Coin Wand Interlude

I'm doing this to get crowds when busking. The angles are good and the magic is fast paced. It is endlessly repeatable and can then transition into the coin routines that I do. It should be a piece of cake to reconstruct what is happening. Fairly standard stuff. It is so usable. Try it.

More Simple Coins

I love the simple coins routine, the bold method of being one behind really makes this practical. This is a different beginning and a different ending. You don't take out the coins from your pocket to begin with, no you produce them from exactly the place where you pretend to put them a few seconds later. Only to pull them from those places and then one of them turns invisible, touches the other ones and they all vanish.

The ending in this version is the preferred ending when doing walk around magic. The standard ending is better suited for a stand up performance in a parlour type setting. The great addition in the beginning 2H1P phase is by the Austrian magician Daniel Philipp. By placing the coins on your arm you get rid of the table and weirdly it makes the click pass a bit more convincing.

Coin Thief

This is from the upcoming book by Jim Abrahams. There is nothing new about the phases, but the combination is. I find it quite hilarious to go from six coins to one.

The first phase is an oldie that has been lost in time. You can find it in David Pogue's book Magic for Dummies as the 7-Cent Reflex Test (that's the name in the German edition) uncredited. Tommy Wonder had a similar structure in one of his coin routines.

The second phase is just a joke, but it creates enough off beat to get away with the secret something.

The last phase is the sell.

I mentioned it before that I am somehow fascinated with the plot of stealing something from the spectator's hand. So I naturally like this one. And it is a ridiculously practical routine. You don't even need a table. The purse contains all the coins needed, it also can be used for the switch of the coin. It has an intriguing plot and seems like a genuine feat of skill in the beginning which turns into an impossibility.

Big thanks to Patrick for operating the camera and thanks to Toby for being the helping hand.

Living Room Opener

This is quite nice as a living room opener. Certainly not for stage, but the magic is decently paced and gets to the point quickly. I actually used this when I still did house parties. From a technical point of view this is pathetic, and structure wise this is horrific, as you go into your pocket unmotivated, however it gets people interested. The plot that you don't have a huge variety show to start with also sets the mood. Nice close up magic in an intimate setting.

The Marble in the Box

You do recognize the box, do you? Usually it is used to load something into the box. But you can see it can be used to steal something out of the box as well. The preparation is done right in front of the audience. The angles are a litte issue. Basically the eyeline of the audience needs to be below the upper edge of the box. But otherwise you are fine. The transposition idea is just there to illustrated what can be done, besides just stealing.

Cast a Shadow

"Cast a Shadow" is the starting point for this routine. The routine is by Eric DeCamps and has been published on page 1648 in the Apocalypse Vol.12, No.6. The click pass is by Sol Stone. I changed the last vanish for the Himber Vanish by Richard Himber because it put me in a position where it is much easier to reload the coin into the clean hand for the first production. The production from the finger palm is by Apollo Robins and he teaches it in the Cultural Exchange DVD. A good looking production I think. The angles on this routine are quite good. It can be done surrounded, but then not everybody would get to see the effects. After the first production two different Shuttle Passes happen. The first one is the classic David Roth version but the second one the "Flying Shuttle Pass" created by Jay Sankey, which if possible should be the preferred method, as it really looks like the coin fly from the "other" hand. The routine itself makes heavy use of the Ramsay subtlety but I think the pace of the routine is fast enough to support the choice.

This is the sort of routine that best works with smaller coins. For the sake of the visibility in the video I chose bigger coins to perform with. But best would be quarter sized coins. That makes the handling of certain shifts of the stack of coins to a needed position much easier. And the chance of talking is minimized a lot. It's impromptu and borrowing the coins will make the coins above suspicion giving the performer the credit.

Easy Coin Production

The title gives away the main aim for this. "Easy"! And it really is easy to do. The cloth really takes any hard work. So this is a great little trick for beginners in the field of coin magic. And I love it. The main idea of simply turning the cloth over and over again arose from a misunderstanding of a fried of mine who studied a rather advanced technique for producing coins with aid of a cloth. He studied an English text with very little ability to understand English and no pictures were available to him. This is what he came up with. And it is great. So credit goes to Kay Herzig for this one. The addition of jumbo coins is inevitable if you think about it. The last coin is taken from the pouch, which you need to be wearing. But any method taken from the rich field of bottle production would work as well.

Ball, Wand and Coin

It's a weird routine I guess. But it is rather satisfying to do. Not that this matters to any audience, but the routine is short enough to be squeezed into any manipulation act. It's rather practical, the angles are not that bad and it has the potential to be enhanced drastically. The piece of silk in the end could be vanished transforming back into the coin. That coin could change into a jumbo coin, the wand could grow and all of that shit. In terms of move there is nothing new to add. The Flip Stick vanish by Flip Hallema, a Bobo Switch and Spell Bound moves. But the main thing is this new background. You like it? Was expensive as golden shit. Now I got it.

Simple Coins

This coin routine is really, really simple. Hence the name. Simple in both effect and method. Three coins vanish and then come back. The first vanish actually is the most simple vanish one can think of. It's a spin on the Bluff Vanish from Bobo's book. It's so much fun to do. The angles on the routine are very, very good. And the sounds are genuine and misleading. Just the way we like it. And you don't need a table. making this an anytime, anywhere routine.

Near the end one of the coins jumps back to the pocket. The one behind principle makes this a piece of cake. The method requires this little extra effect. But it also serves a function. The spectator could have chosen any number. Therefore it seems like a different outcome was possible. That creates the illusion that the magic happens at the moment it is perceived. And that would only be possible if really three coins were used. The routine is by Jim Abrahams and I know for a fact that this routine will be in his upcoming book that he is currently working on.

The main principle is a nice cancel for any coin routines that are one ahead. Mix the method and deception will follow. In fact the end, could be a great get ready for a one ahead routine. Or vice versa. Depending on which routine is stronger.

Simple Matrix

There is nothing unusual about this. The standard one ahead. But the ending might be of interest. As it is the only, I repeat, the only justification for using a playing card. Seriously, why a playing card. Always the same. I see magicians use the playing cards simply because they are there. You know what else is there? The purse. Using the purse is not only motivated and logical, it has so many advantages. Sound, and no "floating".

Back to the routine. Having one quarter of the card not changing in the end gives you a reason to openly ditch it. Along with other stuff. I used this ending many times and it was my perfect lead in to the six coin routine that I do.

The used sleights are standard and I don't think I need to point out the one true source. *cough* Bobo *cough*

The last coin vanish is bold but somehow it seems like an increased difficulty for you, but it makes you job much easier. Have fun.

The Button Story

Going on with this notions box theme here is something with buttons. The main "sleight" is the Bold Coin Vanish from Modern Coin Magic. A underused sleight I think. Although the term "sleight" doesn't really do it justice. It's just a bold thing you do. You can reverse the "sleight" of course. That way you get loaded instead getting rid of the coins. Must be pretty cryptic reading these lines I suppose. Watch the video! The buttons going back in the box sequence is the actual reversal of the bold vanish. Pick up two, put in one. So you can choose which buttons end up in the hand in the end.

A similar routine I have seen years ago by Jay Sankey. A whole punch of paper clips are picked up one by one and in the hand they link. Cute little trick.

But you can do more of course. What about a standard Spell Bound routine? The most simple one would be copper coins turning to gold coins, which are drop in a cup. Near the end the cup is turned over and all the gold coins have become copper again. You don't see that routine very often. And here is why: In most "warm" lighting conditions the difference between copper and gold is not great. The lack of visibility of the trick is it's downfall. The standard structure is flawless I think.

Long story shot: Have buttons change into coins one by one. Logical? Check! Visible? Check! Great scope? Check!

Coins Through Cork

I assume you are familiar with the god awful plastic version of this. Maybe even the brass version. But all of those scream gimmick. This version is by "Kreis Magic" and is called "Cork Stopper" and is a terrific piece of magic. The prop looks like an everyday item. And the very, very cool thing about this version is that Euros coins, work perfectly for this. I mean perfectly. Other coins have to be prepared with a small iron disc that is supplied with the instruction, but 1 Euro coins are the best thing. And being a "Euro Zone" we have plenty of supply of them.

This is one of those tricks that looks like a bar bet type of trick. And you can celebrate, in fact you have to celebrate, the rolling of the bill and all of that. All of that creates a wonderful impromptu feel. There should be no doubt that there is no way for the coin to go past the cork except through. If you have a notions box, put it in there. In fact my grandma used to stick needles into a cork to keep everything tidy. So having a cork in the box will not be questioned. So you can basically have a whole notions box full of magic. Safety Pins (coming next week), magic with needles, Hindu Thread, Thimbles... you name it.

International Matrix

Let's talk about something that only magicians seem to appreciate or care about. The matrix plot. A rather special case is the matrix using four different coins. That makes the whole thing a lot harder both in terms of difficulty and structure. But it is a unique problem. And what do magicians love? Problems! This is my take on it. Basically two ahead, I even included a backfire phase. Clear inspirations for that was the version by Michael Rubinstein. I use the term inspiration very carefully. Because his version sucked. I wanted to do better. Don't get me wrong. Rubinstein's material is top notch, but the style is so stiff and old fashioned. It bores me. But that's where my efforts to create my own little version came from. Do I do it for real people? Hell no. But for magicians, once in a while.

The Cannibal Coin

I'm a little late this week, sorry about that.

The good old Two in Hands One in the Pocket. As you can see that basic plot can be twisted quite a bit with the right premise. I opted for not going to my pockets. So it feels like a different trick. The main structure remains, the coins jumps back two times and on the third time the hand is empty. But instead on making it a vanish I decided that all the coins should be in the other hand. Technically this is no different from the usual handling but it makes sense within the established premise of one coin trying to eat the others.

I decided to use an odd coin to illustrate the premise, but that also means a tiny, minute change in the usual handling. But it makes a real difference. People get a kick out of the story. And using a coin with a hole really  makes sense when talking about eating other coins. As far out and dumb the premise I felt to go all the way. So I had the coin eat the others. And making them go back is a lot of fun.

The moves are rather simple and all of them can be found in Modern Coin Magic. Once again I'm thankful to J.B. Bobo for creating such a vast and rich compendium of coin knowledge. The cannibal plot and premise of course is by Lynn Searles.

Shrinking Coin

Basically just two Bobo Switches and a false transfer. But in terms of effect this is cute. Any regular size is boring. Growing and shrinking stuff makes it funny... or at least interesting. I've done this for normal people often enough to know that they love it. Why is that so? The premise. It is not just a vanish and a reappearance. The object is actually transformed. It is shrunken down and stays that way. Try it with different objects. Coins are great, but if you do this with SD cards... Starting with a big SD card, then a standard size one, then finally a micro SD card all of that becomes unique magic. You can talk about the fact that even though the technology gets smaller and smaller somehow the amount of stuff you can save on the card remain the same. Or even gets bigger.

The philosophical implication of the card being so small it is practically gone and what it means about the value of storage and data really should get an interesting plot going.

Or think toys. A toy car shrinking more and more. Suitable props should be cheap.

All I'm saying that the plot of an object shrinking really is intriguing as it flies off in so many directions.

Fusing Coins

Trying to come up with a routine that fools magicians is a futile task. Yet for some reasons magicians dabble into that sort of Sisyphean task. Me too. This little coin routine came out if it. Even though I think that most magicians are not fooled by this, it turned out to be a routine that is fun to do. The idea of not making coins appear, but splitting them is not new by any means. But fusing them back together... I hardly see that. (same goes for sponge balls)

In terms of method this takes from a variety of sources. There is sleight of hand involved. (palms, shuttle passes and a good old false transfer) but also gimmickery. Expended Shell and Super Coin. It's the combination of it that makes the routine very practical. The angles are indeed an issue, as that one coin, could appear as pretty thick. Even though briefly. Adding a super expanded shell would allow for a fifth coin to be there. Think about it. I guess I could put the gimmicks together and streamline the routine a little bit. Then do a video of me doing this on the street and sell the shit for 60 bucks. Of course I would go for quarter, as you can borrow them. Instantly the whole gimmick price would drop and the "flaws" would become less of an issue. Making me money. Hell I'm sure either one of those big magic companies would lick their fingers in the prospect of expected profit. Fuck those!

Ineffective Effect

Right now I am spending all my time busking, so I have little to add. But might enjoy this, as it plays around with the premise of the usual bill switch. Admitting not being able to do that is not only a terrific joke (I've done it many, many times and it really gets a good laugh) it also nicely explains why you don't just produce money and live a good life.

Technically speaking there is nothing to explain I think. Although... may be the ditch of the bill. I rarely see magicians using the collar as a hold out. As you can see the attention is on the other hand, so the dirty hand going up is much less suspicious than the hand going down into the lap or something.

Ending the supposed bill switch with a transformation to pennies is pretty unexpected and actually feels a little more impossible. To a layperson the thought of maybe hiding a second bill seems like a plausible thing to do. But hiding a whole bunch of coins. That must at least be difficult.

In my official sets I usually borrow a 10 Euro bill. And I got ten 1 Euro coins hidden. So basically the effect is changing the bill for coins. Combine that with the initial joke and you will see that the joke actually serves as a hide out for the method. People won't think that any magic will occur right after the joke. Therefore the hands must be empty.

In my official sets I also reach of a glass right after the false transfer ditching the bill in my case while emerging with the glass. That creates time misdirection and let's me end clean. But I also like the collar method.

So there you have the trick. Nothing is gained, nothing is lost (if you change ten for ten) and people will remember you fondly...

Let me add a bonus: Assuming you do change the 10 Euro bill into ten 1 Euro coins... don't do that... actually change the 10 Euro bill into NINE 1 Euro coins. And hand those back in the glass. Ask the guy you borrowed the bill from to count the coins making sure they add up to 10 Euros. When he finds out that those are just nine coins you have great comedy potential. "Well duh.... tax?" And you can promise to make up for that in the rest of the show. Somehow making the missing Euro come back. That is a nice hook that could tie together a show.


The missing Euro could actually appear very early on during the rest of the show. But suddenly vanish as you want to give it back. Lot's of possibilities. And it feels less intrusive than the usual approach of promising to give back the vanished bill. 

Coins Across

Alright Coins Across. Aside from just vanishing a coin and producing it, there is hardly a coin trick that has more clarity of what is going on. Interestingly I still seen the effect butchered many many times. This version you see above is my try to create an in the hands version of the classic using a shell. I tried to get rid of the shell and had to substitute the stack of coins that is usually shown in the hand to a fan of coins. Naturally most Three Fly moves work nicely.

While technically the effect is not in the hands of the spectator, it sure feels like it. And the angles are pretty good. I tried to emulate the advantage of ending clean with the shell method by vanishing the last coin sooner than most routines would do it. I do this in a variety of ways. The above version is a simple ditch and the version below is the good old servante. Topit work also seems like a good way to go. However, most often I use my pouch. I wear that thing in real paid situations, and it allows for lapping while standing. Something that most pouch workers seem to miss.

Growing Coin

Plucking a coin from an ear is one of those goodies, that is too underestimated. When I started that sequence of putting the coin in one ear and pulling it out the other it got me good reactions. Soon thereafter the mouth and nose bit followed. Having a beard the production from the beard was inevitable.

But how do you finish such a one coin routine? Well by the standard final load. Most often its a large coin. And that was the case for years. But when I got an even larger coin I was thinking about making big coin even bigger. The method I use actually works in the real world. It is very obvious in the video. But in real life your eyes would follow the coin in the air. The routine used to be much, much more complex. Here is a version from seven years ago:



Now the routine is much more streamlined and it is much better on the angles. The final appearance of the giant coin actually is a nice show stopper. Especially for kids who dog that sort of stuff. In fact doing this for kids I usually point out another weird connection. If I put the coin in my hand, it comes out somebody else's ear. And then I have a short sequence of plucking the coin from the kids head. Try it, it's killer material for the youngsters.

In term of method there is nothing special. Just stuff from Bobo.

Coins to Pocket

I've been playing around with the idea of coins going to the pockets. And there seems only one way to do it correctly, by showing that all pockets are empty to begin with. Otherwise there is no point. So this is a trick that only a few magicians will ever do. Most of the time the pockets are not empty. Too bad. It's a nice premise.

This particular version works with almost all the tricks in the book. Two ahead, a feint, a ruse and a subtlety, but no extra coins. In terms of sleights there is nothing special. Shuttles, FT's and palms. This routine is all about construction. Picture it from a layman's point of view. Four coins are jumping invisibly from the hands to called out pockets. This is strong stuff.