The Effect
The magician explains how he makes money while travelling the world by taking advantage of currency exchange rates in various countries.
Starting with a US one dollar bill (green), he folds it in half to reveal an Australian note (bright green). Folds it in half again to reveal a 20 Euro note (blue). One more fold reveals a 100 Yen note (red). Finally when the bill is unfolded it has now transformed into a $100 bill - which can be thoroughly examined.
Cost
£14.99 from
www.alakazam.co.uk
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)
3 I suppose.
Review
I saw Greg dem this at his recent lecture and was very impressed, unfortunately he'd sold out at the time so I waited for Alakazam to get 'em in.
For your money you get a nicely made gaffed bill which should last forever with sensible usage, and a six page leaflet on the routine. Needless to say it's a billswitch in the traditional way but the visual aspects of the colour change as the bill is folded make it particularly impressive, the first two got 'ah!'s from the audience at the lecture. In fact after the Yen you can change it into a south American note but at this point it's folded into sixteenths and the colour change isn't very radical so the audience might not notice, but it's a handy little extra.
In the leaflet Greg details the bill switch, with plenty of credit where it's due, and adds ways to ditch the gimmick afterwards. Most magicians will be aware of all that's contained here but it's nicely set out and clear and he's certainly put the effort into making the package an all-round deal so you shouldn't be left wondering about patter etc. I've personally never bothered to learn a bill switch before so there's a few frustrating hours in front of the mirror ahead of me before this sees the light of day but I'm very pleased with what I' ve got so far. Plus Peter Nardi gave it to me on tick out of the goodness of his heart when I didn't have enough cash on me! I'll be walking in cement shoes if he's not paid back by Saturday though...
Overall
A good 8, that little bit better than your average billswitch.
The artist who does not rise, descends.