In my show last night, I started out with a regular, 1966 clad Kennedy half sitting on the table with the English Penny part of a Hopping Half set. After I did a single coin flurry with the Kennedy half, I switched it out with the Kennedy part of the HH set.

Later, during the HH routine, the Kennedy shell went into the same pocket with my 1966 clad. You can probably see where this is going -- somehow, the shell set onto the 1966, and now I can't remove it! I thought that the half dollar in my HH set was smaller than a normal half, and this couldn't happen.

So now the shell is stuck TIGHT on my clad 1966. How can I get it off without ruining the shell?

The only thing I have tried so far is this: when I got home, I put the jammed coins in the freezer, and then after an hour I ran very hot water on the shell side, hoping it would expand just enough for the clad to come free. But this didn't work.

I have a vise downstairs on my workbench. Could I secure the shell in the vise, and then strike it with a small hammer to try and dislodge the clad?

(Has anyone else ever been this stupid? I will never drop the shell in the same pocket with another coin again!)

Any suggestions you might offer will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Joe,

Ouch! Sorry to hear about your coins. The main thing is "don't panic!" I know, that's easier said than done. Since they went together, they have to come apart. Might (will) be tough though.

Here is a link where someone had the same problem, but with different coins.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=202

Give it a try. It might help.

Good luck, Mark.

Have you tried shaking everything in a glass?

Richard

Be really careful shaking coin sets in a glass. Although it works at times, a shell bouncing off the side of a hard glass surface can really damage the gimmick.

Mark.

Roth advises a plastic glass, er, tumbler...

If it's really jammed in there and the other methods don't work try the following. Crazy glue a wooden pencil to the shell side and another pencil to the stuck coin side. The pencils need to be about at right angles to each other. Twist the pencils and pull at the same time. The coins should come apart. Then use crazy glue solvent (or nail polish remover) to remove glue from the coins. It worked once for me when everything else failed. The pencils create extra torque so the coins can rotate plus you have something to hold on to to pull them apart.

Larry

Thanks for all the good responses so far. I will try them all in order...

(BTW, the ironic part about this whole thing is that I gave probably one of my best shows ever last night; no good deed goes unpunished.)

Larry, I like your solution, though it seems drastic. My only concern is: will nail polish remover really act as a solvent on super glue? I had never heard of that... But if it works, I will have to buy your book. (I've been putting it off long enough anyway...)

Joe,

You can also buy crazy glue remover in any hardware store. I believe it is acetone based like nail polish remover. You could try contact cement which is more like rubber cement. That's easier to get off coins. By the way, you could use ice cream or craft sticks instead of pencils.

Larry

Don't put it in a vice as you will ruin the gimmick. Will a bang ring not work?

Go with Larry's advice...been there done that. The time it takes will be less than failing at another 5 methods. And much less likely to damage your prop.

Small suction cups?

Still having trouble.

Tried Larry's advice last night, but all that happened is that the superglue dissolved the pain on the pencil. The bond never really took.

Going to try again tonight using popsicle sticks. Will keep you posted. (I know everyone is lying awake nights worrying...)

Joe,
Make sure the surfaces you bond to are very clean. Clean the coin and stick (or pencil) with rubbing alcohol to remove any grease. Glues will not bond if there is any oil or grease present.

I'm not too sure if the coin or shell is attracted to a magnet? if so could magnets be used?

I wonder if "freeze spray" (used in electronics) on the inside coin will contract it enough and let it fall out?....

I thought about that too, but metal conducts heat/cold so efficiently that it may not work.

Finally, got it last night....

Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions!

Congratulations!!!
another example of magicians helping magicians

Yes...congratulations!

What did you do to get them apart?

Mark.

I spent about 30 minutes searching through my wife's craft supplies, looking for popsicle sticks.

Fruitless.

In frustration, I started going around the edge with my right thumb nail (I used to play a lot of classical guitar, and I have it in pretty good shape) while pushing from the other side with my left middle finger, and I saw that I was slowly, slowly working it out. This by itself took another ten to twelve minutes, as I was trying to be careful not to bend the ].

Tonight I will do the handkerchief business / coin flat on the table business.