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Emily Belleranti Veteran user Tucson, Arizona 349 Posts |
I've just recently started to get serious about coin magic. I own Bobo and Ammar's Introduction to Coin Magic, and I've been working through some of the basic techniques in those sources with American half dollars and learning some of the simple effects and routines.
But I'm wondering what props a general beginner would need: what different types of coins and coin gaffs? I'm sorry if this is too vague; I've just been spending a lot of time looking at the wide variety of coins and coin accessories in online magic shops, and I've gotten very confused. Half dollars seem to fit my hands pretty well, and I like using them. And I'm sure I want to stick with sleight of hand for the most part; I'm not looking for heavily gaffed coin effects. But I also realize that some of the very general gaffs will expand the possibilities, and I'm open to purchasing some of them. I ran a few searches at the Café, but I didn't really find the information I was looking for. So, if anyone could help point me toward any general coins or coin gaffs for my situation I would be very appreciative. Thanks! Emily B.
"If you achieve success, you will get applause, and if you get applause, you will hear it. My advice to you concerning applause is this: Enjoy it, but never quite believe it."
-Robert Montgomery |
Dbzkid999 Elite user Canada 407 Posts |
Keep practicing your sleights and if want to know gaffs for beginners, I would suggest Scotch and Soda, Coin Bite and The Raven.
Hope that helps. Adam |
TheAmbitiousCard Eternal Order Northern California 13425 Posts |
Why not go with your half dollars for a while which only run you 50 cents apiece, or so, and get a coin purse for a few bucks.
Get Doug Brewer's "Unexpected Visitor" book from http://www.magicsmith.com and try out the routines in there. Also pick up some cheap silver dollars as well. Get the gaffs later. Work on palming, etc. and see how much you like it. There are wonderful routines that require just some coins and perhaps a purse.
www.theambitiouscard.com Hand Crafted Magic
Trophy Husband, Father of the Year Candidate, Chippendale's Dancer applicant, Unofficial World Record Holder. |
Dan Watkins Inner circle PA 3028 Posts |
Quote:
On 2003-10-16 15:46, Emily B. wrote: Emily, My best advice to you would to get two utility gaffs: A copper/silver coin and an expanded half dollar shell. These gaff coins work very well with routines using sleight of hand. I would also recommend "David Roth's Expert Coin Magic Volume 9 - Magic with Copper/Silver Coins & Expanded Shells." This will teach you some fine sleight of hand routines that utilize these gaffs. An even better bargain if you have DVD is "David Roth's Ultimate Coin Magic Volume One - Magic with Copper/Silver Coins & Expanded Shells/Magic with Folding Coins & Specialty Gaffs". This DVD combines the video I mentioned before with a video that David made that covers many of the other gaff coins you can buy - folding coins, scotch and soda, copper/silver/brass, etc. The DVD is only a few dollars more than the video, plus it will give you an excellent education on the most popular coin gaffs, and learn applications for them from a master coin magician. |
david_a_whitehead Inner circle USA 2122 Posts |
Get an expanded shell, it is by far the best coin gaff there is. Better than the flipper, better than the buttercoin, and the bite out quarter. it has SO many uses. Then get hold of Troy Hooser's coin DVDs, or work through Bobo's coin magic. My favorite coin routine is Extroydinary. You can see Oz Pearlman performing it on his site, watchmagic.com, or go to penguinmagic.com and look for the Expanded Half Shell. Download the demo of the gaff and watch it at work. Trust me, this gaff makes you look like a sleight of hand master. For ungaffed routines check out Jay Sankey's “Revolutionary Coin Magic”, or pick up Greg Wilson's “On The Spot.” These two are great and you'll have one of the best routines (3/4 Across) ever created. Oh, and buy the Johnson brand of the expanded shell, only $30 from magicwarehouse.com and by far superior to sterling and sasco. -David
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Emily Belleranti Veteran user Tucson, Arizona 349 Posts |
Thanks for the fast responses, everyone!
Adam, I've heard that Scotch and Soda is ideal for beginners, but I've been debating on that one. Maybe I'll send Peter Marucci a private message about his version when he returns to the Café (though I hope it isn’t technically difficult.) Frank, it seems that there are many different types of silver dollars (that's part of what's getting me confused.) I had been planning on getting a few of those, but I don't know what kind to get. Could you (or anybody else) specify what you kind you mean? Is there a certain type that is ideal for coin work? And thanks for the suggestion on the book. I'll have to check it out. Dan, thank you for your suggestions on those gaffs. I'll be sure to purchase them. They seem to be what I'm looking for. Also, I've heard nothing but good things about David Roth's material, and I'll be sure to take a look at some of your suggestions. (And by the way, your website has been very helpful to me. Thanks) David, I've heard that the Johnson shell is the best out there, so I'll be sure to purchase that one. And I'll keep your other suggestions in mind. It probably wasn’t clear in my original post, but I was also wondering about what regular coins I should be looking for. There are so many variations: Mexican centavos, Chinese coins, English pennies, jumbo coins, mini coins, etc. I would like to have a little variety, and most standard American coins (nickels, dimes, pennies, etc.) are too small. What would you recommend? Thanks for all of your help. Emily B.
"If you achieve success, you will get applause, and if you get applause, you will hear it. My advice to you concerning applause is this: Enjoy it, but never quite believe it."
-Robert Montgomery |
david_a_whitehead Inner circle USA 2122 Posts |
I think half dollars are a must. Get some English pennies and some Chinese coins. For a great effect check out Troy Hooser's “Charming Chinese Challenge”, considered by most to be one of the best coin routines out there. You probably want to master the coin roll and the Tenkai/Goshman pinch to perform some miracles. as for “Scotch and Soda”, it is very good but the reset is too time consuming and awkward, plus I find that the centavo tarnishes very quickly, and people always inquire why I am using a centavo in the first place. You can perform similar effects to scotch and soda using the expanded shell.
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Michele Veteran user Taiwan 301 Posts |
I agree. Get an expanded shell by Johnson.
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sleightofhander Special user 618 Posts |
I can just see it now. When I first started coin magic, David Roth’s videos got me hooked. What started out as a cheap hobby has gotten to be very expensive. First you get the regular coins, than you get the copper/silver, than shell. Before you know it, coins are everywhere. On my desk, on my dresser, some behind the TV... Be careful or you will get hooked also.
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TheAmbitiousCard Eternal Order Northern California 13425 Posts |
As far as silver dollars go, it's easy to go to a coin shop and find old worn dollars in both the "peace" and the "Morgan" variety.
They're all basically the same. Supposedly the Morgans are prettier (I think so too) but they all work the same. They will run you about $8 a piece or so. For many effects Silver Dollars are easier to work with than halves (and vice versa). If you don't have the money for old silver dollars, just find new silver dollars for $1 a piece and build up your collection of the old ones one at a time. The best way to go is this... Find a routine that you really love and really want to practice. Get the props for that routine. Learn it well. Then find another routine you love that also challenges you. Rinse. Repeat.
www.theambitiouscard.com Hand Crafted Magic
Trophy Husband, Father of the Year Candidate, Chippendale's Dancer applicant, Unofficial World Record Holder. |
david_a_whitehead Inner circle USA 2122 Posts |
I think halves are ideal for these reasons: you can coin roll and do other neat flourishes much easier than any other coin, in my opinion, even easier than dollars. They seem more normal than dollars too. I mean they are much bigger than quarters, and for a close up setting people can see them very easily. Dollars are probably better for stage stuff, but I do also find that palming, especially finger palming half dollars are ideal for the size of my hand. Silver dollars tend to peek out more. Of course classic palming and muscle passing silver dollars are easier, but I usually do walk around with 4 halves in my wallet with an expanded shell. It is pretty light to carry that around with you and you never mistake them for quarters, so you never spend them by mistake. .
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Mistro Special user Canada 577 Posts |
Expanded Shell and Flipper coin gets my recommendation!
Johnson makes good quality gimmicks, so I suggest you buy their brand. |
Dan LeFay Inner circle Holland 1371 Posts |
Maybe you should not let a gaff dictate what kind of coin magic you're going to do?
Look for some performances on video or DVD (or even better and decide what you like, what fits your style and what fits your venue. THEN look what gaffs might be needed. To give you a more direct answer: I have a ton-load of gaffs. The only ones I use for professional performance are shells, C/S coins and CSB. (OK and U3F but I would not recommend it as a beginners trick.) And may I say this: If you DO use a gaff along with normal props in a really magical and deceptive way you ARE a sleight of hand master, not just looking like one.
"Things need not have happened to be true.
Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths, that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot." Neil Gaiman |
Emily Belleranti Veteran user Tucson, Arizona 349 Posts |
I'm sorry if I didn't make myself clear. I'm not a complete beginner. I've been doing magic for a few years, and when I started I did get to work learning a few of the basic palms and techniques with coins. I have a fairly decent classic palm, thumb palm, coin roll, etc. I've been performing some of the basic routines from Bobo (Winged Silver, the Sympathetic Coins and others). But I never got really serious about coin magic until now.
And as I said before, I'm not trying to rely on gaffs (I absolutely LOVE pure sleight of hand), but I think that a few very common gaffs would open up the possibilities. And I think I should start acquiring a few different types of coins, once again, to increase my possibilities. I guess I'll have to look up a local coin shop in a phone book and stop by to see if I can find a few silver dollars. And I’ll purchase a Johnson expanded shell and a copper/silver coin, but I’ll make that the limit on gaffs for now. And I’ll look into some of the other things some of you suggested. Thank you for all of your advice. It has been very helpful to me. Emily B.
"If you achieve success, you will get applause, and if you get applause, you will hear it. My advice to you concerning applause is this: Enjoy it, but never quite believe it."
-Robert Montgomery |
Jason Fleming Veteran user Marooned, Hawaii 374 Posts |
Emily,
To answer some of your specific questions about the types of coins to use for sleights, I'll offer my two cents (riff.) On half dollars, which many people find an ideal size for their anatomy, Kennedys have the advantage of being available, cheap, and pre-made into useful gaffs (many of which have already been mentioned here.) There are other options... walking liberty halves and barber halves are attractive alternatives that look beautiful, and are often well worn (Roth has given us the term "soft" to describe the slick well worn coin) which allows for less talking when palming and manipulating stacks. These can be found at coin shops for well under 10 bucks apiece. Matching gaffs would need to be custom made. Good luck with your searching. I agree with those who have already posted… once you fall in love with coin magic, it's tough to turn away. Regards, Jason |
Curtis Kam V.I.P. same as you, plus 3 and enough to make 3498 Posts |
Oh, and for those of you who have hands that are somehow too large for halves, but too small for dollars, there is an old, old American half known as a "Capped Bust" (it's not what you think) half. It's about 10-15% larger than a half, and fits the hands of "'tweenies" quite comfortably.
Unfortunately, these are a bit pricey. But how many do you really need?
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Fescue New user 25 Posts |
I decided to go with '64 Kennedy halves since I already had some from my early coin collection.
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