Expansion of Texture is a very good routine. It works where Matrix and many coins across routines lack. Expansion of Texture is often overlooked. It actually has a rich history in magic. I am starting this thread to determine if Pete Biro's method is in print someplace and bring it to the attention of all of you. While it is in my DVD set someplace, you might have it someplace already. It really is worth looking into.
Here is my history with it.
I first saw Expansion of Texture in Bobo's book. It is also in Dai Vernon's Book of Magic. And it is in a tape by David Roth on handkerchief magic.
At a convention long ago Pete showed me a little different move to get the magic coin into position. It is simple. Since then I have used it many many times.
My approach to the routine is a bit different than that presented in the above mentioned locations. Traditionally, the coin is tossed into the air and the spectator is to release the hank at the right time. Then the coin seems to disappear from thin air and appear with a clank in the hank. Well, this never worked for me. Instead, I hold the coin in my left hand after the move and twist the other coin in the hank out of the spectator's fingers. To the audience it appears as if you rubbed the coin through the cloth into the bag that they are holding. This is very strong. It is also the opposite from the first part of the routine if you extract the coin there.
If you are confused about this, check out the routine in Bobo's for clarification.
And Pete's handling on this is vastly superior to the traditional handling. I never thanked him for that. So...thanks Pete.
One last note.
A long time ago Suzanne (now Suzanne the Magician) asked what she should do to do restaurant magic. I said she should learn three good tricks that can be done in almost any conditions. Then she should call on restaurants and see if they would let her work tables. That is exactly what she did and she has been a pro for a long time now. One of the tricks was the Expansion of Texture as I have described here.
I hope you find this interesting and I hope several of you respond with locations for Pete's excellent handling.
Al Schneider

Hi Al

Welcome to the Café. Remember the Top Hat convention in Chicago. You showed me the pop up move. My Dad Billy Bishop had a dealers table right next to yours. That was a fun convention I learned a lot from you then and still use the great things that I learned from you.

I wish you continued success. I think the Café should make you a VIP member!

Glenn Bishop

I think Pete has come up with a lot of subtle moves over the years. He never stops thinking about ways to make tricks simple and play better. I happy to see that he influenced your magic too.

-=tabman

I would love to learn Petes move as I use the Expansion of Texture routine all the time when I am performing. I have a nice middle phase that tends to catch the people off guard.

Corey

You are right about one thing, Al - this trick does have a rich history. Tenkai has a version that pre-dates the Vernon material, and almost certainly therefore, predates Pete's work. I have it in a set of Lecture Notes from the early forties. I believe it re-appears in his book, by Gerald Kosky, published by Lloyd Jones' "Magic, Ltd." book company. In fact, his handling inspired both Vernon and Jack McMillen to work on this trick. Vernon often spoke of L'Homme Masque as an inspiration, but I think the masked man was more a source of intrigue than a genuine inspiration, at least for Vernon who was, believe it or not, too YOUNG to have seen L'Homme Masque!

The handling I have most often seen ends with the spectator holding the corners of a handkerchief in one hand, the center, with one coin in it, in the other. The magician has the second coin, and strikes the handkerchief near the hand holding the center of the handkerchief. This knocks the thing out of the spectators hand, and as gravity and the wieght of the enclosed coin cause it to fall toward the floor, the spectators hear the second coin clank on the one in the handkerchief, the magicians' hand now empty!

In one version I've seen, two coins are wrapped in the hank, one is removed, then returned, then the other one is removed. Finally, after checking that the remaining coin is really wrapped, the trick is concluded as above. This is different from the traditional effect/method in which there is only one removal prior to the ending.

Senor Mardo had a version of the "Coin Thru Handkerchief" with one coin that I adapted to this at one time. Mardo's idea was to do the false fold with the one coin, then drape the center of the handkerchief over the mouth of a glass, and put another glass mouth to mouth with the first one. By shaking the glasses, with the ends hanging outside the glasses, the center inside, the coin comes free and rattles around in the glasses - a very pretty penetration/revelation. This can be done with two coins, one in and one out of the hank, just as easily and it looks fine...

There's lots more you can do with this venerable old warhorse, just a little research required...

Best, PSC

Holy Cow... uh, you know I totally forgot about that... Stuff in my brain comes and goes too fast for me these days.

I don't think it ever made print, and now I don't even know what the move was.

Lots of stuff I come up with is on the spot to help someone and I never really use it MYSELF.

Al, glad to hear from you.

Funny, last night celebrating my Nephew's graduating from UCLA (Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Lauda)we were at dinner and his girlfriend asked if I had any magic with me.

I was so busy coming into the graduation, taking photos, etc. that I HAD NOTHING WITH ME... not eve a coin or any cards...

I said, so, and we went on with the meal.

My mind kicked in and I said to myself, "wait, the magic is with me... my knowledge, years of reading and hanging out with people like Jay Marshall, etc.)...

Soooooo... I surupticiously let a large piece of bread go under the table and I made up some rolled up little balls of bread... got a big lump (for final load) ready and then....

"OK, here's a silly trick" and I did a spoon bending gag... where you really just bend and wreck the spoon... on the laugh I grabbed a bread plate and showed it around and tossed it mouth down onto the table loading one small bread ball.

I then did pretty much the Benson Bowl and was able, after the final load, to actually grab some food off the plate of the guy next to me (everyone was looking the other way) and load that...

The vanishing Salt Shaker followed, then borrowing his NEW SCHOOL ring... did basically a Slydini one coin routine.

Hey, what else do you need?

I couldn't have said it bread-er! Pete, it sounds like you were on a roll. Did you use Rye humor? Did you bowl them over? Luckily you did it all before dessert, or they might have thought you were pudding one over on them. OK, I'll stop here.

Wow. If ever there was a good reason for banning someone...

-Travis

For me, I have scripted EOT as a super slow-mo copper/silver phase. I use it as sort of a sequel to a standard c/s routine in the hands. It is very strong.

EOS is a very strong routine. In his book Super Cents, Jerry Mentzer says that once you bring out the big penny, that's it -- you can't go anywhere from there. I spoke to Jerry about this and told him that I usually follow it with EOS. I did the routine for him the way I perform it, and he saw the entertainment value as well as the strength of the magic.

I prefer to work with dollar sized coins anyway. They are easier to find in a dark restaurant if you drop them on the floor!