Another alternative is to learn from Garrett Thomas' DVDs how to do exceptional magic with non softened coins avoiding the noise.

Now if you insist in softening them, start any way you want but finish with the soft nail polishing files which not only will not leave traces, but also will also avoid the too regular erasing produced by hard surface polishing tools, which really doesn't look like wear and tear by ages of use.

Very Fine grit sandpaper and finishing with 3 different grades of steel wool starting from roughest to smoothest worked very well for me even on my clad halves. don't talk at all and they have a very smooth look to them. Gotta tell you though, I used some serious elbow grease with the steel wool.

Hey lawrence, can you tell me the brand of the nail polishing file you use.

I steal them from my wife (four way buffer on soft plastic flat sticks) but you may try this
http://search.ulta.com/cosmetics/Nail%20Buffer
"Essence
6-in-1 Buffer Nail File $1.99 With six different textures the 6in1buffer file always offers the right strength to shorten, shape, even out, cleanse, smooth, and polish your nails. Leaves your hands looking freshly manicured in an instant."

Bleach on silver coins then rubbed with steel wool will give you that aged look. Homer Liwag mentions this on either his CoinOne or CoinTwo DVD, I forget...but both are worth investing in.

Vinny

Yes I've heard that bleaching the coins works. Is there a certain procedure to get it dark, for example how long do you keep it in the bleach

I've bought my first half-dollar coin roll, it took like 3 weeks to arrive. They are clad coins. Too much noise. So the wet stone and the emery cloth won't do the job... :S

There is only one kind of steel wool here in my country... Not sure if will work...

I use a metal polisher on my linking rings and the coins I used to use on my miser's dream. Shiny. Does shiny means noisy?

I think it would be better a topic for smoothening silver and another for clad. This is confusing... specially for me because I know nothing about coins... (only that the ones I have are clad and that they are making too much noise)

Thanks

Deck, I don't think clad coins will work. As wearing down the outside exposes the inside which is copper I believe. You need silver coins, like 1964 Kennedy halves and even then it's better to just get them soft already. You seem to have a head of steam to do this despite the guidance and suggestions in this string, so best of luck to you.

Oh and shiny don't mean noisy necessarily...New coins (newer minted) are noisy. Worn coins are less noisy and "soft coins" (very worn coins) are pretty silent to manipulate, that's what you want. The wearing down works best when done over time, though there are ways to pre-fabricate the process but to be honest, it's really not worth it. Better to just track down what you need at a coin shop or on ebay. You could get a set of Walking Liberty halves well-worn down easy enough, pretty soft stuff on ebay.

Mb! Thanks a lot, I'm done researching about smooth clad coins!

I'm a starter. I started doing coin magic after I got that coin roll for my miser's dream... Coins here are way too small.

I only do one coin trick! kangaroo coins taught by Tomsoni. A real killer that doesn't depends on coin sizes, metal or smoothness. I'm not ashamed of knowing and performing one trick only though!

But now I'll start on the real work in coin magic. I really like the "Glass & Silver" by John Carney... He talks about smooth coins at the very beginning

After I get the basics and convince myself to spend about 50 bucks for four coins (if I'm lucky) then I'll get the silver dollars... The thing is my work is on stage, so I invest more on stage props, books, etc...

But I really want to do some coin magic, I want to give the cards a rest sometimes when practicing (and performing)...

Thanks for all the info!

p.s.: coin magic is more expensive than I thought! Bobo's MCM, silver coins, gaffs, okito, etc

Hey! found some Kennedy halves that are 40% silver... very cheap. How about these? Just asking...

Deck, what years are they? And maybe some others here might be able to point you in the right directions too.

As a good start, instead of spending tons of money on this and that, simply get Bobo's New Modern Coin Magic book. It's just $5-10 bucks but teaches you a lot and teaches you forever. Good "used" copies are even cheaper and provide you with the same info.

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Coin-Magic-......86242587

If you want a simple-enough DVD to help get you going in the right direction, try Michael Ammar's Complete Introduction to Coin Magic. It teaches the moves and several good coin effects. Ammar is a good teacher and will get you going in this stuff with regular coins and you don't specifically have to have "soft" coins to do any of the effects, some nice ones too. Think the DVD is about $25 bucks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ammar-Complete-Intro......564fee8d

Oh and if you just have to get a gaffed coin to feel magical instantly, there's a lot of these tricks out there already but I would most certainly suggest you get Mr. Tango's T.U.C. It's a wonderful little coin, not expensive and can be used in all sorts of classic effects. It comes with a DVD that shows you easy-enough how. This won't cost you an arm & a leg but will teach you a lot of good stuff in several nice effects. And you can do this too and amaze specs like crazy. Oh and again, no real need here for soft coins. It's one of the better deals around that I have seen when it comes to gaffed coins.

http://www.tangomagic.com/product.php?pr......2&page=1

My method: I placed a large piece of 400 grit sandpaper on a flat cork surface and ground the coin against it in a "figure 8" pattern for about 50-100 rotations per side. I then used a dremel to grind down the edges of the coins at 45°. I then brushed up those edges with the 400 sandpaper.

I then went over the coins again with 600 grit sandpaper while holding the coin in one hand and using my index finger to rub the paper against the coins -my thought being that I'd lightly grind down the detail a wee bit more.

After this I washed and polished the coins with a rough cotton cloth, and started the process of antiquing the coins -this consisted of using a wash of "liver of sulfur" (available at many arts/crafts stores) on heated coins -I believe different products have different instructions, so I leave that up to you to figure out.

After the coins were a good, dark brown I used the 600 grit paper and cork again to sand off the majority of the oxidation, and finished bringing out the raised detail using a Dremel and a tiny sanding bit.

So far the antiquing has held up well, though I've been told it has a tenancy to flake off. This has not happened as of yet.