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Ruppenthal Regular user I'm busy, so I only have 104 Posts |
This might be an unanswerable question, but I'm just getting into coin magic - slowly, surely - and don't want to invest in buying Morgan Dollars, etc., until I know if it's for me. Having said that, what coins would you recommend I stock up on for practicing? Which are best for a beginner just learning moves & methods? Half dollar? Is there a dollar sized coin that works that I can buy cheap, or should I suck it up and buy a couple of Morgan's or some other soft coin on eBay or a local coin dealer? What about coin replicas like those offered by Ellusionist? Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks!
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Daniel Clemente Special user Mount Joy, PA 790 Posts |
I learned with a half dollar Kennedy...go to a local bank, get 5 or 6 Clad Kennedy's and practice away...Even try to get some Eisenhower's...A lot of banks still have them...just got to ask for them...I think I initially had 5 dollar coins, and 5 Kennedy Clads...When I finally got comfortable, I went to a coin/gold/silver shop, and picked up 5 Morgans (cost me around $140 bucks) and 5 Walking Liberties (cost me about 70 bucks) The Clad Dollars and half dollars should only cost you their face value at a bank...some magic shops try to charge more for whatever reason! I think a lot of guys use the older silver coins (at least I do) for the idea of having older coins, more of a "talk about" type thing to use as patter having old coins, and also the "soft" feature of the silver making them not so talkative when doing slights where the coins touch...
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David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
Yea Myself I use them for The soft Touch!
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Dr_J_Ayala Inner circle In search of Vlad Dracul and his 2169 Posts |
Banks are the best place to go for clad Kennedy halves and Eisenhower dollars. They are absolutely not allowed to charge you more than the face value of the coin. However unlikely it is to happen, if you were to come across a bank that had Morgan Dollars, they would still have to give them to you for $1.00/USD because they are technically still legal tender, but of course you would be foolish to spend it for just that given its intrinsic value in silver content.
The clad coins are a wise choice when starting out. Just make sure you can try both the half dollar and the dollar coin to see what fits and feels comfortable to you with regards to your own hand size. If there is any doubt, start with the half dollars and work your way up over time. As much as I love my silver coins, I still use clad coins all the time. It just depends on the mood and venue. |
bowers Inner circle Oakboro N.C. 7024 Posts |
Try both halfs and dollar size. some coin sizes work better with your hand size.but you need to learn to use both.clad coins would be better to practice with. don't won't to ding those precious silver ones.
todd |
Ruppenthal Regular user I'm busy, so I only have 104 Posts |
Stupid newbie question: what do you mean by "clad coins"? Sorry to be so dumb about this. I assume it means they're not pure silver? Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys...
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Daniel Clemente Special user Mount Joy, PA 790 Posts |
Clad coins are the coins minted today...non silver coins...regular half dollar Kennedy's minted after 1964 were made with less silver after that year...and finally the us mint removed ALL silver content from coins
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Dr_J_Ayala Inner circle In search of Vlad Dracul and his 2169 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-01-10 19:06, Trooper11040 wrote: The last silver-containing coins minted by the U.S. Mint were the Washington Half Dollars and that was in 1982. The only coins minted today with silver in them contain .999% pure silver and are proof coins of archival and collectible quality. |
rklew64 Inner circle 1265 Posts |
It would be great if this forum had a FAQ.
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Daniel Clemente Special user Mount Joy, PA 790 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-01-11 00:06, Dr_J_Ayala wrote: Thanks for adding Dr. J...Good info to know...When I searched it, I didn't find the info on the Washington Half Dollars! |
itlust Regular user 176 Posts |
Use kennedy half dollar or ike dollar but I must tell you if you handle silver coin (whatever that is) you wont go back to clad coins lol
it feels different |
Ruppenthal Regular user I'm busy, so I only have 104 Posts |
Where do most of you buy your silver coins? I see lots of them for sale on eBay, but I'd be a bit weary of getting ripped off there. I've never been in a local coin shop. Do you just wander in and tell them you're a magician looking for coins?
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Mark_Chandaue Inner circle Essex UK 4187 Posts |
Another vote for the Kennedy half.
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itlust Regular user 176 Posts |
I buy mine from themagicwarehouse and roy kueppers ... its because we don't have any coin shop that sells morgan and walker in our country ...
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Dr_J_Ayala Inner circle In search of Vlad Dracul and his 2169 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-01-11 05:19, Ruppenthal wrote: Absolutely no need to tell them you are a magician - that would not matter to them anyway. Just go in and look over what they have. Some coin shops have a box of coins (including silver coins) that are not in the best condition for collectors, which normally means they would just sell them for scrap value. These coins may be useful to you and you might get them quite cheap, comparatively. This is more likely to apply to half dollars than to dollar coins. Just ask them if they have any silver coins in circulated condition or coins they would consider for scrap. Chances are pretty good that if you look around at different coin shops, you may find coins that look decent enough for your needs and they will probably be what we call 'soft' coins. As an example, I went to a local coin shop in December 2010 and bought four Walking Liberty Half Dollars and four Barber Half Dollars (both are types of silver coins) and paid $90/USD for all eight of them. They are in beautiful condition and all happened to be soft and aged from normal use. For your information, a soft coin is a coin whose surface is been made smooth, either by decades of heavy use in circulation or through special techniques used by coin gaffers. The images are still sharp enough to distinguish the majority of them, but when these coins are rubbed together, they make minimal, if any, noise. Soft coins are NOT necessary, but they can be used to great advantage. Another great source for coins for magicians, both gaffed and normal, is Roy Kueppers, as was mentioned above. His website is here: http://www.roykueppers.com |
Ruppenthal Regular user I'm busy, so I only have 104 Posts |
Wow, great info. Many thanks for the help, everyone. It's off to the coin shop this weekend for me.
John |
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