On Jul 17, 2015, johnstu wrote:
Inigmntoya, as always, speaks good sensible advice. One slight correction though is that Barber coins come in dimes, quarters and halves, there is no Barber dollar.

On Jul 21, 2015, jamo425 wrote:
I may look into getting the schoolcraft set then, thanks for all the advice ini, you've been a great help.

yes bill I am aware that no matter what coins you use, it does not make your magic any better. as I said before, it was more of the aesthetics of having a set of nice walking liberty coins that appealed to me. they do look and sound a bit nicer than regular clad kennedy half dollars. older worn coins tend to contrast a bit better against the skin as they are usually darker. on the other hand when I either fan my regular kennedy set or just having them spread in my hands, they tend to "blend" in with each other (ie 3 fly, coins across). this is why I wanted to upgrade to silver coins, for the aesthetics. not because I believed these coins would make my magic any better. but if I am to do so, why not have the gaffs to match? I just got a $300 bonus from work and I'm working on all my routines for my first gig. I figure I would just want to look professional as possible, and I think my props should look professional as well. they are quite expensive, and I do have options to save a few bucks. but this is all why I posted this, to get some feedback on people who have silver coin set and to tell me what they think. to see if its worth the investment in their opinion, what differences have they noticed, ect.

as far as the actual handling of my routines, I have played around with every routine that "talking" may be an issue, and have adjusted accordingly. I've been doing that since day one. same with the oxy clean routine and making that second coin appear. I've had to either make it so there is minimal contact, or none at all. all these routines I learned online where the magician says " I would recommend soft coins for this", I have had to adjust the handling, and have been doing this since day one. but yes I believe this has made me a better magician, I think after all this time I've invested into learning coin magic, I should invest a bit myself and get a professional set. I don't really care about the coins being soft or having remilled edges. they may have their benefits, but I don't see the need in going that far. I would like to recognize the markings on my coins, that's partially why they appealed to me in the first place.

but I am most definitely aware that props do not make the magician... practice does.