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Hi all, Just wondering wether it would it seem strange to a spectator that i use U.S Dollars for my tricks even though i like in the UK? Someones bound to ask and i wont know what to say?

morrowsean wrote:Hi all, Just wondering wether it would it seem strange to a spectator that i use U.S Dollars for my tricks even though i like in the UK? Someones bound to ask and i wont know what to say?

Hi,

I have thought similar, but so long as your presentation is strong enough they'd have no reason to ask. Create a story about why you have an American/Chinese/euro coin, and work on that.

If it is for a transformation or a vanish, you could explain how US coins are made of a slightly different metal, and allows you to do 'this' (being the effect) with it.

If you are really concerned and your Coin is gimmicked i recommend getting a non gimmicked copy and switching them out at the end. so at least they can examine them should they want to.

with a good presentation and audience management they should not be concerned at why you are using a foreign coin.

Having said all of that, if you still feel uncomfortable using them then switch to UK coins.

the very small amount of coin magic i perform uses UK coins. i like to be able to borrow a coin and crack on with the effect.

hope this helps?

JH

You could say that due to their larger size, it is easier for the audience to see, and impossible to hide...

ask yourself this.what is stranger... you using american coins, or you making coins vanish?


it really doesnt matter what coins you use, as long as you use them WELL.

You could just say you came back from a gig in the states?

Or, make a big fuss about how obviously useless they are to you. Which would obviously give a logical reason for you to vanish them, rather than just WATCH THIS!... BOOM!

If you really feel it's an issue use poker chips. I find they are easier to work with than half dollars and everyone is aware of their use within the UK

Lawrence wrote:If you really feel it's an issue use poker chips. I find they are easier to work with than half dollars and everyone is aware of their use within the UK

Nice idea, but I'm guessing they're Gaffs?

" hey ther don't you hate our tiny little uk coins" "yeah me too... in america everythings bigger take a look at this half dollar its huge.... I can bearly close my fist around it, yet it still seems to vanish"..........

this usualy works for me, when using hopping half iv'e never been questioned becuase I premiss it with the statment that its an obsevation thing.

hope that helps and lawrence, I used to use chineese coins and there assosiated gaffs exclusivly to be diferent from all the other half dollar weilding magicians and always introduce them from a chineese purse as special magical coins from the orient, a great way to focus the attention and to introduce a chop purse or okito box into the bargin.

Personally I'd not use them as they will look alien and people will wonder why you went to the trouble of getting American coins rather than just doing the same trick with the coins in their pocket.

But then having said that I think it is kind of an accepted standard to perform the Miser's Dream with big shiny American Dollars because they are bigger than a 10p and I think they were bigger than the old big 50p. I think this is because the Miser's Dream has always had a surreal quality about it so it doesn't really matter exactly what coins you were appearing from nowhere, the point is that it is big and shiny and clunks in the bucket with a solid clunk and looks valuable.

So the important points therefore are - is it solid? Is it real and genuine? Is it trustworthy?

"Here you go sir, take a look at these, do you know what these are? That's correct they are American half dollars. Do you know why I use American half dollars? Because when I use £2 coins I don't get them given back."

"No wonder Americans are strange, I managed to get hold of some of thier currency and look at what it does!"

I'm just wondering if anyone's ever been asked about using strange coins. I used to worry about the same thing but now always use old pennies and have never had anyone question them.

As a beginner in coin magic I've only thought about this briefly, but I think saying that they're easier for the audience to see is sufficient. I wouldn't like to say something like 'they're harder for me to hide' or something along those lines, because it puts the idea in the spectator's head that you CAN hide them. It's better to just not go down that road at all IMO.

There is something more theatrical about big shiny American half dollars or dollars too, much more so than a British 50p for example. They even sound nicer when you jingle them.

I always got a kick out of magicians who would visit the coin shops to buy half dollars and check each one to make sure they all looked exactly alike, all the dates had to be matching. I have never had anyone turn around and say, he the date on the coin was 1967 and now it says 1977. Never had anyone examine a coin that close. The only time a spectator cares is when the performance is lacking.

The only issue I ever have is when I start out with English Pennies as people are not familiar with them over here so they are curious about them. If I start out with an American Half or a quarter and switch to the Penny then there is never a problem because the monitary value is not an issue, the coin is simply an object, it could be a fork for all they care.

I have some Pieces of Eight that I like to switch in now and again those always raise eyebrows because they are too far off the path, unless I explain them and why I happen to have them. Then they go unquestioned as they become part of the routine and they have a reason. If you give something a reason then you won't have any issues.

FWIW, US dollar coins are abnormal to the vast majority of the public here in the USA. Simply put, we prefer carrying the paper equivalent. Hell, anymore it seems like all anyone carries is plastic.

True silver dollars, Morgan and Peace are most used in magic, have not been minted since 1935. These are not in circulation and haven't been for some time due to their collectibility and silver content.

Clad Eisenhower dollars were the same size as the Morgan/Peace. They were minted from 1971-1974 and 1976-1978. These were not popular and did not circulate well.

Clad Susan B. Anthony dollars were minted from 1979-1981 and again in 1999 as a collector issue. The 1979-1981 were intended for circulation but failed to do so worth a damn. The dollar shrunk in size to one slightly larger than our quarter but small than our half dollar.

Sacaagawea dollars, aka gold dollars due to their color (not metal makeup) and Sacawhatever being hard to say, were minted from 2000 to the present. They are small like the SBA. They don't circulate worth a damn.

Presidential dollars, aka "Sorry, thought it was a quarter." and "WTF is that?". Same specs as the Sacawhatever. Doesn't circulate.

So... despite it being our coin, we're kinda in the same boat as far as the spec not being familiar with the coins.

And you know, half dollars are pretty much the same. They don't circulate. Anything older than 1964 has been pulled for it's silver content if nothing else. Kennedy half dollars are minted to this day but, AFAIK, only issued in collector form. IIRC, it was the mid 80s that they were last minted for public use.

On the paper side, the $2 bill is hardly ever seen in circulation. Wouldn't surprise me if a good majority of people in their 30s and younger have never seen one.

Hey, if yer still reading, this may be a fun idea...

The reverses of our quarters have had 4 or 5 variances since 1999. First we had the States issue, then the Territories and are now on the National Parks series. The faces are all the same other than the mint mark which a spec would never notice. You could put together a routine talking about your recent trip to the States while transforming the reverses of the quarter(s) to show which states you went to and what parks you visited. If anyone would like to use this idea and needs the quarters for whatever story they dream up, I'd be happy to pull them from circulation and mail them to you. Quarters are heavily circulated and pulling nice examples from rolls isn't a problem.