With minimalist wallets being all the rage nowadays, you explain that it’s a bit hard to carry all of your change with you, but you’ve come up with a rather unorthodox solution. You take your change and print it onto your bills directly. You pull out one of these bills and show how there is an image on a quarter in the lower corner of the dollar. Taking hold of the coin with your fingers, you pluck it out of the bill and hand everything out to be examined.
Setup
:For this effect you are going to need a magnetic or steel core coin. I’m using a Canadian quarter because I’m too cheap to buy a steel core coin, plus I really like the elk on the back of Canadian Quarters. You are also going to need a thin magnet. I get mine from SuperMagnetMan. net and I’ve found that the D1066 model works per- fectly for this. Scan the face of your coin , cut it out, and tape the magnet to the back (Fig. 1). After you’ve con- structed your gimmick, place the quarter on the back of the bill, and the gimmick on the front so it attaches to the coin (Fig. 2). I orient it so that if my gimmick is heads side up, then the heads side of the coin is attached to the gimmick.
Performance:
Pull the dollar out of your wallet, being careful to not let the weight of the coin cause the bill to swing back and forth. Hold the bill in your left hand and grab the quarter with your right thumb, while your right pointer and middle finger hold onto the gimmick (Figs. 3 & 4). In one smooth action, pull the coin and the gimmick down to produce the coin. As you pull down, push the quarter away from your hand with your thumb, hiding the gimmick in fingerpalm (Fig. 5). You can now hand out both the coin and the bill for examination. If you keep a magnet or a piece of metal in your back pocket, you can ditch the gimmick casually while your specta-
tors examine your money, just make sure to take your money back when you’re done (I’m not that generous myself).
Notes:
Just a few credits I’d like to mention. Henry Evan’s has a few effects utilizing similar methods. Evan’s also has a similar effect called Dollar and Quarter. Additional credits include Extract by Jason Yu, PhotoShop by Will Tsai, X Change by Julio Montoro, Nailed by Jay Sankey, and Golf Ball Surprise by Taka Ima.
1
2
3
4
5
“My biggest wonder is why magicians have to be re- minded of this. This is a must read for anyone who has ever pulled a coin from behind a child’s ear.” Charles Windley
Ben Robinson has been creating wonder professionally worldwide for more than forty years. As a professional magician, it is not just part of his job description, as he points out in this book, it is the essence of the job. Magi- cians are not mere comedians or tricksters or practical jokers. If they take their profession seriously, they need to understand wonder at a deep level, in order to convey it to others. In so doing, they and their art will be taken seriously, for creating wonder is a serious business. Illu- sion designer Jim Steinmeyer, in his insightful foreword to this book, describes it as a “fascinating, stream of conscious essay on wonder.” I would also describe it as a meditation on the topic: a critique of the current state of the art, with a look back on its history and a plea for more thoughtful performances. Anecdotes from Robin- son’s personal experiences and extensive research cite the work and words of Malini, Mulholland, Henning, Booth, Paul Daniels, S. H. Sharpe and even Albert Einstein. The book includes a technical description of an impromptu performance piece designed to create wonder in a spectator that even a non-professional can master with dedicated rehearsal.
If this work causes more magicians to wonder about wonder, it will have served a noble cause. If it gives non- magicians a greater appreciation of the formidable task of the magician, so much the better.” Richard Hatch
SHOW ON THE GO
PLUCK
Effect:
With minimalist wallets being all the rage nowadays, you explain that it’s a bit hard to carry all of your change with you, but you’ve come up with a rather unorthodox solution. You take your change and print it onto your bills directly. You pull out one of these bills and show how there is an image on a quarter in the lower corner of the dollar. Taking hold of the coin with your fingers, you pluck it out of the bill and hand everything out to be examined.
Setup
:For this effect you are going to need a magnetic or steel core coin. I’m using a Canadian quarter because I’m too cheap to buy a steel core coin, plus I really like the elk on the back of Canadian Quarters. You are also going to need a thin magnet. I get mine from SuperMagnetMan. net and I’ve found that the D1066 model works per- fectly for this. Scan the face of your coin , cut it out, and tape the magnet to the back (Fig. 1). After you’ve con- structed your gimmick, place the quarter on the back of the bill, and the gimmick on the front so it attaches to the coin (Fig. 2). I orient it so that if my gimmick is heads side up, then the heads side of the coin is attached to the gimmick.
Performance:
Pull the dollar out of your wallet, being careful to not let the weight of the coin cause the bill to swing back and forth. Hold the bill in your left hand and grab the quarter with your right thumb, while your right pointer and middle finger hold onto the gimmick (Figs. 3 & 4). In one smooth action, pull the coin and the gimmick down to produce the coin. As you pull down, push the quarter away from your hand with your thumb, hiding the gimmick in fingerpalm (Fig. 5). You can now hand out both the coin and the bill for examination. If you keep a magnet or a piece of metal in your back pocket, you can ditch the gimmick casually while your specta-
tors examine your money, just make sure to take your money back when you’re done (I’m not that generous myself).
Notes:
Just a few credits I’d like to mention. Henry Evan’s has a few effects utilizing similar methods. Evan’s also has a similar effect called Dollar and Quarter. Additional credits include Extract by Jason Yu, PhotoShop by Will Tsai, X Change by Julio Montoro, Nailed by Jay Sankey, and Golf Ball Surprise by Taka Ima.
1
2
3
4
5
“My biggest wonder is why magicians have to be re- minded of this. This is a must read for anyone who has ever pulled a coin from behind a child’s ear.” Charles Windley
Ben Robinson has been creating wonder professionally worldwide for more than forty years. As a professional magician, it is not just part of his job description, as he points out in this book, it is the essence of the job. Magi- cians are not mere comedians or tricksters or practical jokers. If they take their profession seriously, they need to understand wonder at a deep level, in order to convey it to others. In so doing, they and their art will be taken seriously, for creating wonder is a serious business. Illu- sion designer Jim Steinmeyer, in his insightful foreword to this book, describes it as a “fascinating, stream of conscious essay on wonder.” I would also describe it as a meditation on the topic: a critique of the current state of the art, with a look back on its history and a plea for more thoughtful performances. Anecdotes from Robin- son’s personal experiences and extensive research cite the work and words of Malini, Mulholland, Henning, Booth, Paul Daniels, S. H. Sharpe and even Albert Einstein. The book includes a technical description of an impromptu performance piece designed to create wonder in a spectator that even a non-professional can master with dedicated rehearsal.
If this work causes more magicians to wonder about wonder, it will have served a noble cause. If it gives non- magicians a greater appreciation of the formidable task of the magician, so much the better.” Richard Hatch