C2C signed coin in signed card

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C2C signed coin in signed card

Postby Atomo » Sep 22nd, '06, 11:40



The Effect:

On the table is a deck of cards, a coin, a pen and a knife. The magician asks one of his spectators to select one of the cards and to sign its face. The card is then replaced back into the deck which is then shuffled and put onto the table. Now the magician picks up the coin and allows the spectator to sign it, while he explains that he will not find the card but the coin will. He picks up the deck and taps the coin on top of the deck. It’s gone! The magician goes through the deck and finds the card, however there is no sign of the coin whatsoever. That is, until the magician picks up the knife and slices across the front of the card which reveals the coin in between the three layers of card and yes - it’s the signed coin! Finally the card is torn in half to prove that there are no extra coins.

Cost: £11:99 magictricks.co.uk

What you receive: an 8 page black and white booklet explaining the preperation and performance.

Review:

Upon receiving this effect i was not suprised to read the secret, (and i should say here that it is difficult for me to voice me opions on the instruction booklet wihtout exposure, but i will try) i will say that this effect involves forcing a specially prepared card, and that the details of how to achieve this preparation are in my opion not explained in depth. Imagine if you were trying to teach somebody to juggle, and your instructions to them were " just pick up 3 balls, and throw them up in the air like this, dont forget to catch them", that person would be able to see what juggling looks like, but would probably find it difficult to perform the actual action. In John webbs instructions you are told how to prepare the card, but im not convinced that 4 black and white low-res photos and about 400 words of text are a copmpletly adequate as a guide. In this day and age it is not exactly difficult to just take more photos??? or even....produce an instructional dvd??? Micheal Close is now selling his effects as ebooks with embedded video clips, i would suggest that would be the perfect medium here.

Now alot of you may be itching to write a reply to this review cursing me for knocking what is a GREAT EFFECT, my complaints are not with the effect, they are entirely with the insructions, and this is why- i have just sat down and destroyed about 40 cards trying to create the gimmick, i finally made one, it was PERFECT! so i performed the effect to my gf, and she flipped out!! "OMG thats insane!!!" i acted as if the card trick had gone wrong, and reacted with suprise when i revealed the coin in the card- this is strong magic , no doubt about that. HOWEVER when i sat back down to make another gimmick the same thing kept happening- more destroyed cards. I'll pause here to quote John Webbs insntructions
"Note that the first time you make the card it can be a bit difficult, but once you get the knack it is very easy to do"
well the first time i tied my shoelaces it was a bit diffult, and now it is very easy, but i didn't destroy a pair every time i tried. I expect your all thinking- 'i bet he's just kack-handed'. quite the opposite im afraid, this type of craft skill is not new to me, it is not my hands that are the problem, but the task itself. I would suggest that most people wil have a low ratio of complete success when making this gimmick, even once they have made a few perfectly.

(wow this reveiw is turning into a rant)

my main problem is simple, for an effect which is far harder to perform and prepare than anything that Sankey (for example) has released, you expect something more in the way of instruction than an 8 page booklet. The performance details are skimpy as well- and im going to stop here because the kettle hase just boiled.

so in summary

Effect- 9/10 breathtaking , and unusual. great reactions so far
Intructions- 1/10 a return to the early days of magic when all that you received were vague manuscripts. Unrefined handling details, and minimal effort all round in the presentation and clarity of instruction booklet.
Difficultly- ( 5 ultra hard- 1 easy peasy) 5 for the prep work , the preparation will test your patience, and u wil even question wether or not it is possible,
3 for the handling I ( some sleights used, an invisble pass adds greatly to the mystery of the effect)

Atomo out

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Postby magicmonkey » Sep 22nd, '06, 17:23

i have this. I have to say, it is knacky making them and does require finding the right implement to do so.
I too have destroyed many cards trying to make these, and have so far made about 4 good ones.
As atomo says above though, a very strong effect

not a fan of sigs, so I won't bother adding o..... oh
:oops:
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Postby Rdw1971 » Sep 25th, '06, 09:52

Is this available as an instant download from anywhere?

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Postby crashbangboom » Feb 9th, '07, 21:21

I totally agree with the above review after having just bought this.

I also think that the techniques described even with the video supplied by magicshop.co.uk are awful. I have had to change the way the gimmick is made, the design of the gimmick, also the handling and the presentation of the effect. So what exactly have i paid £15 for???

I believe this trick should have been researched more before it was released.

My biggest gripe, and this happens far to often, is the vast difference between the promo video and the actual trick its self. If you think that what you are buying is a full description of how to perform this trick as per the video then think again. All you are buying is the secret on how to get a coin in a card. EVERYTHING else is left down to you!!!!

BUT...after 3 days... several hours (and the rest!!)on each of those days spent thinking through this trick and creating gimmicks, i performed it. I got the biggest jaw drop i have ever seen in 10years of pro magic!!

as above: instructions, method and handling 1/10
effect: 9.5/10

Cheers

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Signed Coin In Card

Postby Allen Tipton » Feb 17th, '07, 15:15

:) It is indeed very finicky to prepare. I doubt if many magicians will have the patience. And yes there could have been more detail ( his findings after experience) on the preparation.

I personally prefer Roy Johnson's Cash Stab from his book, 'Final Call', pages 52 to 57 or if you're lucky and few will be as it was a very limited edition, to own his 'Unique' lecture notes with much improvement to the preparation and handling of the trick.
We've been friends for a long time. He came out of 'retirement' to lecture for me at the Nottm Guild in 1995 and afterwards sent me a copy of the revised Unique lecture notes.
A number of our younger magicians won't be familiar with his brilliant 6 books on )mainly) Close Up & Stand Up magic. One is still available from Goodliffe Publications; the final one, no. 6 might be be available from Martin Breese. They are full of much tested and performed magic and should be in every working magician's library.Before you ask it's a signed bill found embeded in a chosen playing card. I've used it for years and even worked out how you can do it with a freely chosen card.
AND it is embedded as is the coin version.
Geoffrey Durham performs it in his act.
Allen Tipton

Began magic at 9 in 1942. Joined Staffs M.S at 13. Nottm.Guild of M. (8 times President. Prog Director 20years)IBM. Awarded Magician of Month 1980 By Intern. Pres. IBM for reproducing Dante's Sim Sala Bim. Writes Dear Magician column for Abra. Mag.
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Postby Django » Mar 11th, '07, 03:58

Yes, this trick is so very incomplete. The making of the gimmick is a terrible pain unless you find the right tool. I found a large blade on a dull swiss army knife, rounded enough and not too sharp, works the best. The handling is such a pain as well.

I use the technique with a penny and dime trick and a duplicate of a card that will be forced.

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Postby moodini » Mar 11th, '07, 06:25

I PM'd you........I don't own the effect, but I think I know what part you are struggling with anyway......thought I may be able to offer some advice!

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Postby katrielalex » Mar 11th, '07, 13:54

I can third the preparation of the gimmick -- I bought it thinking it would take me 15 or 20 minutes to make enough good ones to last for a while... bad idea! I went through a full deck of bikes and came out with 1 good one, the rest of the cards were entirely ruined.

When it's made the trick is fairly good but to be honest, I don't like the setup either... it's too easy to figure out where the coin went I think.

Kati

In hibernation but half awake - will stick my nose in every so often!
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Postby timlic » Mar 13th, '07, 11:07

I like this effect; I purchased it when it first came out and I too had the same troubles with making the gimmick...

But, I emailed John (who came up with the idea) and he was helpful...

I still couldn't do it though and I think I cut my hand several times!

I came up with an easier way to make the gimmick... If you're not sure of how I'm thinking, PM me and I'll help out

Cheers

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Gimmicked Cards

Postby TheLondonI » Mar 20th, '07, 19:27

It took me ages to perfect making the gimmick, I'd say at least two decks.

But I promise you, once you get the hang of it completley, you can use prety much every card you make. Even a few mistakes are unnoticable as long as they are not to obvious. What I do with it is I use a hindu shuffle kind of force, so they just see the face of the card. I then let them sign it on the deck, so they never really handle the gimmicked card..

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Postby Frymus » Feb 2nd, '08, 02:26

its a great effect, but i still cant make the gimmick.
I found a better way to do the gimmick, but it is still hard to perform it..

Its not the greatest effect to do.. i dont really recommend it.. not my type either.

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