I've found a few in coin shops, but it seems stupid to pay two or three dollars for a penny. Where can I buy a whole roll at a reasonable price so that I have some to practice with.

I get my English Pennies from England.

Seriously, I doubt that you will find a whole roll of English pennies at a reasonable price. If you go to a big coin shop, you will often see a bowl or two of coins that are for sale for 25 cents or 50 cents. This is especially common at coin shows. That bowl is where you want to look for English pennies.

Rsummer27

I have some for sale on my web site

http://www.magicalmystries.com

Try ebay Some guy has 25 for a buck

I looked at e-bay earlier this morning, but all I could find were people selling high priced single English Pennies for collectors .

I just looked and found lots for cheap. If you ask the seller nicely, they may allow you to get a certain date range.

It's all about communication

Don't just rely on the internet for your purchases. Sometimes you can find a coin dealer on the net, get his telephone number and call him. Then ask him for what you need.

Here's a tip. First, DON'T use his 800 number for information calls, call him on his regular line. He will appreciate that. Then tell hime the following:

I'm a magician, and I'm looking for some coins to use in my act. They don't have to be perfect, so I don't need anything in MS-67 or above. I need some of the large English pennies from 1967 or before. I'll probably want about 20 or so of them. Australian pennies with the kangaroo on the back and Irish pennies with the harp on the back will work just fine. But I need a bunch of them. I don't want them for collector's pieces. I need them for props. What do you have?

You can also obtain well-worn silver dollars the same way. They call these well-worn coins "culls."

If there is a coin shop anywhere near you, it's worth a trip down there to go through their world coin boxes. They don't generally put their cheap coins in coin holders, because it isn't worth their time or money.

But if you give them a chance, they will see you as a potential customer for things that they generally can't sell to other people.

Incidentally, there are other coins that work well for traditional tricks. Keep your eyes and your mind open.

For example, my sleight of hand version of Scotch and Soda works beautifully with a $20 gold piece, a half dollar and an English penny.

I get mine for 25 cents a piece at the coin shop near me.

pete's find of 25 for a buck sounds reasonable, however.

You need to set your search for "English Pennies," not "English Penny."

Alot of the magic websites have English Pennies for sale too.

-Bill