Hi all,

I don't know if this is useful to anyone, but here is a list of UK coin diameters. 

COPPER
Farthing 20mm, Old Halfpenny 26mm, Old Penny 30.81mm, New  Penny 20.32mm, Twopence 25.91mm, New Halfpenny 17mm

SILVER
Silver threepence 16mm, Sixpence 19mm, Shillings 23.1mm, Florin 28.5mm, Half Crown 32mm, Crown 38.6mm,  Old Five Pence 23.5mm (pre 1990), New Five Pence 18mm, Old Ten Pence 28.5mm (pre 1992), New Ten Pence 24.5mm, Twenty Pence 21.4mm, Old Fifty Pence (pre 1997) 30mm, New Fifty Pence 27.3mm, 

BRASS (coloured)
Brass threepence 21mm, One Pound 22.5mm, Two Pound 28.4mm, 

I don't claim to have put this list together. I just ordered it into copper, silver & brass
Kind regards
Sean

WOW super useful to me. I have a whole list of them at my website, but I don't think I have all of these.

That is a great summary. I would think magicians in the UK would prefer to use those coins, as they are very beautiful. I love the Queen Victoria BUN pennies, and the King George half crowns are great! Do the half crowns ever get soft? I have yet to see one without all of the exquisite detail.

Michael: To the best of my knowledge our half crowns don't get soft in the way that US coins do - I own quite a few of them from various years and I haven't been able to replicate it.

The bun pennies are nice, but to be honest to a lay audience I'm not sure that they notice the difference over the other pennies that are available for significantly lower prices.

As a UK coin magician I'd would have to say that I see far more performers over here using US coins - Partly because they're more helpfully sized (The only coin we have to substitute dollars is the full crown and they're too thick for most uses)and partly because they tend to have more pleasing designs. Personally I use half crowns for some performances but they're no easier to explain than US coins because the majority of UK audiences do not know what they are without being told.

~ Pete.

Wow, that's interesting.I guess its like the US audiences who have never seen a barber half dollar - they just know its a very old coin. I like the bun pennies because they are so smooth, and work well with my soft barber coins. The problem with the newer queen elizabeth pennies, is that the shiney ones don't provide a great contrast with the kennedy half dollars, and if there is a light on them, from a short distance you can't tell the colors well. The old bronze ones though, show great contrast.

The Half Crown was .925 silver until 1920. Then it was .500 silver until 1947 when they went to copper/nickel.

The old Victorian crowns/half crowns definitely soften. Especially the ones with the younger head on. The crowns/half crowns that don't soften are the later ones. After 1919 the silver content was dropped to 50% and after 1946 it was removed altogether in favour of cupro-nickel. I have loads of the cupro-nickel crowns/half crowns and the don't degrade at all. Very high relief and very noisy!
One coin that does soften beautifully, much like the barber half, is the florin. It's a little smaller than a half dollar but a beautiful looking coin.

Kind regards
Sean

Thanks for putting up the list Sean, very helpful.

Michael, I also love the Victoria pennies, as well as the Victoria Half Crowns. I also use the George Crowns and can say that (with all due respect to Pete) Yes you can get soft Half Crowns, I have some my self.

There are a couple of really good local coin shops in London that sell coins in all conditions.

Mike, For English pennies, the best ones are from the late 1800 's to the 1920's. Those coins are almost black now and very cheap to buy. I agree they are Much better for contrast than the light coloured Queen Elizabeth II pennies. I used to polish my copper coins until I saw you using black ones on your knockout DVDs. Now I just bring out the highlights a little which looks really nice. Black with a gold glint.

Hmm, that's interesting. I have a number of Victorian half crowns and they're not nearly as soft as the Morgan dollars I use for most of my work despite being significantly older; Perhaps I need to investigate the London markets more closely for worn coins.

That said I still feel that the vast majority of UK coin audiences will still need an explanation of what a half crown is (Especially the older versions) so I'm not sure there is a benefit to using them unless you find the size helpful.

As far as English pennies go I usually use George V coins (Early 1900s) and for the most part they are a 'dull' copper colour that contrasts nicely with silver coins.

Posted: Oct 2, 2010 9:01pm
Truesoldier: Do you mean George V or George IV half crowns? If it's the former I must be well off the mark as I'd never have guessed that there were half crowns from 1910 onwards that had properly softened. If it's George IV that you were referring to then I'd be less surprised; I don't own any half crowns pre-dating 1850 but I'd be interested to know how they've held up.

~ Pete.

Pete,
I agree with you that there not much of an advantage in using really old English coins in the uk. The average person is no more likely to have seen a crown than a Morgan. The big disadvantage is gaffs. If you wanted a gaff in a crown/half crown, you are definitely looking at expensive custom work. I choose my coins on what looks nice for me. You can't beat a Barber half IMHO. Perfect size, beautiful design, thin, nice patina and with just the right amount of softness.

Posted: Oct 2, 2010 9:10pm
Loren,
I'm glad the list is useful to you. You've a great website and I've used it many times in the past.

Hi Pete

I agree, that perhaps to some Audiences you may need to explain what they coins are. However, the explanation can be as simple as here's some old English / British coins that belonged to so and so. Or if you are producing them I like to use a little line about using some imagination and a bit of History (Of course you have to make it fit in with the rest of your patter)

The main thing I find is that they create interest because they are old coins from Britain being shown to a UK audience. (If you are showing them outside of the UK you may want to try using coins from the country you are visiting) I also find that they are excepted for what they are old British coins. (If you are relaxed and casual, your audience / spectators will accept them for what they are)

I also, use US currency Half Dollars and Dollars and use the Eagles as part of my Patter. (Flying coins patter for coins across etc) Again I freely hand the coins out if need be, while all the while being casual and pattering. Doing this you don't even need to hand out all the coins so if you want to hold back a gimmick you can.

Posted: Oct 2, 2010 9:17pm
Hey Sean, I like the Walking Liberty Half Dollar Design Myself as well as some of the Dollars from the 1800's.

To be honest doing coin magic has ignited a passion for old looking and mysterious coins with nice designs, so I am always looking out for unusual coins. The great thing is that you can pick up some really nice old coins at a reasonable cost (Between £1 and £10 a coin) I wouldn't say that you need to spend more then this except on old Dollars and Crowns.

P.S have you ever tried using £5 coins for any of your effects? Similar to a Crown , large and thick, but they also make a good talking point.

Hi Soldier,

Yes I do have some of the £5 coins. I ordered five of the Olympics 2012 £5 coins from the royal mint. I really wanted to like them but I found them to be too thick. Try classic palming 4 of them! About the same diameter as a dollar but much, much thicker. I thought they would make a nice talking point for a routine but it wasn't to be. For big coins I'm sticking to the soft morgans or Victorian crowns. Thinner and softer.

Hi Sean

I know what you mean, about the size but if you only need to classic palm one coin it's fine. You could also do a one coin routine where the coin turns into a £5note at the end (Perhaps one you made disappear earlier with a spectators signature on it)

Generally I agree with your choice of coins, however with a bit of imagination you could definitely use the £5 coin/s for one or two routines.

There's also the George the third "cartwheel" two pence; 41mm wide and 5mm thick, weighing two ounces. Sleeving one is like playing frisbee with a manhole cover.
Victorian silver half crowns are soft in much the same way as walking liberties. Just a bit bigger.
Try the big auction site: victoria half crown

Yes, Victorian half crowns are among the most beautiful looking coins there are IMHO. Up there with Barbers and Morgans. Great size for coin magic too.

Kind regards
Sean

I agree - half crowns are the perfect size - they're the 75 cent size folks keep going on about - bigger than a half, smaller than a dollar. Perfect for cp, fp, front finger hold and back palm.

I'm looking at Victorian silver crowns at the moment. I keep looking at the crowns, then at my bank balance, then at the crowns... :o)