Photo 2
then, showing your hand obviously empty, put the glass in your right side coat pocket, all the way to the front (photo 5).
The fourth coin: Pick up the remaining coin at the left fingertips in French Drop position. Take the coin with your right hand and turn to your right, so your left elbow points directly at the audience. Hold the coin flat behind your fingers. Your left hand goes to your right armpit (photo 6). Rub the coin on your elbow for a moment. Look puzzled and turn to face the audience again, retaking the coin in left French Drop position.
Pick at your left elbow with your right fingers as if removing some lint. Imitating the previous sequence exactly, perform the French Drop and turn to your right. Again, your left hand (this time with the coin) goes to your right armpit as you direct all your attention to your left elbow. Hold your right thumb behind the fingers as if it had the coin and begin to rub your elbow.
Meanwhile, your left hand leaves the coin at the armpit (the right arm presses against the body to hold it) and slides out to just in front of the shoulder (photo 7).
After a moment, stop rubbing and move your right hand up and to the right and your left hand down to your left side as you turn to face the audience. Follow your right hand with your eyes as if it still held the coin.
Pretend to place the “coin” into your left hand, closing it into a fist (photo 8). Show your right hand empty with a gesture, as if you can’t figure out what’s wrong. Make a tossing motion straight up with your left hand as it opens, clearly empty (photo 9). Act surprised at the vanish and keep looking up as if trying to spot the coin.
Slightly relax your right arm, allowing the coin to slide down the side of your coat and into the glass with a clink. (There is a bit of
a knack to this, but you will find that your coat has a natural “channel,”
as David Acer calls it, that will actually guide the coin down into the glass.)
Finale: Let Abe carefully remove the glass from your pocket and dump the coins out to show everyone there are four. Take the glass in your right hand and drop the coins into it one at a time. Grip the glass near the top in your palm up right hand, thumb on the right side and forefinger on the left, as depicted in photo 10.
Shake the glass, displaying the coins. “Remember what I asked you at the start?” Hold your left hand palm up and apparently dump the coins into it, catching them in a low finger palm as shown in photo 11.
The left hand closes as if it has the coins. Keep the back of your right hand toward the audience as you extend the right arm to the right as in photo 12.
“I asked you if it would be a good trick if I could make the coins jump from one hand to the other.” Make a tossing motion with your left hand and let the coins drop from the right fingers into the glass, having apparently magically arrived there (photo 13). Dump the coins out of the glass and drop them back in one at a time to end.
Credits: The method for the second coin is from John Bannon’s “Glass Reunion” in Impossibilia. The method for the fourth coin is taken from David Acer’s “Money Flies” in Natural Selections. The finale is Lewis Ganson’s from Routined Manipulation Part One.
Photo 10 Photo 11
Photo 12 Photo 13
E
ddie Fechter’s “Flying Eagles” has become a staple of close up magic. Here is my handling, which makes use of the extra coin as part of the effect and has a jumbo coin finish, made logical by the presentation. When I performed this for Larry Jennings at the A-1 Multimedia convention shortly before he died , he exclaimed, “That’s the best presentation for that @*#! routine I’ve ever seen!”That remains the highlight of my magical life.
“The Famous Invisible Flying Quarters” is the patter I use when performing this for kids and families, and “Magic Western Union” is the patter for an adult audience. Both scripts will follow the explanation.
Effect: Three quarters magically travel from one closed hand to join three quarters in the other closed hand. Then Vandella holds the coins in her fist. You take an invisible quarter and make it disappear (?). She opens her hand to find an extra quarter! This coin then grows to three inches across – in her hand!
Requirements and preparation: Seven quarters, a small coin purse and a jumbo quarter are required. Put the quarters into the purse and then put the purse and the jumbo coin in your left front pants pocket.
Method and performance: Reach into your pocket with your left hand and remove the coin purse. Dump the quarters out of the purse into your right hand. Display the quarters on your right palm to the spectators on your right, then toss six into your left hand, retaining one in right thumb palm. Display six coins to the people on your left.
Dump the coins on the table and arrange them in two vertical rows of three each with your extended forefingers, the other fingers curled into the palms. Make sure to hold your left thumb against your hand, mirroring the right hand (photo 1).
Hold your left hand palm up behind the left row and slightly below the edge of the table. The right hand slides the near coin into the left hand. As it slides off the next coin, drop the thumb palmed coin along with it (photo 2). Finally, slide off the third coin and close the left hand into a fist. (The left hand closes each time a coin is slid off, to hide how many it holds. It only opens as it receives the next coin, then immediately closes again.)
The right hand picks up the three coins on the right, thumb palming one as it makes a fist. Shake your fists, then open the right hand palm down, dropping two coins and keeping one thumb palmed. Immediately bring the hand back to the table edge and rest it on the table. The fingers are on the table and the tip of the thumb touches the edge (photo 3). This helps make the
Great Scott! It's More Magic! Page 47
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3