Approaching Coin Magic – Magic Theory

Approaching Coin Magic

By Terry Ford

Coin magic is often seen as a difficult branch of our art. There are no self-working tricks; you have to use sleights, concealments and palms straight away.
Unfortunately new students to coin magic often have a discouraging start, as they find that they are ‘‘caught” performing their sleights. The purpose then of this piece is to give you some tips to make your coin magic more deceptive.

The first thing to say is that in coin magic the routine is of the utmost importance. Try not to perform a single sleight instead of a routine. If you perform a completely baffling vanish, the first thing a spectator will want to see is your other hand, which in many vanishes is where the coin is concealed. This is not good. However display a coin and make it vanish and then reappear in an impossible location! This can seem like a miracle. Don’t forget that many people’s first memory of magic is seeing a coin
reproduced from behind their ear. Try it, you’ll like it.

Tied in closely with the routine is the patter story. A good story accomplishes many functions, the two most important are that it makes the effect more entertaining, the second is that it makes the effect more baffling. How does it achieve the latter you may ask? Well, by psychological misdirection. After an effect is over and the spontaneous (we hope!) astonishment subsides the first question the spectator asks
themselves is ‘how did they do that’? One way to prevent them from reconstructing what really happened is by use of patter. The most obvious way is to suggest false methods, these are of the…‘the coin travels up my arm, across my shoulders and down my other arm’…type of thing. Even more subtle is to recap on events but make the conditions sound even more impossible than they actually were, for instance
don’t mention that you put the coin into another hand, thus people will not tend to remember a false transfer. The other benefit is that if people find your routine interesting and entertaining then they will not be looking for ways to catch you out or trip you up. It is essential in coin magic to avoid the ‘Challenge’ type situation, you can only ever lose.

The other misdirection device that you should make use of is the magical gesture. Professor Hoffman said, ‘always do something to account for the magic’. The magical gesture does two important things, first it defines the moment when the magic takes place for the spectators, and secondly it provides a false explanation as referred to above. So what is a magical gesture? The best example in coin magic is waving your hand over your empty fist before revealing a coin vanish. If you have a coin classic palmed in the hand that is waving then you are also providing indirect proof that the hand is empty. Sublime! Other magical gestures involve the use of magic words, waving the magic wand, snapping your fingers, anything you want really. One word of caution try to avoid reaching into your pocket for ‘woofle dust’ to ditch things, most people will be suspicious about this move.

Probably the most used coin sleight is the vanish. The vanish is often created by means of a fake transfer. That is you appear to put the coin in your left hand but really retain it in your right hand. Unfortunately many beginners use these sleights on it’s own, we looked at the importance of using them within a routine in part one. This then leads us to look at more ways to make coin magic look more, magical!

First a little theory. If you think about it any vanish actually has two parts. There is the actual vanish (The sleight) and there is the apparent vanish, this is when the vanish is revealed to the spectators. You could think of the actual vanish as the method and the apparent vanish as the effect. This is a good way of looking at this, as one definition of misdirection says that misdirection is directing the attention away from the method and towards the effect.

So how is this achieved, well some tips were given in part one. Here we will be more specific. The first thing to think about is how natural your sleights look. By that I mean that they should mimic natural movements. Paul LePaul said that if a sleight looked like a natural movement then no further misdirection is needed. So when you perform a fake transfer it should look like you really did put the coin in the other hand.

I have two tips for helping with this. The first is to learn the retention of vision vanish. In this vanish the coin is ‘seen’ in the empty hand after the coin has been stolen back. If you try it out before a mirror you will see what I mean. Instructions for this vanish appear elsewhere on this site. The second tip is to practice the movement without the sleight, actually put the coin in the other hand. This way you build up muscle memory, and it will make your sleight look more natural. Remember also to use a magic wand, pen or anything else to help make the hand look natural.

When you have a coin concealed in your hand there are other ways to help make it look natural. Try to touch the tip of your second finger to your thumb. This puts a natural curve in your hand and helps to stop you flashing the concealed coin. Make movements with the hand, point, pull up your sleeves, scratch your nose, these are all natural movements that say ‘‘my hand is empty’. You can also make use of subtleties like the Ramsey Subtlety that apparently show the hand empty, maybe adding a little sleight of tongue remarking, ‘The hands are empty’.

One important point is that the magic happens in the mind of the spectator, they do not remember exactly what happened. If you place an idea in their mind, it will often be repeated as what happened. ‘His hands were completely empty, he showed us!’ Quite.

One last point is to vary the methods you use. Repetition can give them the opportunity to catch you out, and that would spoil the magic!

Study Guide for Bobos Modern Coin Magic

by Dominic Reyes 1 Comment

STUDY GUIDE TO BOBOS MODERN COIN MAGIC

by Opie Houston

OBJECTIVE:
Participants will learn selected sleights and tricks from Bobo’s classic. The selected readings, of course, are subjective and represent what I consider to be the essentials. The more serious student of magic may want to seek supplemental sources of material related to his or her own interests.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
Dig out or order a copy of Bobo’s Modern Coin Magic.
Gather the following materials to start: A few American half-dollar size coins; a few American dollar-size coins; two half-dollar size copper coins; other assorted coins; and a handkerchief.

WEEK ONE – Basics
1. Read the Preface, Braun’s Introduction, Acknowledgements, and the Prologue.

2. Skim Chapters 1 and 2. Read every word, and do not stop reading to try some of the sleights. It is very important that you understand Bobo’s theories and philosophy before you tackle the hard stuff.

3. Review Chapter 1, Coin Concealments, and practice all the sleights, with emphasis on the following:
a. Classic Palm; b. Edge Palm; c. Downs Palm; d. Finger Palm.

NOTE: Give the various Clips and Front/BackPalm a look, but concentrate on the sleights listed above. Carry a coin at all times for practice.)

4. Review Chapter II, Basic Technique, and learn the following techniques:
a. Bobo Switch; b. Utility Switch; c. Click Pass; d. Bottom Steal; e. “Fumble” suggestions.

TEST YOURSELF ON CHAPTERS 1 & 2

WEEKS II & III – More Basics
1. Read Chapter III, Coin Vanishes. Read every word before beginning a re-read and emphasis on the following effects:
a. Standard Vanish; b. Thumb Palm Vanish; c. Illusive Coin Pass; d. A Coin Vanish; e. Gone; f. Flyaway Coin; g. Vanish for Several Coins.

NOTE: Play around with all the material in the Chapter, but concentrate most of your efforts on the items listed above and the basics from the previous chapters.)

2. Read Chapter IV only after your have at least a working knowledge of the material in the first three chapters.

NOTE: If at the end of three weeks you have not gained a working knowledge of Chapters 1 through 3, it would probably be best to continue practice and review of those chapters. But, do not become frustrated, because all of us have or have had problems with some of the material. JUST PLAY WITH IT. It is not life-essential material, but it does form the important basic foundation for more advanced coin work.

TEST YOURSELF ON CHAPTERS I – III

WEEKS IV & V – Putting it Together
1. Read Chapters IV, V, and XVI. Wow! There is a lot there, isn’t there? And we haven’t even scratched the surface yet. So, it is time to start putting it together, so to speak, and begin tailoring our own performances, complete with compatible routining and personalized patter. But, before we do that, let us do a little self appraisal.

2. Rate yourself on the following more-or-less desired skills, using three grading levels: Excellent, Good, Needs Work. Make a list of the “Needs Work” items and practice them before proceeding to the next week’s level.
a. Chap I, Coin Concealments: Classic Palm, Edge Palm, Thumb Palm, Finger Palm.
b. Chap II, Basic Technique: Bobo Switch, Utility Switch, One Hand Switch, Click Pass, Bottom Steal, “Fumbles”
c. Chap III, Coin Vanishes: Standard Vanish, Simple Vanish, Thumb Palm Vanish, Illusive Coin Pass, A Coin Vanish, Pinch Vanish, Gone, Flyaway Coin, French Drop, Handkerchief Coin Vanish, Vanish for Several Coins.

3. Using all the knowledge you know and information from Chapters I through V and Chapter XVI, put together a Single-Coin Routine, using the first three suggested routines in Chapter XVI. If you do not know the effects suggested in those routines, look them up or substitute an effect you already know.

(NOTE: When you have organized and perfected a good Walkaround/Standup routine, per 3 above, you will be ready to proceed to the Conquering Bobo Check-list which will take you the remainder of the way through the text. You will find it on page 6.

CONQUERING BOBO
1. If you have completed the “Weeks IV & V” check-list on page 5, you are ready to plan your own personalized advanced study through the remainder of the Bobo text. This check-list will assist you by suggesting some short cuts, and, most importantly, it will point toward the classic coin tricks you should know.
NOTE: Spend about a week on each of the following items with emphasis on learning at least one new trick per week or the number suggested for the item.

2. Week VI –
a. Read Chapters VI and VII.
b. Play around with the material in those chapters.

3. Weeks VII and VIII –
a. Read Chapter VIII.
b. Spend two weeks on this Chapter, and, as a minimum, learn four effects. (Some may require you to visit a magic shop.)

4. Week IX and X –
a. Read Chapter IX.
b. Spend at least two weeks on this chapter and learn at least three of these classics.

5. Week XI –
a. Read the remaining chapters that you have not read. JUST READ!
b. Now, go back and make a list of effects you wish to learn from those new chapters.

6. Week XII – and forever thereafter…
a. Begin on page 1 and Re-Read the whole book. Stop and play whenever you like.
b. While you are playing, however, make a list of the tricks you really like and play around with different patter/presentations of each one…….
……..that is the secret to learning magic–constant evaluation and improvement…..

I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED MY LITTLE COURSE PLAN…

Opie

Self Working Coin Magic Tricks – Metal Sheep

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Do you currently perform any coin magic? It's amazing how many working magicians shy away from coin magic because they think it is too hard to learn.

It's easy to spend so much time working on your card magic that you don't want to 'start right back at the beginning' learning the basic mechanicis of coin technique.

You don't have to do that

Watch this video showing you a trick called Metal Sheep. This is a brilliant example of self working coin magic tricks that you can start performing right away. It fits perfectly into any close up magicians working set of routines.

The best part… There is no sleight of hand!

That's very rare for good quality coin magic, so I know you will love this:

As Gary Jones shows you in the video, you can do self working coin magic tricks easily at any tables or at the bar. Just approach, show the guests some coins, and then blow their minds. There are no funny angles, complex techniques that can go wrong on the night, or boring plots to spoil the flow of the action. It's simple, easy to follow and totally plays with your heads. Best of all it's so easy it should be made illegal by the sleight of hand police!

Why the book is usually better than the film

90% of coin magic tricks tend to involve productions and vanishes. That's great and it's definitly eye candy. However, coin magic can be much more than a series of moves where coins appear and vanish. Metal sheep adds MYSTERY into your magic. Ben Williams recently wrote about how visual magic tricks are killing magic. He argues that sometimes a closed fist, or a sealed box increases the experience of magic for the spectators because it allows them space to 'wonder what could be inside'.

What's happening in the magicians hands?

How is the transformation happening?

It's powerful for the same reason that films are usually disappointing if you have already read the book. There's no space for YOUR imagination in a film. Metal Sheep allows the spectators to use their imagination when they think back to what happened in the magicians closed hands.