I am new to coin work. I mostly work with cards, but I have a job with children (some in special education) and sometimes the tricks are over their heads. Coins are much more visual, and I know many of the moves are harder to perform than cards.

Someone recommened david roths dvd to me. I bought the first volume, and it has taught me alot. I also have bobos- regarding that, do you guys think that the coin in a classic plam should be disloged by a tap on the top of the hand holding the coin? I am having problems acting as thou I have just placed, dropped, thrown a coin into either hand. Any one have any suggestions on this problem?

What is "the expert at the card table" for card workers? Are david roths dvds some of the best out there?

regards, kevin

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

There really aren't many good "introductory" coin books.
Bobo's new modern coin magic is probably the best compendium, that or David Roth's Expert Coin Magic.

But how old are the kids. Under a certain age, they just have a hard time understanding what is and what is not possible, so neitehr cards nor coins really appear as "magic"

Michael Rubenstein's Encyclopedia of Coin magic video series is excellent as well, it doesn't go into tricks as much as David's videos but does go into great detail concerning the individual sleights. Michael Ammar has a introductory coin series on video that teaches basics of coin magic as well.

For intro to coins you can't go wrong with Roth's DVD's.
But to be honest the only thing kids like when it comes to coins is you pulling money from there ears. Cards done right can work but they have to be older kids.
You might want to check out Silly Billy (aka David Kay) for kid show magic.
Remenber its not the magic but the journey to the magic.
Good luck.
Tim

Thanks guys for the feed back. Its not that I do kids shows, but sometimes I do stuff for them to get there attention (the job is hard, and the kids can be quite demanding). I do some card stuff for the older kids, but some of the children I work with are non verbal to some extent and might not have the same capabilitys as other kids, so the cards don't always work with them either.

mfeld-the ages range from 6 to 16, all kinds of personalitys and disabilitys. But many of the kids I have known for awhile, so I know what kind of stuff would work with which kids.


again, thanks for the feedback


regards, kevin

Hi Kevin,
First my hat is off to ya for your dedication to Sp. Ed! My bride has been in the field for almost 28 years and I have the utmost respect for all of you!
My wife's kids are 5-7 and when I do little shows for them I try to work with color, shape and size change more than anything! Coins don't seem to hold their attention well but I have used poker chips and the color seems to help!
My last gig in her class I was a hit with sponge balls and a simple cup and ball routine (I think they liked the final loads best)! Oh and they LOVE Spring animals like Rocky Raccoon even though one kid INSISTS it is Snoopy! LOL
Good luck and keep up the great work!
Mick

I recomend you learn as much sleights as you can from bobo book and then go to magicvideodepot.com or youtube and look for coin routines you will find great tricks with sleights that almost every is in bobo book

Sorry obuch, but I am sad to see people trying to learn from YouTube and passing up much better and easier instruction.

Youtube may reveal the secret, but showmanship, storytelling, and in fact almost any interaction with a spectator is usually lacking. Without engagement & interaction there is no magic. The secrets themselves are often awkardly executed. Free clips may be entertaining to some, but for the most part, the clips are not even fun to watch if you have seen tricks done well. To use Free clips as instruction is a waste of time in my opinion.

It is much easier to learn quickly from books and videos made by professionals. For coins, help yourself by getting material available from Roth, Gallo, Rubinstien, Latta, Hooser, Cummins, David Stone, Sol Stone, Gregory Wilson. Before you know it you will be ready for instruction fomr Barnowsky, Carney, Neighbors, and others.

I don't think there is a better start than David Roth's Expert Coin Magic 3-DVD set. No better longterm bargin than Bobo.

Ehands sorry but that wasn't what I mean I hate youtube tutorials too and what I meant was if you already have showmanship and moves down but you just need some ideas for routines you should go to site like magicvideodepot.com and wath people like feher to develop some ideas I don't recomend learning from other source than professional dvd but as I said only if you need to have some new tricks with moves that you can already do

I appologize for misunderstanding.

Michael Ammar's Complete Intro to Coin Magic is a great resource as well. It starts with the basics, and builds from there.

I also work with children as well, in a hospital setting. Know what gets the biggest reaction from kids, in my experience? Thumb tips and silks, and what else, Sponge Balls. They love it. One of those giant hot rods is also very entertaining for them. Someone else made the comment that coins from the ears works well with kids. I can echo that. How basic is that? One false transfer, and out from the ear comes the coin! Most of the time, it makes them belly laugh.

Have fun.

I've always been a fan of Ammar's teaching style!

I know you asked about coins but in my 27 years+ experience in doing magic and much of it for kids, the simple "coloring book" that changes from blank pages to B&W drawings to colored drawings is the best or one of the best tricks for kids. Believe it or not even many adults like it. And it couldn't be easier to do. Mark

I have had great success using a 3 coin production sequence. It is very visual and almost anyone can identify with being able to make money. Even the littlest of kids.

Kevin

Eric Evans' Miser's Dream is great with kids. You give the kid the wand. He taps his elbow, you produce a coin from his elbow. He taps a knee, you produce a coin from his knee. He taps his nose, you produce a coin from his nose, then you remove your hankerchief and wipe the kids nose and then wring out a few coins from the hank. He taps his butt, you carefully (don't touch, just go hear) his butt and produce some coins.

Multiplying sponge bunnies often go over well.

Little kids sometimes don't know the difference between the suits and often forget what the card they selected is. If you do a card effect, have the kid sign or draw a picture on the card. Effects like the haunted deck, or maybe a short ambitious card routine would go over pretty well, I think.

Whit Haydn says that he has done his linking ring routine with a young kid assisting him, they figure out what is going on pretty quickly.

Sponge Balls are one of the most memorable effects that your spectator's will ever see.
As far as coin sleights, there is a wealth of material on DVD and in books. I would suggest that you also look at the coin magic in Tarbell. The material is IMO better explained and illustrated than in Bobo. David Roth and David Stone have excellent and fairly comprehensive DVDs on the subject.

Larry