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HofzinsersFan New user Scotland 81 Posts |
Hello all, I am looking for some low priced coins to practice with and likely to use for effects -being tested on friends and family, as they are my whole audience and I have never performed what you might call 'properly' yet. Point being, these will be good enough if they are true to the description so ... can you help me out? Have you bought these yourself, do you have experience with penguin magic selling cheap items and them NOT being true to the description? I know it's only ten dollars but I could throw ten dollars in the bin if I wanted to just waste it, so I'd rather only spend it with them if it is going to be worth it.
What say you..? https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S24786 Please do check out the link and description and give your opinion here. I noted that they decline to have any photograph of the coins on the page. That isn't a good sign eh. 😄 . . What do you mean you don't read? . You need to read FITZKEE - Dick Oslund, 2019. |
stevie c Veteran user 329 Posts |
I'm sure the tango product would be perfectly adequate for you to start practicing.
My favourite Chinese type coin, though, is the one below:- https://www.discountmagic.co.uk/shop/mon......QAvD_BwE Tom Ladshaw in the US also sells these. And he also does gaffes coins in this style if you ever decide to go down that route. BW Steve |
HofzinsersFan New user Scotland 81 Posts |
Hey Stevie thank you for replying and thanks for the link! Those coins really do look good. And the site is a great one, definitely a siten I will be using in the future so cheers for that.
I do use English pennies and haven't got to the stage where I have splashed out on any kind of dollar coin yet, as so many magicians use. I also get coins from the London mint when they give away a coin just charging postage of £2.50. I have a set of four with Winston Churchill on one side so perfect for so many routines that use 3 coins and a hidden one. And a bit of a war theme too, could be useful I suppose! Those are about English penny sized and have a great edge on them that grips to the skin so well. I also have a couple of other sets from there, similar sized with various images on the tail side. And they look like a set, very shiny and silvery. They are great for practice but like I said, I want Chinese style ones now too. I digress.. (!) . . . What do you mean you don't read? . You need to read FITZKEE - Dick Oslund, 2019. |
Degio Regular user It took me years to get to 152 Posts |
The best place to get Chinese coins (like the one recommended by Steve) is... China!
I buy them via AliExpress: shipment takes ages, but shipping stuff from the US to Europe takes quite a long time too, so I prefer to wait an extra bit and save money. Steve's coins are often called Luohanqian and you can find them both in dollar and half-dollar size, both gimmicked and ungimmicked (I noticed that recently a new model appeared, called "Palace" coin: quite beautiful too). But if you really want to save money, you can search (on AliExpress) for "Good luck coins" or "Fortune coins" or "Feng Shui coins" and get coins (not as beautiful though) for a few cents/piece. On a side note: can you share the London mint you used to buy those Churchill coins? Many thanks! |
gregg webb Inner circle 1564 Posts |
Chinese coins may be more topical these days than American half dollars who no one has ever seen anymore. I just had an idea for patter about Bitcoins. Maybe when a coin vanishes or becomes invisible we can say we changed it into a Bitcoin. Ha Ha Ha. I'm going to try this out on the "We dare you" section about odd presentations.
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Jerry Inner circle Some where in Florida 1402 Posts |
This is my general purpose coin
GO HERE: https://www.themagicemporium.net/product......ustries/ They have a milled edge, and there is a dollar size version. You may find a local source. |
Leo-Kim Veteran user 359 Posts |
The Feng Shui coins are very brittle. I have broken a few. One time a spectator (a 10 year old kid) broke one when trying to bend it slightly... Another time I forgot that I had one in my back pocket (dumped it during a performance of Charming Chinese Challenge) and it broke when I sat down later on a hard chair...
Just something to keep in mind. Mikael Johansson Sweden
If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well (Donald Duck)
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Calvin Tong Special user 718 Posts |
I have used my Feng Shui coins for 20 years and never had one break. I even sanded the edges down so they can fit into my Expxxxxd Shxxls. The ones I use look and feel like old antique corroded coins and are very rough and un-refined cosmetically. I use them mostly with my barber coins set. I feel they are too thin to use with my Morgan and IKE sets.
So it Depends where you buy them from and what they are made of. they are definitely cheap enough for you to experiment with. The last time I bought them I received 10 coins for $6.00 from a store in China-town San Francisco and even then I over-paid. You can try ebay and. amazon as well. If you are looking for a Chinese coin the thickness of a half dollar or dollar coin, then the Feng Shui coins will be too thin for your liking. good luck. caL
Cal Tong
President Emeritus IBM Ring 216 Silicon Valley |
Tom G Inner circle 2895 Posts |
What are the "regular" coins you will be using in performance? At $10 a coin, that's pretty steep. You can probably find something on eBay, but why not practice with the coins you will be using?
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HofzinsersFan New user Scotland 81 Posts |
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I had seen those feng shui coins and wondered if they were usable so its good to get some information on those.
The regular coins I will be using will most likely be the Churchill set I mentioned and possibly old English Pennies or eventually American dollar coins but to begin with I believe these Churchill coins and the other freebie ones I have really are good enough to use for routines. that's kind of why I wanted to practice with something else so that I didn't uinnthem. I have since realised that I have so many of these freebie coins that I could easily practice with the ones that aren't in a set but are the same size and so I could use them without worrying about damage. Someone had a go at me for calling these things coins when they are not legal tender (can you believe what some people get irked about?) So I just want to point out now, these coins I have been talking about, they are probably technically best called 'novelty coins' or tokens. They do have Half Crown stamped on them but I think it is more a commemorative thing. Oh I don't know enough about the subject but just in case anyone thought they were actual coins well I have been firmly informed they are not! (I am now told that this means they are actually coins! Oh confusion!) The place I get them from is called The London Mint Office and is to be found here : https://www.londonmintoffice.org/ Seems they had some dodgy business practices years ago well I can confirm that is no longer the case. They've never sent me anything unsolicited, I simply pay for what I want to buy, simple. Even simpler, I just take their free offerings . . What do you mean you don't read? . You need to read FITZKEE - Dick Oslund, 2019. |
inigmntoya Inner circle DC area native, now in Atlanta 2350 Posts |
I don't consider $10 per coin "low priced". If you're going to spend that much you'd do *MUCH* better to visit CopelandCoins.com and pick up some of his Tiger Tan and/or Kingdom coins.
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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Trick coin trickery » » Opinions Please! Have you tried these Cheap Chinese coins for practice? (5 Likes) |
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