I'm thinking about learning this effect for an upcoming show I've got in August and I was wondering what would be the best bucket to use for this routine? I've seen a pretty good one on Hocus Pocus called Darwin's Coin Bucket and I was wondering if that would be considered the best one to use for Miser's Dream? I've never done this routine before but I do perform some coin magic but I'm also not wanting to do a CP if you know what I mean, that's why I'm wanting to get the Mikame Craft Miser's Dream Granted coins, it's supposedly able to eliminate that, oh and for those of you who have that do you know if the palming coins that come with it are able to be examined or do you think I should do it with something like Quarters or something like that? Also is it a long reset or would I need to take some time to reset the stuff?

This comparison video might help http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OuNhffmzO8

Ok thanks Euro, that really helped me out.

Wiz Kid Wilhelmina wondered why we magicians used a bucket to drop coins into. That's why she came up with her "Piggy Needs Money" trick in her book "Magic For Girls," which, despite the name, is NOT exclusively for girls. Her container of choice is a plastic Piggy Bank, which still clanks and jingles, although not as loudly as a bucket, but it makes more sense that a magician would put money into a bank rather than a bucket. While she was at it, she came up with a new coin gaff that makes producing large coins easier on her small hands.

I thank Back in the old days of tommy Downs and before the magicion would produce a coin or two, And look around as to where to put them. Then he would see a Champagne Bucket with a bottle of champagne in it Wraped up it a whith cloth. Then he would take the bottle out and brust it apart and it would change into 2 things of flowers! The he would wipe the bucket out with the cloth. Produce a coin and drop it into the bucket. And go on from there! but no one has time for set-up and plot there days!

Matthew -- The magic shops sell good but expensive Miser's Dream buckets.

Before you invest in one of these, I'd suggest that you take a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond, K-Mart or Wal-Mart and have a look in the kitchen/housewares section. You can probably pick up a very good (that is, LOUD) aluminum, chromed or stainless steel bucket that's ordinarily used for holding kitchen utensils, for about $15 or less. Take a few half dollars with you and drop them in the bucket to make sure you get a good loud ring. The staff will think you're crazy but who cares? When you find one you like, buy two so you're have a spare in case one gets dented, lost or stolen.

These buckets are perfect for the trick, look good, are durable and completely examinable if need be, and don't attract undue attention. Remember the trick is about the coins, NOT the bucket, which is just there to hold them, from the audience's point of view.

And unless you already have it, you should also look into picking up Levent's 3-disc DVD set on the Miser's Dream. Every sleight, every gimmick, every presentation is covered. With what you save on the bucket, you can get the DVD set!! SETH

Thanks for the info Seth, and I've been talking to JC Sum lately and he might be able to get me one of the one's from his website but he's not sure yet so I might go with that one if I can.

Matthew, to be honest, there is no best bucket. Just like there is no best trick. It all depends on what bucket comforts the magician the most with his presentation. But we really know what you are asking. If you are good with coin manipulation try the non-gimmick bucket. If you think you are not interested in putting in a lot of time with coin manipulation, try a gimmick bucket. Before investing money into the DVDs and props I advise you to go to a magic club and find out from an experienced magician who knows how to do Miser's Dream.

I really would not recommend a champagne for children shows. Use a regular stainless steel bucket. Even glass buckets can be used. I am working on my new routine with a glass bucket. That way the coin can be seen and heard.

Matt, if you want a non-gimmick bucket, I agree following Seth's advice.

The coins are important also Matt, The bigger, the louder. But if you have small hands, go with the half dollar. I use dollar size coins.

Thanks Dynamike,

I actually have huge hands and it's actually really hard for me to palm Half Dollars, only problem is that I don't have enough money to buy tons of Silver Dollars from my local coin store namely because they charge $30 per coin and I'd not really like to buy about 30 Silver Dollars from them as that would cost me more than $900

Look into palming coins. You can get some that are larger than half dollars but thinner so you can stack more up. You can buy them by the dozens.

US dollar sized coins are not all silver. Ikes are sold at coin shops for about $1.50 to $2.00. That is what I use in my Miser's Dream.

Ok thanks Watchmaker,

I was already planning on buying that Miser's Dream Granted, only problem is there's only 22 palming coins in that one and I'd like to have something like 40 coins rather than 22 coins, so if I want to get those coins I'd need to spend over $150 for those coins, do you think that would be worth it?

Posted: Jun 3, 2011 7:17pm
Thanks Dynamike,

The coin store I go to right now only carries pure Silver Dollars and nothing else, so I'll wait until I can get some from them that are cheap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower_Dollar

You might want to try a search on Ebay for the $1.00 value Ikes. http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_from=R40&_t......tegories

The manipulative way all you need is about 10 coins. The is a method to keep reloading them.

I found a bucket at the liquor store that you would use to chill a bottel champange.. it was 15 bucks.. looks great and has a great sound.

Matthew, you should also try your local bank. They may have some "silver" dollars and will only charge you $1 for each one, and ditto for Half Dollars. I frankly think the halves are fine for almost any application unless you are playing Radio City Music Hall in NYC. And a dozen coins should be plenty for any routine, since some of them will be produced more than once, giving the illusion of producing many more. If you want a kicker finish, you could always get a coin dropper and load it up with another 8-9 coins for a nice shower of coins from the nose, as Al Flosso used to do. Click HERE for more info.

While thinner palming coins may be slightly more convenient, I would tend to go with the real McKoys. For one thing, being real they will look better and more convincing when produced, and are of course examinable if necessary. They will also sound better when they drop because they are heavier. And lastly, you can get an unlimited supply of real coins from any U.S. bank, at cost, and if you lose a few here and there, it doesn't require a trip to the magic shop to replace them. Although it's nice to do the Miser's Dream with a classic palm like Chris Capehard does, a Finger Palm and/or Thumb Palm will also do just fine.

Of course, if you don't want to use sleight-of-hand, ignore what I just said, buy a Kellar Dropper and a fancy gimmicked Champagne Bucket and have a good time. Besides, the real secret of the Miser's Dream is not how you accomplish it, but how you present it . . . SETH

For about 6 months or so I have been doing misers dream with Eisenhower dollars... and a restaurnnt silver butcket ...I have surprisingly discovered that too many coins dull the sound at some point..you might need only 10 or 12 coins really if you use these cause any others land with a quiet thud (unless you tilt the bucket sometimes...not worth it to my mind.

Marty

Thanks for the suggestions seth and marty,

@seth I actually don't live in the US, I live in Canada and it makes things hard for me to get US Coins over here at a cheap rate and I'd really like to do it with Silver Dollars, it's just that buying even 20 at $30 each is insanely expensive, and last time I checked those coin clips probably wouldn't hold a Silver Dollar in them.

Matthew, I understand your problem.

But just to get started, know that you can buy new uncirculated Kennedy half dollars for 85 cents each from any good online magic shop such as Magic Warehouse, click HERE to view. So for about $21 plus shipping, you can have 25 very shiny coins to use (a dozen for the pail, two for the hand and nine for the dropper, plus two spares) -- and they would fit the Magic Warehouse $4 coin dropper just fine.

At that price, you could also get Chris Capehart's fine "Miser's Dream" DVD for $24, click HERE to view, and you would still spend a heck of lot less money than using silver dollars. One more thought -- if you did use real silver dollars, I'd be careful that some of the more sticky-fingered members of your audience don't pick them up for souvenirs during or after the show!! I don't think you'd have that problem with Kennedy halves, which would also be much easier and cheaper to replace if lost or stolen.

BTW, since you live in Canada, wouldn't Canadian coins also be fine, if not even more appropriate? I'm pretty sure that at least one of them is approximately the size of a U.S. half or a silver dollar, and you could buy a stash directly from one of your local bank branches at cost.

Unless you are doing a trade show for a banker's convention, I don't think the audience will care exactly what kind of coins you are producing. They will be much more impressed by the fact that you are seemingly producing them from nowhere.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck with it!! SETH

A Toonie is a bit smaller than a US half dollar (28mm versus 30.6mm). They're contemporary and interesting.

According to Wikipedia there's also a Canadian half dollar, about the same size, and a Canadian Silver Dollar (made of silver). Personally I haven't seen either, but they sound cool.

I actually have both of them, they're good but even to Classic Palm 2 of the Silver Dollars is like trying to Classic Palm 5 Peace Dollars. They are incredibly thick and are pretty tough to conceal them, as for the Half Dollars they're almost the same size as the Toonies only a little bit smaller in diameter.

@seth the main reason I want to use Silver Dollars is not for the audio of them going into the bucket, it's because it's actually easier for me to palm Silver Dollars than it is to palm anything else becaus eof how big my hands are.