Coin Tricks

Coin tricks are one of the most respected and entertaining forms of magic. So if you want to perform professional looking coin tricks it's vital to develop the ability to palm objects.

Palming is a technique that allows you to hold or conceal an object in your hand. As the name suggests it involves hiding the object (for example, a coin) in the palm of your hand, although other versions of palming involve the use of your fingers or thumb.

When done skillfully, you should be able to palm a coin while conveying the impression that your hand is empty. Top magicians continue the illusion by maintaining unnatural hand positions with both hands so that the hand used to palm the object in question looks less noticeable.

There are three main palming techniques that can be used to conceal coins.

1) The Classic Palm: This is the most common method and involves holding a coin between the muscle at the base of the thumb and the fleshy part on the edge of the hand. The coin is kept in place using a small amount of lateral pressure. Ideally, you should use just enough pressure to keep the coin in place when your palm is facing down. Any more pressure will make your hand look unnatural and defeat the purpose of the palming technique. With practice you'll soon know the right amount of pressure to use.

When practising this technique there's a natural tendency to hold your thumb further away from your fingers in order to increase the amount of grip that you can apply to the hidden object. If possible, try to resist this temptation as it can give people a clue that your hand isn't as empty as you might like them to believe.

Try practising in front of a mirror until you can use the classic palm technique to hide coins of all shapes and weights in a natrual manner.

And when you start practising, it's a good idea to use the largest, yet lightest coin that you can find. For example, the American half dollar is a perfect size for practising and the fact that is has a strongly milled edge provides more grip. In contrast, smaller and heavier objects take more skill to palm naturally.

2) The Finger Palm: This is a slightly easier way to conceal a coin. From being displayed at the end of all five fingertips, the coin is released and slips down inside the hand to the crease in the skin where your fingers meet the palm of your hand. This allows you to hold the coin securely using a natural looking hand position. It also has the benefit that your hand can be viewed from a wide range of angles without revealing the coin.

Often magicians reinforce this technique by combining it with misdirection or picking up another object. This further reinforces the idea that their hand is empty.

3) The Back Palm: This method of palming is used to conceal a coin behind your hand, while showing your audience that the palm of your hand is empty. It's also the technique that magicians use when they pretend to pluck a coin out of the air or from behind a person's ear. In most cases the coin is gripped between the pinkey and the finger next to it. The other fingers and the thumb are then used to conceal the coin.

The desire to perform different kinds of tricks is one that we have all felt. As children we tried coin tricks, shell games, different card tricks. We have all at one time or another desired to be magicians and perform many wonderful magic tricks. The best way to start out with these magic tricks is to see the various easy magic tricks that you can try out.

There are various magic trick books that we can consult to help us do these tricks. You should first look at the contents of these books to see if there are any tricks that appeal to you. Having found these books you should gather all the magic tools you will need. The next step is to read one of the easy magic tricks in the book fully and make sure that you understand these tricks.

Having looked at these tricks you will need to start out slowly. Make sure that you follow the directions for the easy magic tricks. As you become more confident of your skill you can make the tricks flow faster and smoother. The first stage is to become proficient at performing the tricks without any signs of hesitation.

Once you are sure that you can perform your range of easy magic tricks without difficulty you may want to see how the trick looks in front of a mirror. There are a host of great magic tricks which can be performed by anyone. The main thing with all of these many different tricks is to have the steps of the trick well practiced so that it flows naturally.

You may want to try out some ring and card tricks for your first tricks. As there are many different variations you should select one or two to become well practiced in. While the temptation to work lots of different easy magic tricks is strong it is best to know a few really fantastic ones rather than lots of weak and unimpressive tricks.

To make these easy magic tricks look fantastic to the eyes of the audience you will need to have some interesting stories and gestures to use. You should also make sure that the audience does not feel that you are conning them. If they feel that you are just playing a bad trick on them your entire magic repertoire will fail.

The key items to perform any type of magic trick are confidence in your skill, patience to get the spell right, and continued practice so that the spell flows effortlessly. Combine these with the right amount of flair and magical display and you will have your audience coming back for more of your easy magic tricks.

Coin tricks have been around almost from the time coins first came into being. They have been a popular fairground attraction for the last two or three hundred years. Nowadays, coin tricks have become a favorite with professional magicians around the world.

Modern coin tricks have evolved into a fascinating act. Street magicians and performers of magic can baffle entire audiences with a variety of tricks. These are tricks such as making coins multiply, vanish and subsequently reappear by plucking them from the air.

Coin tricks are also known as coin flourishing or coin manipulating. They require sleight of hand and a fair amount of practice to improve dexterity. A polished act for presentation will make the coin trick very believable.

Coins come in a variety of sizes. Large shiny coins are more visible against your hand and are ideal for show purposes. Coins with broad or rough edges offer an advantage over other types of coins as they are easier to grip and maneuver.

It is said that practice makes perfect, and that is certainly true when performing coin tricks. Practice enables magicians to identify their personal preferences. The coins most suited to perform particular tricks are the ones which fit to the contours of their palms. These allow coin tricks to be performed deftly without being detected by the audience.

There are books, videos, TV programs, websites and even seminars that are dedicated to showing the many behind the scene magic tricks. These for the most part, focus on simple magic routines. These will help to initiate beginners to the world of magic.

More sophisticated and complicated coin tricks can be gradually developed. There are also seminars at which the “magical community” gather to show off their skill and occasionally. If you’re lucky you will get an opportunity to share their knowledge on how certain of their more baffling tricks are performed.

Some of the easiest coin tricks, though vastly entertaining, require no special skill or ability on the part of the magician. A certain amount of convincing patter can often transform what would otherwise be a very ordinary trick into a gasp evoking performance.

One such case in point, especially where coin tricks are concerned, would be the Penny Prediction. Here a member of the audience is asked to select a coin from a hat, pass it around the room. Everyone except the magician sees the coin. It is then put back into the hat. The magician then proceeds to ‘read’ the minds of the people, or commune with spirits and produce the correct coin.

Coin tricks such as this are very impressive. True. However, they are often very simple and easily explained. Like the Penny Prediction where the coin passed around the room. It absorbs the body heat of those handling the coin and grows warmer. When the coin is put back into the hat, the magician is able to identify it from the rest of the coins immediately.

Here are three simple coin tricks to add to your collection of magic. They don't take long to learn, they don't need many special props and with a bit of practice they can amuse and delight people wherever you go.

Coin Trick 1: Money Making Magic

Your hands are empty and there are three coins on the table. You sweep the coins off the edge of the table and into your hand. When you open your hand, there are five coins instead of three.

The Secret: Before you begin, stick two coins to the underside of the table at the edge where you plan to do the trick. When you sweep the coins off the table with your right hand, detach the other two coins with your left hand. When you open your left hand, the three coins will have magically increased to five.

Coin Trick 2: The Teleporting Coin

A coin mysteriously travels from one hand to the other. Start with your palms face up on the table and a coin in the palm of each hand. Flip both hands over and when you remove one hand there's nothing under it. When you remove your other hand, both coins are safely hidden under it.

The Secret: Place one coin in the palm of your left hand and another coin at the base of your fingers towards the right hand side of your right hand. Due to the positioning of the coins, when you flip your hands over the left coin will end up under your left hand, while the right coin will be pushed towards your left hand.

The trick should work automatically. If you flip your hands using enough speed, your audience won't be able to see what happens.

Practice flipping your hands until you can get the trick right every time. The hand that fires the coin across should flip slightly before your other hand. It's also important to make sure that the coins don't collide and make a noise, which will reveal the secret of this trick.

Coin Trick 3: Mind Reading Money

When you leave the room or turn your back, someone from the audience hides a coin under a cup that's placed in the center of the table. When you return to the room, you can guess the type of coin that has been hidden.

The Secret: Once a member of the audience has placed a coin in the middle of the table, your secret assistant places the cup over the coin. They use the handle of the cup to secretly inform you the value of the coin under it.

All you have to do is agree on a secret code. Each different handle position relates to a different value of coin. Just make sure that both of you are perfectly clear on the secret code that you're using and can remember it without having to think about it.

The other advantage of this trick is that you can perform it anywhere in the world regardless of the currency.

Invisible coin tricks are a great, easy way to entertain kids at a party. To make a coin disappear, hold any small coin on the right fingertips. Bend your left arm, putting the hand near the left ear. Place the coin on the left elbow, cover it with the right fingers, and rub it with a circular motion.

"Did you know that if you rub a coin against your elbow like this, it becomes smaller and smaller?" As you say this, lift your fingers slightly and allow the coin to drop to the floor as though accidentally.

"It'll never work if I do that." Bend down and pick up the coin with the fingers of the left hand. Pretend to transfer the coin from the left to the right hand, but actually retain it in the left fingers. You simply place the left fingers on the right palm, close the right hand, and return immediately to your original position, left hand near the ear, right hand on the elbow. Don't feel guilty about this action and don't do it too fast; that will only create suspicion. Just do it naturally.

Continue rubbing the right fingers against the elbow. Meanwhile, the left fingers secretly push the coin into your left ear. "This rubbing gradually wears the coin away until it becomes very thin."

Pretend to take the now invisible coin from the elbow and place it on the left palm. "This is probably the thinnest coin you ever saw!" Both hands at this point are seen to be empty.

Pick up the phantom coin. "With a really thin coin like this I can do a remarkable thing. If I push it into my right ear like this, it passes right through my head - there isn't anything much there to stop it - and comes out of my left ear."

Reach into your left ear and bring out the coin, which has become visible again.

A variation: Instead of leaving the coin in your ear, push it into your collar, thus accomplishing a complete vanish. Finish by showing that the coin has been rubbed into invisibility and then give it to someone as a souvenir. "Don't try to spend it for candy. They'll give you invisible candy, and that - you can't even taste."

To make a coin vanish you can also place a penny on the back of the left fist. Cover it with the right fingers, begin to rub it against the fist, and then, accidentally let it fall to the floor. As you go to get it, put your left foot beside it. Bend down and pick up the coin with your right hand. As you straighten up, let your hand pass close to your right ankle, and allow the coin to slide off the fingers into your trouser cuff.

Don't push it in; just drop it without pausing as your hand goes past. The spectators won't see this. If an action seems important they watch it carefully. But here they believe the coin was dropped accidentally, so they pay little attention to the way it is picked up.

Place the fingers on the back of the fist again and continue rubbing. "If I do this just right, the coin will pass through my hand." After a moment lift the fingers slowly, showing that the coin has gone. Then turn the left hand over, open it, and find nothing. "I must have rubbed it a little too hard. I lose a lot of money that way."

Coin tricks are one of the most respected and entertaining forms of magic. So if you want to perform professional looking coin tricks it's vital to develop the ability to palm objects.

Palming is a technique that allows you to hold or conceal an object in your hand. As the name suggests it involves hiding the object (for example, a coin) in the palm of your hand, although other versions of palming involve the use of your fingers or thumb.

When done skillfully, you should be able to palm a coin while conveying the impression that your hand is empty. Top magicians continue the illusion by maintaining unnatural hand positions with both hands so that the hand used to palm the object in question looks less noticeable.

There are three main palming techniques that can be used to conceal coins.

1) The Classic Palm: This is the most common method and involves holding a coin between the muscle at the base of the thumb and the fleshy part on the edge of the hand. The coin is kept in place using a small amount of lateral pressure. Ideally, you should use just enough pressure to keep the coin in place when your palm is facing down. Any more pressure will make your hand look unnatural and defeat the purpose of the palming technique. With practice you'll soon know the right amount of pressure to use.

When practising this technique there's a natural tendency to hold your thumb further away from your fingers in order to increase the amount of grip that you can apply to the hidden object. If possible, try to resist this temptation as it can give people a clue that your hand isn't as empty as you might like them to believe.

Try practising in front of a mirror until you can use the classic palm technique to hide coins of all shapes and weights in a natrual manner.

And when you start practising, it's a good idea to use the largest, yet lightest coin that you can find. For example, the American half dollar is a perfect size for practising and the fact that is has a strongly milled edge provides more grip. In contrast, smaller and heavier objects take more skill to palm naturally.

2) The Finger Palm: This is a slightly easier way to conceal a coin. From being displayed at the end of all five fingertips, the coin is released and slips down inside the hand to the crease in the skin where your fingers meet the palm of your hand. This allows you to hold the coin securely using a natural looking hand position. It also has the benefit that your hand can be viewed from a wide range of angles without revealing the coin.

Often magicians reinforce this technique by combining it with misdirection or picking up another object. This further reinforces the idea that their hand is empty.

3) The Back Palm: This method of palming is used to conceal a coin behind your hand, while showing your audience that the palm of your hand is empty. It's also the technique that magicians use when they pretend to pluck a coin out of the air or from behind a person's ear. In most cases the coin is gripped between the pinkey and the finger next to it. The other fingers and the thumb are then used to conceal the coin.