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I've decided to post a review of the Miracle Coin which is essentailly a Coin Unique which is reviewed elsewhere ( http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic14017.php&highlight=coin+unique). My reasoning behind this decision is to provide a comparrison between this, and the much sought after Eddie Gibson versions of these coins which, with the exception of the £1/1pence version are sadly no longer made.

The Effect

I'm reviewing the £2/2pence and the 10pence/2pence versions, each come with a set of ten suggested routines but as with the original Coin Unique, there are so many more routines that out there. You just need some research.

Cost

£38 and £24 respectfully. Check here: https://vault2.secured-url.com/jbtv/home.asp

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

As you'll all be aware, this is self working and it's therefore all about presentation.

Review

I've been after an original Gibson £2/2p and 10p/2p for some time and after a couple of ebay rip offs, I resigned myself to the likely fact that I would not lay my hands on one of these gems any time soon. AS a frequent user of my Gibson £1/1p version I wanted to have another but different coin to add some variety into my work. After much pondering I decided to go for the Miracle Coin as the only alternative.

Out of the packets, both coins look great, as good as the Gibson but once you handle to coins you can tell the difference.

If you rub the two coins between your fingers you get some clicking with the 2p/10p version where it doesn't 'quite' fit, although the £2/2p coin is OK in this respect.

However, if you try to turn the back of the coin, the £2/2p easily spins whereas the 2p/10p remains as snug as the Gibson does.

The weight of each coin seems OK when compared to the real thing but bouncing the coins up and down in the palm of your hand for a few inches produces some 'rattle' from the £2/2p version, more so if it's face up. The 2p/10p is fine. The Gibson makes no suspicious noise, possible due to it's smaller size.

These different factors would most probably be detected by a lay person if the coin were handed out whereas I've handed the Gibson out many times and it's always passed fairly close scrutiny. I'm not so sure that these will although time will tell through a few testing sessions on friends. Fortunately, few people seem to want to look that closely, such is the strength of the visuals with these gimmicks.

Overall

Firstly, it would have been nice to have had a couple of Gibsons to make a real like for like comparrison but alas, that just wasn't possible so a comparrison between these and a £1/1p was all that I could use.

It appears to me that the quality that owners of a Gibson coin expect just doesn't appear to be present in these versions, despite the comparative pricing.

From the two coins I would say that the 2p/2p is the better of the two and is the better value for money, and an ideal companion for a £1/1p coin unique. I'd rate it at about 7.5 from 10.

The £2/2p is a bigger coin and looks good enough but just doesn't handle as well and is particularly noisy. At £38 I'd give this a miss unless you really have a need for this particular coin. I'd rate as being 6 from 10.

So there you have it. If anyone is contemplating one of these coins then you now have something to help make up your mind

Very good and accurate review. Unfortunately i only have the 1p/£1 version although i think i may well have to dig into my pocket for the 10p/2p version

Can we start a campaign to get Eddie Gibson £2/2p's remade? Perhaps with enough pre orders he would do a limited run? I'd be in for a couple...

Now there's a thought

I'm sure that if he did a limited run then they would be snapped up instantly

cheers for the review DAT.

ive emailed him numerous times about this and other things but got no reply so good luck lol

May I join the discussion? For several years now I have used – and still do – Peter Crush’s Conker Coins. This effect, if you don’t know, it is that a 10p and a 2p are shown each with a hole through the centre. They are threaded onto a shoelace and the 2p is instantly removed leaving just the 10p on the lace. I think, and I’m sure you will correct me, that this is a 10/2p Coin Unique but with holes. I am down to my last set, not due to ‘spending’ the coin but general loss. I have had remade the undoctored coins a few times. It appear the Peter Crush is no longer making these and perhaps is out of the business and I have advertised on various boards, including this one, for a set to no avail.

Looking at the discussion on Coin Unique and the mention of the £2/2p version I could see that this prop would be even better for my use being of a larger size. Adding the holes of course. Now I can see you all mentioning that drilling a hole through the set might well destroy the ‘special properties’ that make it so attractive. That may well be so, but owning several sets of the Conker Coins I soon discovered that this ‘special attraction’ eventually faded so to continue using the prop I found that a couple of very small dabs of Blue Tac served the purpose equally well and does so to this day.

Would readers care to express their views on the use of a set of Coin Unique for the purpose suggested? Does anyone know the maker of Coin Unique (or Miracle Coins) that might be prepared to make sets with the holes, as I don’t think the original Conker Coins will ever be available again? I know nothing of Euro coins, perhaps these might be as good if larger coins are suitable.

Mark

Not heard of Conker Coins before but it sounds like a good effect.
I have the Eddie Gibson £1/1p and also his casino chip coins. Both are excellent, well made coins which stand up to repeated use and scrutiny.
I am sure, if you are adept enough with the relevant tools, you could modify a coin unique to perform the effect you describe though you may need to buy some shims and modify them too.
It's a bit expensive to experiment with, particularly if it goes wrong!

Thanks for that reply. Yes it's interesting that the Conker Coin effect is not so well known but Peter Crush did promote it quite a lot when he produced it produced several years ago. I devised my own routine and it's one of the effects I always use in table hopping. I even developed my own method for the reset which (may I brag) can even be done - if pushed - whilst standing at the table. No going into a corner banging your fists to do the seperation which to onlookers behind must look as if your are doing something very odd!!!

I have tried on e-bay and other places over the past year for a set to no avail. However I now really fancy a larger £2/2p but would not care to do the drilling myself but take it to my usual engineer who would also make the duplicate £2.00 and 2p at the same time.
Thanks again.
Mark

FURTHER THOUGHTS . . . .I note in this thread that some folk are not happy that their Coin Unique is not fully examinable. There have been some replies to this but I will add my comments.
From my early days I was always advised not to say such things as “Here is an ordinary pack of cards” or “This is an ordinary coin”. After all, a pack is a pack and a coin is a coin, thus you are really drawing attention to the fact that there might be well be ‘special’ magicians only items.

Why should anyone want to examine your remaining Coin Unique at the end of what you are doing? The answer is that what you have done leads the spectator to ponder that there might be something suspicious and the suspicious bit is still there in your hand. If you just read the dealers blurb and show the two coins in your hand and the smaller one vanishes then naturally the heat is on your hand and the remaining coin. The answer here is to try to finish clean. More advanced ‘special’ coin effects such as Hopping Halves not only have a routine but also you finish clean as all the bits are safely away.

I don’t use an actual Coin Unique but I gather that several handling suggesting are given when you purchase the prop. However I might use it as follows and I am creating this in my mind as I write. Assume you have the 10p/2p version). Show on your hand the 10p then 2p also (say a 50p). In the first instance have the 10p above the 2p to prevent any premature ‘vanish’. Arrange the coins ready for the vanish and close your hand. Most likely the 10p will automatically ‘vanish’ so with other hand remove the 2p/10p place it into pocket. Now remove the 50p and place into pocket. Spectator assumes the 10p remains but of course this has vanished. You are clean with nothing to be examined. I hope that is clear as I’m just thinking as I write.

There is a well known view point that a vanish is nowhere near as good as a production. Just think about it and you will see why. Therefore in my Hopping Halves routine I don’t finish with a complete vanish of the remaining coin but with a surprise production of a totally different larger coin. I published this last year in my lecture notes. Have a nice day! (As they say). Mark

Id definately be up for a £2/2p version!

On the subject if anyone can help with my coin unique problem id be much appreciated!

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic15793.php&highlight=

Many thanks! A

I've never found my Coin Unique is a problem if needed to hand out but ouf course Mark is right in my opinion, don't (and I never do) drawa attention to your coins or cards by advertising that they are normal.

It just helps when occasionally asked by the spec if they can see the coin, if you can hand it over with some confidence.

Just a thought re getting the £2/2p coins made again by Eddie Gibson. Several years ago when Peter Crush produced his Ultimate f*****g 10p (that's the one with nothing to be seen on the edge if you know what I mean) I bought a batch at a realistic price and resold them at my lecture with my Coin in Bottle routine. Perhaps Eddie Gibson could be persuaded to make an batch of (say) 20 ordered and paid for by one person. That person could resell to those interested, I.E. that person would become a dealer I suppose! Anyone care to follow it up? Mark

I had a bit of trouble with my £1/1p coin unique in getting it aprt. However, a cleaning with some fine emery paper and a squirt of that wonder liquid WD40 and it is back to full working order.

I have never had anyone want to look at the pound after the effect is done. I have never felt that there is any heat on the pound. I have had people examine the table and make sure my hands were clean but it is the penny they are interested in, not the pound. And of course that is long gone!

It's even more effective if you perform it with you sleeves rolled up as many lay people always point the finger of suspicion at them!

Lord Freddie wrote:It's even more effective if you perform it with you sleeves rolled up as many lay people always point the finger of suspicion at them!

A very good point. The trick is so visual that its good to cut out anything that could explain it. I used this on New Years Eve doing the glass routine and absolutely blew my little audience. It is the ultimate vanish. I had people examine the glass, the table cloth, everything in fact except the pound which was back in my pocket.