I was wondering if any magic historians know the origins of what we now call the Misers Dream. What are the best examples of it being performed historically. Differences in method. Gimmicked, none gimmicked.

Without a doubt in my opinion a great resource is Levents ultimate guide to the misers dream dvd set

I never thought about why or where the production of a quantity coins into a pail or receptacle first appeared. There are some reference to old time magicians used there top hats with a metal plate placed inside to cause the sound louder for audiences. I have never read or seen anything pertaining to your question.

Back in the Vaudeville days, such magicians as T. Nelson Downs, and Arthur Buckley performed very difficult coin manipulations on stage. Fast and quickly demonstrating their skill and ability to manipulate coins.

Check out YouTube video of Arthur Buckley's act.

I have the Levent videos, and they are excellent. I don't remember him getting into history, but you can see his contents page on his website and see if it is listed. It is simply Levent dot com.

I can say that T. Nelson Downs, in the 1st chapter of "Modern Coin Manipulation" (1900), claims "Miser's Dream" as his original creation. He describes a borrowed hat and the ensuing parade of coin productions. He does go on to describe an array of various productions. I cannot assert it is the original. but it is certainly early, and a claim to creation.

Much of L'Homme Masque's act and moves, including the "Downs's Palm" is really the L'Homme Masque Palm for producing coins, and the day he died is when it became the Downs Palm. But, sure, Tommy Downs created the whole act. There's another guy, Allen Shaw, I think it was who had a lot of work on it.

A modern master of the act is Jeff McBride.

Other great practitioners were Al Flosso, Chris Capehart, and Presto (Earl Johnson). Don't forget Norm Neilson.

My 1868 copy of Robert-Houdin Secrets de la Prestidigitation et la Magie contains an effect called "La Pluie D'Or" (The Rain of Gold) - translated by Hoffmann in 1878 as "The Shower of Money".
The effect description reads: "To produce Coins from different Objects under the very Eyes of the Spectators", borrows a hat, then goes into straight Miser's Dream routine. So far I guess it's the oldest reference I can give you!
It's fascinating as Robert-Houdin sells it as some type of alchemic feat, being able to produce only silver coins (as he puts it, copper is too low grade to be bothered to be dealt with, gold is more valuable but silver coins are bigger and best seen at distance)

Interestingly, Robert-Houdin then describes a follow up parlor/stage, where a glass vase covered in silk gets filled with golden coins, while the borrowed hat is found full of banknotes. He promises to explain the feat in his stage book sequel, however as far as I know, it was never explained. (I own the stage book sequel and is not in there).

Em