So, while I came up with this on my own, I will not at all be surprised if someone else has done this before.

It's a way to have the coins examined before 'Hopping Halves'.

So, the copper gimmick setup starts in the right pocket and the silver ] is in right hand finger palm. In your left hand is an ungimmicked copper and silver (or the shaved silver if it's not an expanded set).

You shake, jingle and display the coins in your open left hand, then hand out the silver coin for examination. You take it back and give out the copper, and as they are looking at the copper, you quietly nest the silver in the ] with your right hand and place it back on your open left palm.

Then, you explain the 'game'. You say, "If I take this copper coin out of my hand and put it in my pocket, what's left?" They say 'Silver' and you say "Good, just making sure you're paying attention". This is the perfect opportunity to switch the copper in your pocket. Proceed as normal from there!

While your handling would work fine, I’m not so sure this trick needs initial examining since the audience doesn’t know what is about to happen and you end empty handed.

True, but it's barely any extra effort, and it adds another layer that eliminates an explanation. I think it only increases the mystery in this case!

Save yourself the hassle and check out Mark Jenest’s Short Hop on his Miracles While You Wait DVD. It’s a more streamlined version of Hopping Halves.

Thanks for the tip.

I have a handling that starts out ungaffed !!!

Is that published somewhere? I'd be interested in checking it out.

Lately I've been using a Quiver. Instead of putting the coins in my pocket, I put them back in the Quiver and at the end dump out the two ungimmicked coins.

Yea It is in my Sound Routine Booklet ! ( That's the booklet on the Rattle gimmick !You can do it with out the R.G. You just don't get the sound sell) !

See this video:
https://youtu.be/kOHq6eGH4Rg



Darko

Yes! I saw this after I thought of the above, but very similar. I'm a Tyler Rabbit fan for sure.

I just perform this effect with regular coins which makes things easier for me.

I second the suggestion for Mark Jenests short hop routine. Not only can you have the coins examined, youve got instant reset and they sound like real coins. A couple of tips. I use a shim copper silver coin for use with a magnetic hold out. And, instead of ending with an empty hand, I end with two jumbo coins, a jumbo copper and a jumbo silver. This is one of my strong workers.

I use the Quiver purse.

Gaff coins in "secret side"
Duplicate penny and half-dollar in "open side"

Have the spectator open the purse to see what's inside.
Ask them to take out the coins, examine them, and replace.

When the purse it handed to the performer - with the purse still open - the change is made, and the "g.coins" taken out.

During the course of the routine the "g.coins" are replaced in the "secret side" again.
So when the spectator is asked to examine the purse, they find the 2 ungimmicked coins.

My only worry with having the spectator take them out of Quiver is that they might notice there are still coins inside???

I use Quiver as follows: I open and take out to regular coins and let them examine them. I replace them in the Quiver for a reason. My routine is about time travel and it's important that everyone see that we start with the two coins in the purse. I draw attention to this. I take out the 2 gaffed coins. I "put" one in my pocket. Then I say, " Now if we could go back in time — which of corse we cannot — but if we could go back, say, 15 seconds, then the coin wouldn't be in my pocket. It would be in my hand. I show the coin is back. I repeat this patter throughout the routine. For the last coin, which vanishes, I say: "Now we could do this all day, What if we went back, not 15 seconds but 3 minutes? Then the coins wouldn't be in my hand or my pocket, they'd be back in the purse where they started." I open the Quiver and dump out the real coins. This plays very well.

My only problem with this whole routine is the person who might ask what's in my pocket. That has happened. I try to move on to my next trick before anyone thinks to ask. Also, one of the Morgan shells got stuck on one of the other coins in my pocket and I had to drill into the shell to free it. Not really noticeable, but now I try to keep that shell separate.

@Last Laugh, I really like your method. Simple, clean, bulletproof. I don't normally let folks examine the coins but I'll give this a try; it would be a great follow-on from a one coin routine.

You have the silver coin out already; producing the copper, having them look at the coins, subtly ringing in the HH set and going into hopping halves feels much better than just bringing out the coins and going straight into the trick out of nowhere. Also, lots more opportunity for playing with the audience.

@Last Laugh, I like it. Allowing the spectator to examine the coins in the beginning gives the final vanish even more impact.

I have found it is even better to have them handle the coins with no hint they are "being examined."

The later ability to say "your coin" is enough.

MY favorite is having a spectator select coins from a basket of small objects for me to use.

It is easy to force a selection - "I need two coins of different color that are about the same size."
The main audience will not realize there are only two coins that meet that restriction.

However, I was prepared to perform something no matter what they selected - a ring, marble, button - whatever.

My "Twiddle Sleights" evolved from the need to switch in/out gaffs as the coins were handed to me.

After having played around with @wulfiesmith's suggestion, I could not understand how the Quiver purse could be handed back to the performer while still open, and I thought it a bit strange for the spec to put the coins back in the purse. Why not simply hand them to the performer?

So, I went to Craig Petty's handling, in which he takes the gaffed coins from the Quiver at the beginning (showing the specs there are only two coins in the purse), performs the routine, then reveals the coins back in the Quiver at the end.

Seems cleaner, but I could be misinterpreting @wulfiesmith's explanation.

I agree it seems strange for the spect to put them back in. Part of it has to do with how much you want the spec to feel like they "handled" the purse, which makes it seem less suspicious. Craig tends to just make the purse unimportant so it doesn't need inspection.

The one I more frequently hear is having the spec open the purse at the end to take out the coins, but then there's some risk of the purse opening the wrong way. So handing it back and forth open would reduce that, but I agree it seems contrived and weird to hand around that way. It's likewise strange to put them back into take them out, though you could routine it as a "mistake" to justify why you needed to remove them again immediately.

I use a JOL Himber Coin Wallet. I remove my Digital Dissolve, which allows the coins to be handled by the spectator. The two coins are then vanished to reappear in the coin purse. Remove the HH coins and proceed with the HH routine. Yes, there is a little bit of something else that happens because they can then open the coin purse to find the coins have really returned.
I have it set this way since each is a separate trick and I do not need to follow through with the whole routine. I have the option to present either trick or both tricks.