I wondered what coins easily available in the usa or elsewhere are magnetic. Could any one help me? This knowledge might help in using a magnet sewn into one's pants or jacket to have coins hidden so they can be produced. I believe some current Brasilian coins are magnetic.

Canadian quarters and dimes are magnetic. Some American quarters, pennies and Canadian pennies are also magnetic.

Are coins purposely made magnetic or is more that coins are made of metals that are attracted to magnets?

The only American coins that are attracted to magnets (I assume this is what you mean) are 1943 US Cents (pennies) which were made of steel rather than copper. The reason they were made this way was because copper was in short supply due to the war.
They don't look like normal cents unless you get them copper plated.
Any other US coin that is attracted to a magnet has been gimmicked. Vending machines in the US often use magnets to detect fake coins.

*Sigh* Canadian coin workers have it so easy. I've used Canadian quarters for routines here in the US, and simply justified it by claiming I had a gig this past week in Canada and ended up with all this "useless change." Americans think it's funny - I just say it to justify why I'm using Canadian coins.

That's easy enough for you, Brian, living close to Canada. In the mid-south I never see canadian quarters. They are as rare as hen's teeth.

Some Chinese Dollar-size coins I have aren't magnetic perse, but are made of metals that are attracted to magnets. I actually like that that's the case with them.

I have seen magnetic half dollars, I do believe they are from Johnson. They probably have quaters too.

As montemagic stated, Johnson sells magnetic or steel shimmed coins if you are planning to purchase some. Also there are some top notch coin gaffers who make them as well. But you will pay more money through them than the Johnson coins.

You can find shimmed half dollars, english penny and copper silver coins that are attracted to a magnet, here:

http://www.elmwoodmagic.com/?nd=full&key=2062

YOu can Get Shimed coins from the link above.. or you can go to your bank and ask them if they have canadian or coins from D.R. I belive some French Currency is magnetic 2 ...

I found some Italian coins that are attracted to magnets, and are close enough to quarter size to pass, as long as they are face up, but the tail side has an image of the Roman God Vulcan with a bare butt, which might be an issue.Then again it might inspire some interesting patter.

It isn't just Canadian quarters and dimes that are magnetic. Our one and two dollar coins are also magnetic. That is really nice!

Louis Jutras

As far as I know, NO modern coinage is magnetic, however some are made from permeable metals. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permeabilit......etism%29

If you want a magnetic coin you will still have to get to a machinist.

There is some chance your coin could be magnetized (by an applied HUGE magnetic field)though how long it would stay that way is ... complicated.

Although it is only a terminology question, it is amusing to see so much in this thread about magnetic versus magnetizable materials (called by various alternate names such as permeable in the thread). Just because I started this thread and because my day job happens to be in the study of physical systems including magnetic, I thought I might mention, if I do not offend anyone, that at least in science terminology, magnetic does not necessarily mean *permanent magnet* type. If a substance has its tiny atomic magnets permanently aligned with one another, it is called a permanent magnet. If a substance has only *alignable* tiny atomic magnets which align in the presence of a permanent magnet but then get disordered in its absence, it is called magnetizable, magnetic, and so on. THAT is what I had asked in the original entry in the thread. Some canadian coins, some Brazilian coins and probably no current US coin, are magnetic in this way (not permanent magnets). Since I can always attach a magnetic coin of this kind to a permanent magnet that is enough for me to do magic. Other coins are neither permanent magnets (I have never known of any but it is not impossible) nor magnetic (or magnetizable) and I can't use them for the purposes stated.

The technical name for the permanent magnet materials (please forgive if I sound stuffy) is *ferromagnetic* while for the kind of coins I was asking about is *paramagnetic*.

I read somewhere on these pages that the Canadian pennies with a "p" under the queens head are magnetic.

Thanks for the education. This thread was beginning to give me a headache. It seemed like everyone was using a different meaning for magnetic. It's almost as bad at any thread regarding 'impromptu' effects!

Part of our role as magicians is to keep technological knowlege intact and in context.

Be that the recipe for woofle dust or the meaning of 'abracadabra'.

My bad... I meant that these coins will be attracted to a magnet... No need to do anything to them, a magnet will pick them up.

Hope this clears things up..

Have a nice day!

Louis Jutras

Speaking of magnets, have a look at http://www.engconcepts.net.