Stand Up Progressive Wild Coin

Recently Marty Shapiro sent me some interesting ideas to add to my Wild Coin effect.

Here it is in Marty’s own words…

“It is just three improvements to your wild coin effect…

1) you will laugh at this one…the only coin that works with poker chips are dollar size coins.. dollar size coins are rather expensive to make into copper/silver coins so what I did was to simply go to the hobby shop/craft store and buy a small bottle of copper enamel and I painted one side of the Ike Dollar. I also went to a coin show to find some similar size copper coins and tokens and simply used a glue dot or two to stick to the dollar… but the painted dollar works well as it is only briefly shown.. it got by my magic club and when I told a coin guy there he was most surprised at my revelation.

2) just recently and accidently I was playing with three poker chips I bought off ebay.. very cheaply in fact…I accidently discovered that they are magnetic.. must be some security measure… even cheaper ones I got at the five and dime store with no imprint are magnetic. I got a large square magnet and put it in my back pocket to use as a holdout. The three coins stay against the pants with the magnet inside the pocket

3) why the magnet holdout? Your beautiful 1 2 3 routine I changed to 123 321…..after the poker chips are produced I do a 3 three chip vanish (much like Curtis K’s and Kanoa’s with 4 coins…) I was delighted to suddenly discover poker chips are quieter than coins ..I hold them in an edge grip and go to a left handed curl palm…but a finger palm would be ok…. As I go to retrieve the coin from behind my left ear with m right hand…I could ditch the chips but don’t .. I produce the one side of the double coin dropping the insert and slowly producing that soon after transferring to the right hand for a moment…it is then that I ditch the chips to the awaiting magnet.. I reverse the coins when I place in the left hand as they nest and show the copper side of only one coin…… and do a vanish of the copper coin with shell nested behind…I get it to a 3rd finger curl palm of right hand and then will sleeve it if need be. 321 123 and then nothing. All standing up with no lapping or pocket work.

4) After many months of waiting and searching one source came through with an Ike expanded shell.. from Tango… it was about $30 I had been using my Lassen morgan shell during the wait.. the Tango shell relatively speaking wasn’t too well made as the portrait of the president is not so pronounced from the face of the coin.. certainly this is noticeable if you compare to a regular coin…I have contentedly committed this coin to this one trick as it is exposed briefly and not too carefully next to the other coin which is tailsides only showing…

The trick is a good one.. I appreciate you offering it as you did.. but the expense to do it was a bit humbling.. with one Ike dollar a small bottle of paint and a cheaper expanded shell and three inexpensive brightly colored poker chips… this can be done affordably by most anyone…. The trick shines as a quick visual show for someone passing by or just hasn’t committed the time to see other things you are doing…like a trade show booth venue.. I believe it can attract some interest ..provide for some easy patter and become quite commercial.

You are welcome to pass this info along to any and all that would be interested.”

Marty Shapiro

Greenville, SC

www.magicbymarty.com