Jay Sankey Versus David Stone – Who is Best?

Bradley writes: What would be the best option between David Stone and Jay Sankey dvds? I am looking at walkaround with lots of coin sleight content.

Dominic Reyes:

Jay's DVD will give you more material, especially revolutionary coin magic. I prefer David Stone personally as his delivery is excellent. For style and a few select working pieces of material go with David Stone, for content quantity and some great ideas, go for Jay Sankey

Ben Williams:

I would totally agree with Dominic on this one, I think he hit the nail on the head with his comment. David Stone’s teaching is thorough and precise. The effects he teaches are more for the classic approach to coin magic, very classic routines like copper/silver and coins across are taught. Jay’s DVDs have a wealth of material on them, he teaches lots of different routines and sleights. All of the routines Jay teaches are his own or his own variations, also some of the sleights he teaches are his own. Because of this you will not learn these anywhere else, apart from on a Jay Sankey tutorial. So if you like the classic approach then David Stone is the magician for you, if you like quirky, unique ideas then Jay is your man!

Revolutionary Coin Magic – Jay Sankey

Basic Coin Magic – Vol.1 by David Stone – DVD

Our facebook group discuss Jay Sankey Vs David Stone:

Jan Erik Larsen : 'I would say David Stone or Eric Jones who got alot on coin magic which works great for walk around. I think they are some of the best on coin magic.'

Ben Allen : 'Jay Sankey would suit this style. He’s got a lot of solid routines and some great dark tricks too for walk around.'

Sean Mccarthy : 'Depends on your skill level. Sankey and Eric Jones have stuff for all skill levels. David Stone and Garrett Thomas have great material, but it is a bit more advanced.'

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below:

New £1 Coin – Good or Bad for Magicians Coin Magic?

by Dominic Reyes 2 Comments

The Royal Mint is introducing the new £1 coin. Magicians are concerned that their special magic coins are about to become useless.

Magicians that perform coin magic have always had mixed feelings about the UK £1 coin. It's a little too small and thick to be good for palming, which makes it's use in coin magic limited. However, it's a great coin to gaff, and magicians have been using it to make special magicians coins for many years. Coin gaffs like coin unique, cig thru coin, and cap and coin monte, use the properties of the £1 coin to their advantage. Those special magic coins can be quite expensive, so many magicians are concerned that their special magic coins are about to become unusable.

Why is the new UK £1 coin being released?

The Royal Mint is introducing the new £1 coin because it has estimated that 3% of the current coins in production are fakes. That would mean there are over 45 million fake £1 coins in circulation! If you have ever owned a coin unique and spent it in error, you'll have added to that figure!

The old coin is very easy to copy. The new £1 coin is being marketed as 'the most secure coin in the world'.

The new £1 coin.

The new £1 coin is based on the old threepenny bit, a 12-sided coin in circulation between 1937 and 1971. A competition will take place to choose the image to put on the "tails" side of the coin.

"In honour of our Queen, the coin will take the shape of one of the first coins she appeared on – the threepenny bit. A more resilient pound for a more resilient economy." – Chancellor George Osborne

The new UK £1 coin will be about the same size as the old £1 coin.

Like the UK £2 coin, it will have two colours and will include mechanisms to allow it can be checked using high-speed automatic detection. The Queen's head will be on the heads side of the coin, the tails side will have a design chosen at a later date.

The coin is due to be released in 2017

The New £1 coin and magicians.

There are a few points that are important to magicians. Firstly the size. It's going to be the same size as the original £1 coin, which is not so good news for magic. The small size made it hard to palm and manipulate, so a larger coin would have made it far more useful.

Secondly, it's going to be bi-metal. That's a nightmare for gaffing the coin. The UK £2 coin has a similar issue, which resulted in many poor gaffed coins that would fall apart with use. Creating shells is much harder with a bi-metal coin as the insert needs to be supported.

On the plus side, the edging of the coin should make it easier to grip for coin manipulation. It may be a better coin to palm, and it's size would make it suitable for spellbound routines with a UK 20p coin.

Shoud magicians worry about their existing gimmicked £1 coins?

Not yet. It will take many years for the old coins to be phased out of circulation. Even then, the old coins can still be used with a story about the 'REAL' reason that the coins were changed, leading into your coin magic tricks. When the new coins are released, there will be a race to manufacturer the first gimmicked versions of the coins. Whilst the transition takes place, using the old coin will give magicians some fantastic presentation ideas to breath new life into their coin magic.

Visual Sleight of Hand Techniques to do with Coins or Rings – Ratings

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Clint asks:

'I would like some really visual slight of hand techniques that I can do with coins or rings. While I have some experience with cups and balls, linking rings, and card tricks, I am pretty new to pure slight of hand.'

Adding some a few routines or even a small 'bridge section' into your act, that involves some sure sleight of hand with everyday objects such as rings or coins, can both impress your audiance and add balance to your act. I'll suggest some of the best visual sleight of hand routines to consider adding to your act, but first, a warning..

Being Consistant

Visual sleight of hand techniques take a great deal of practice to master, so it's important to take the time to choose sleights or magic routines carefully, so your time is effectivly used.

Have you ever seen Derren Brown suddendy launch into a coin coin flourish routine in the middle of his show? How about Dynamo Magician Impossible performing Hippity Hoppity Rabbits? These magicians have a consistant image that they reinforce by the types of magic tricks they perform. In your magic, we recommend that you do the same. The magic tricks you choose to learn should complement your existing material. If your card magic tends to have a gambling theme, them adding in some coin magic, or poker chip tricks, will keep the act 'on theme'. Conversly, if you have a high degree of comedy running through your presentations, then a sudden display of card fourishing, whilst looking inpressive, will not 'fit' with your act. Make sure you choose magic tricks that work together to tell a greater story, or communicate a common message about your act in general.

Here's 5 of the most popular visual sleight of hand teaching guides that professional magicians order from the magic shop:

World Class Manipulation Jeff McBride

Jeff McBride is one of the most famous sleight of hand magicians in the world. His complete understanding of sleight of hand magic is first class. As a teacher, he is an engaging and enthusiastic speaker on the meaning of magic and its place the world. In this DVD, Jeff teaches techniques of the master sleight of hand experts. Jeff walks you step by step through a wide range of techniques. A lifetime of sleight of hand can be mastered with this DVD.

Ring Thing

Although this isn't hardcore sleight of hand, it gets the same reaction from the public. It's a fast and easy way to introduce sleight of hand manipulation into your working set. David Blaine, Jeff McBride and Gregory Wilson among others speak very highly of Ring Thing, with good reason!

It’s a fast, visual, ring magic routine that can be performed anywhere. You remove your finger ring, throw it back at your hand , and it instantly returns to your finger!

Sick – By Ponta the Smith

Fancy mastering some serious coin magic? This is a coin magic DVD teaching how to make coins smoothly disappear, reappear and change right in front of peoples faces. Working in just one of these sleight of hand techniques can lift the whole of your act to a new level.

De Ring

This without doubt the most awesome teaching guide for ring manipulation that you can own. De'vo's ring sleight of hand is simply stunning. De'vo has been performing ring manipulation for over 20 years. The style and technique taught will have you in disbelief! Finger ring magic, taught by the finest sleight of hand expert in the field.

Contact by Tyas Frantz – DVD

In Contact Juggling, balls are rolled across your hands and body in visually attractive patterns. Many magicians are starting to adopt this skill to build into their magic. Producing a ball by magic, then having it come to life and dance around the magician, before vanishing again.

Contact Jugglers use a range of objects from pens to tennis balls. The most common object is a 3" acrylic ball. Contact balls are clear, so they don't seem to be spinning. This allows the magician to produce a visual effect wherein the balls seem to be moving or floating across the body. It's that effect that sparks the interest of magicians to Contact Juggling.

What have we missed?

Those are the most popular training guides for sleight of hand with everyday objects. However, there is a huge range of excellent material on the market. What would you suggest? Leave a comment in the section below: