Hello there, I have recently gained interest in coin magic as coins can be found anywhere and performed anytime. I have seen the DVD by Penguin Magic named "In The Beginning There Were Coins". I have to admit that it is really a good DVD on coin magic. But I have one problem when performing coin effects. At the end of a small coin effect, people will often give comments like: "the coin is actually here/ there" or even "you did not even put the coin in that hand" sort of thing. Anybody met such problems before? For me, I was told that my presentation is not good and I need more misdirection. But my P**M is 8/10. Need some advise here. Thanks.

I have the same problem too. I started magic like a few months ago, and decided to do coins first.

Most of the time, people will 'It's in that hand.' or they will rack their brains trying to figure out how i did the trick ("how did you do that?" or "hmm, i think u did this or that"). I have to admit, my presentation and misdirestion skills are probably not good enough.

But most of the time, i think its due to the fact that they know i dont really have any 'magical powers' (duhz..) and thus they know for sure that there's something fishy going on.

So for me its like showing someone a TRICK without the magical feel to it.

Although sometimes i might hit jackpot and someone will go 'OMG, why did the coin appear there?'. And its these reactions that drive me to learn more and be better. =)

Because of the general similarity in coin sleights, the whole routine is very important. For example, a coin vanish wouldn't stand alone, as shrewd audiences will soon start looking for the vanished coin, and reasonably suspect its location.

A good coin effect, thus, weaves all the sleights in one solid presentation that will stand scrutiny. Make sure what you perform is a good effect with a good routine.

The other thing about coin effects is its simplicity to the audience. Hence, handling absolutely has to be smooth. There isn't much to cover bad technique, besides the helpful confidence and presentation. Make sure everything is naturalistic, and the classic P is a good way to start. Quite a number of magicians can't do a decent one.

coin magic is very hard because making even the simplest sleights ( classic / finger ) look convincing requires a lot of good subtleties and also requires the performer to look comfortable and natural


David Roth, Michael Ammar and David stone are some of the magicians i really like in the coin world.

Natural and solid routines

In the beginning there were coins is a good dvd for beginners ! i do use some moves from the one coin and 3 coin routine than he has and i think his teaching is fairly solid.

however i find david stone has a great aura and presence and explains all his subtleties very clearly in his coin magic 1 dvd

and his one coin routine in Real secrets of magic is killlerrr! Fooled me badly.

good luck silentillusionist , coin magic is to me one of the hardest disciplines in magic, require a lot of technical effort and subtleties to pull off

I managed to pull off a small coin act today in school. The girl was like: "how did you do it? Teach me!". Lols. I think most important is the presentation. You have to have confidence in the coin act and make sure your audience feels the confidence in you. If you tremble, that's it. But I still bear the thought of being exposed easily. Lols. Maybe it's just me.

As roland has mentioned, sublities.

Yes , sublities like in the case of a french drop, you show your hand empty after you take the coin away.
That will immediately send the spectator looking to the other hand. Thus no questions will be asked.


Acting also plays a big part. Good luck on your journey man!

Kapps, Ramsey subtleties and handwash are all very good techniques to let your hands "looked" clean.

I watched David Stone's Coin Magic Vol 1 recently and I was still fooled momentarily when he "showed" his other hand empty (not in an obvious way, if you know what I mean), even though most of his moves are very basic and I knew them.

You can check out his DVD.

I think it is because of the nature of the coin magic. It is either in the left hand of right hand. If the coin is not inthe left hand, then it must be in the right hand, so people tend to make up a lot of conclusion in their head.

I think for beginners bit of pure sleights in beginning with ex****ed s**** as ending can have very good results.

Watch Jay Sankey in his Revolutionary Coin Magic DVD, has many good materials.

Subtleties are especially important in coin magic, as so many have mentioned before. But, good techniques are also very important. It's surprising to see how many people who do coin magic can't do a P properly (whether preparation for, getting into, or holding it). As for handwashing, I do not believe it is a 'good' way of 'showing' your hands empty, it just calls for more attention where and when there shouldn't be.

I think the first coin dvds you have to get is David Roth's series. He covers the basics of coin magic, and all his contributions which have become more or less commonplace in magic (especially his work on the okito box). It's detailed and comprehensive, and highly recommended. Again, I am sceptical about Jay Sankey's products.

^ i'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks that jay sankey has a lot of dodgy releases.

i get very wary of getting sankey stuff , he has a few gems but personally i feel that there's so many junk stuff that he puts out.

I'm not a big fan of Sankey either, but you HAVE to get the Revolutionary Coin Magic DVD. I think this dvd is a gem.

I'm not sure of Jay Sankey latest ( not his fans ), heard its getting worst with repeated effects but still, heard his previous DVDs are very good.

which is why the disappointment to his new products.

Cheers.

my suggestion : watch a couple of performance by the pros and then look at how their coin vanish is not the excellent one but it is the subtlties and how they make it look as if its really gone and make some of ur own moves. i made a very good retention and its perfect , trust me its almost perfect but need more add up-s maybe i should post a vid soon. that was not hao lian or anything. do something u feel natural with

Wow. A "perfect" retention vanish huh? :ph43r:

Maybe you should come for the next gathering so that we can see how much better you have gotten since the last time we saw you huh?
I would love to see what a perfect retention vanish look like. B)


Hey! Maybe you should join Legerdemain?
Walk the talk, you know what I mean? ^_^

I cannot wait to see the video of it! =)

Hope to see you performing it. Ha ha. Do inform me if you have a video of it. Thanks. Another question, anybody knows where can I buy those US half dollars which is said to be good for coin performers? Thanks.

You can get some on ebay - I know because I got some of mine from there.

Ning has some for sale at a very good price. Check with her.

That's correct, i got mine from Ning jie.

I believe she has some in-stock still.

There are several types of half dollars, it's of course better if you get a;; pf the same type.

There's the pure silver walking liberties, then there's the copper cored ones, which are coated silver, I think, but after some time you see the copper coming out.

There are also various editions of the half dollar, not just walking liberties. If you pick some of the older ones like mine is from 1918 it's really worn and really soft :)

Maybe spraying some paint on it would help? I'm looking for the Kennedy ones. It's $4 from what I know. Is the Kennedy half dollar good?

When magicians mentions half dollar, its generally referring to Kennedy's. The copper-nickle Kennedy's are cheaper and no, the copper won't show after you use it. All copper-nickel half dollars has a copper "line" on the edges of the coin.

1964 Kennedy half dollars are not pure silver. They are made of 90% silver and 10% silver.

The silver coin has a different sound as compared to a copper-nickel coin.

Never spray colour on a coin, the paint will come off. I suggest you start with a copper nickel half dollar first as all the affordable matching g***s are made using such coins.

If you want to get the silver coins such as the 1964 Kennedys, the walking liberties, barbers etc, you'll probably end up spending a lot more money if you want to add g***s.

I have gotten the Liberty ones today. It seems quite thick and I don't know it's a good thing or bad.

The first coin: made in 1777.1976<-- I don't know what is the "." for but it's liberty one with a engraved picture of the "White House" if I'm not wrong.

The second coin: made in 1972 with a "eagle" engraved on the other side.

Are they as good?

Seems like you got Kennedy Halves instead of Walking Liberty.

Walkers were minted from 1916–1947 with a picture of Lady Liberty on the front and a bald eagle on the reverse.

Here's a link for Kennedy Halves:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_half_dollar

Here's the link for Liberty Halves:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_Liberty_Half_Dollar

Yes I'd say you've gotten the Kennedy ones. The Liberties appear to be much harder to find. Kennedy with a copper centre are much more common. Those without a copper centre are a bit harder and more expensive, but I think they look prettier :P

P.S. I got the silver Kennedys and 3 Liberties! I actually had one but I lost a Liberty :( :( heartbroken.

Chances are, if you ever get a few liberties, they'll be really soft and good for coin work.

Thanks for the information. Hmm, I have been practising hard these few days on my muscle pass though and did not really get any good results except serious bruise. But at least I managed to do coin roll already. Now, I'm challenging myself to do coin rolls on both hands at one go=) I'm sure it would be a good coin flourish=)

Do also check out some of the good books/dvds for coin magic.

Bobo's Modern Coin Magic, David Roth's DVDs, David Stone's DVDs, etc.