Drill Away!
 
Back in the day I bought a tool made for this purpose. I think it was from Ed Romney. It works well and doesn't harm the cap. I still have it somewhere.
 
Ed Romney... what a great memory. He was a very interesting man.
 
My old Pentax Spotmatic manual shows what I think is a 10 ¥ bronze coin. 100 yen was about the same size a bit under 1 inch diameter, the 100 yen had some silver content. I'm going to stop by my friend's coin shop and see what I can find.
 
The Canadian $1.00 coin (the "Loonie") often works well.
 
I almost added a US 1-dollar coin to the kit but didn’t think I’d encounter a 2mm wide slot and wanted to keep my production cost low.

I always like the Canadian Loonie... reminds me of chasing loons in a canoe on a lake in Maine.
 
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