Evanesce is now available as a download

That smexy new Eric Jones coin vanish that I mentioned

last month is now available as a download HERE from Murphy's Magic!

IBM Ring 352 Magic Swap Meet!

Calling all finger-flingers, card manipulators, coin conjurors, and general practitioners of the mystery arts:

IBM Ring 352 in State College, PA will be hosting a Swap Meet at our next official meeting this coming Friday, September 12 at the Center Region Council of Governments, 2643 Gateway Drive, State College, PA.

So if you have a box or drawer full of stuff you thought you had to buy, but then never used, bring it on down, stick a price on it, and maybe it will interest someone else. One man’s junk, etc.

You don't have to be a member to attend, all magicians are invited!

The doors will hopefully be unlocked by 6 PM

Hope to see you Friday!

Pop Haydn's Coins Across

Time-travelling magic man Pop Haydn has released a video of his Coins Across. This was shot behind the bar at the world-famous Magic Castle in Los Angeles.

I really enjoyed the fake explanation as the coin travels up one sleeve and down the other. His pace is slow and careful with no over-proving, which helps him to get lots of magic out of just a couple moves. It would be a huge mistake to judge this routine based on fancy aerial sleights or whether it fools YOU. Instead judge it based on the only thing that matters in performance art....the audience's reactions!

Rope guys have coin chops, too!

Generally, stage performers are terrible at sleight of hand. But, then again, most of us finger-flingers look like goofs trying to work a big illusion on a stage.

French FISM Stage Magic Champion Francis Tabary is clearly the exception. Here he demonstrates a pretty baffling vanish, not once, but THREE times in a row!

It's Impossible!

Channeling a little bit of Juan Tamariz and a little bit of Rene Levand, Spanish magician Miguel Angel Gea has created a whirlwind effect called It's Impossible! It's part Transposition, part Copper/Silver, part GadAbout Coins and all fun!

Like the classic Rene Levand 'Rojas Y Negras', the presentation just gets more impossible the more times you do it. The moves are easy so you can concentrate on the presentation and the gaffs needed are probably in your pocket right now. Miguelito has a pretty strong Spanish accent but the teaching is very clear and thorough.

For $5 you get some easy, astounding coin magic and you get to act a little "Tamariz-y" which is always fun. Definitely recommended!

Get it here!

Portal by Kainoa Harbottle

Coin Demi-God and all-around cool guy Kainoa Harbottle has released a new 1-coin "Flurry" routine called Portal and it's really wonderful.

Kainoa teaches a couple of great new moves, one of which is the Portal Move. It's a beautiful way to do a repeatable vanish and production of a coin that Shoot Ogawa did with a purse frame, but without the purse frame! The coin just winks out of existence as the coin is pushed into and pulled back out of the left hand. The move is totally different from Shoot's and is really beautiful work!

He also teaches his Wave Vanish. If you've seen his Penguin Magic lecture video (shame on you if you haven't!) then you've learned this move as part of his version of Geoff Latta's Quadra-Quick Coins Away. This is his attempt to compete with the 'YouTube' kind of magic (heavily-edited or only possible on a video), and the result is a casual wave and the coin is gone.

Kainoa also goes into great depth on the Drop Retention Vanish. A move that is easy to do, and easy to do poorly. His tips really help to make this move as amazing as it should be.

Kainoa then breaks down the entire routine step by step and explains a wonderful ending where the coin vanishes from one outstretched hand and VISIBLY appears in the other hand. You end with arms wide open in a perfect applause cue!

The teaching is, of course, wonderful. And the material is real-world, worker, use-it-every-day magic. The price is a pittance for all the great magic you get! Highly recommended!

Available as an Instant Download for $7.99 from Penguin Magic!

Tell 'em Ben sent ya!

New vanish from Eric Jones

Eric Jones posted a smexy new coin vanish he calls "Evanesce" on his FaceBook wall today. No news from Eric about when, or if, he will release it.

If you're on FaceBook you can check out the video HERE.

Think you know your Coin Magic? Prove it!

You think you're pretty coin magic savvy? Edge Palm and stack work are child's play to you. You sleep with a jumbo coin in Mutobe Palm. You did your first Reverse Matrix before you could spell your name. Yes, you can walk the walk, but can you TALK the TALK?

This is the first ever (as far as I know) Coin Magic Crossword Puzzle! This won't make your palms bleed, but it may cause you to scratch your head a few times and access some lost chunks of long-term memory.

But, don't worry I included an Answer Key.

So, grab a pencil, sit close to your magic bookshelf, pull up the Google homepage, and let's dig in!

Use the text links above to download a PDF version, or solve it on-line!

Review of David Neighbor's "Defining the Edges of the Box"

I have just finished working my way through the first book in the new David Neighbors Project series; Defining the Edges of the Box. I wanted to get a review out to everyone before I dive back in for the next round.

The quick answer: if you are a coin magician you need this book!

This hardbound tome weighs in at an impressive 237 pages and represents just the FIRST of FIVE VOLUMES! The subtitle is a reference to the way David approaches coin magic and acts as a starting point for the trip into David’s head.

Like Ed Marlo was to card magic, David is to coin magic. His mind never seems to stop until he has created several solutions to a single problem. And these are not minor variation in the effect. Each solution is unique and approaches the plot from a totally different angle.

Author Mark Tams' writing is concise and yet marvelously thorough. It is a refreshing style and makes reading the effects easy and enjoyable. The book is broken into 3 distinct chapters.

The first chapter, Debut, features 43 complete routines that deal with productions and vanishes. Some routines feature other effects in the midst of the routine, not just the productions and vanishes. A few are variations of an earlier effect, but no 2 are alike and each has it’s own particular strengths and the handlings vary significantly. Some will challenge your skills, some will send you searching for a common gaff, some will send you to the shop to build a simple gaff, while one or two will make you want to ring up your favorite coin engineer for a rush order.

The most heavily used gaffs are an expanded shell and the rattle gimmick. Later effects make use of easy-to-make gaffs like a stack of coins, a hooked or magnetic coin, or a fan of 3 coins. A few require slightly more esoteric gaffs like a 2 Copper/1 Silver set or an Ultimate Wild Coin from Todd Lassen. But don’t let this dissuade you, rather reading these effects will strengthen your desire to own these gaffs.

Many of the routines can be performed in the hands. Some use a table, but you don’t need to be seated, which fits perfectly into our most common performing situation, standing.

Whenever a gaff is required Tams gives a very thorough description of the coin to assist newer coin guys and gals in procuring them and understanding their nature before committing to buying them. This really helps you to visualize how the routine plays and again makes you want the gaff even more!

The second chapter Under A Spell takes you through 12 routines based on the Spellbound plot. The chapter starts with a brief history of the Spellbound effect. Again the handlings and effects cover a wide range of presentations and handlings. No two effects are alike. This section also introduces a number of wonderful new sleights like the Visual Toss Change and the Visual Drop Change.

Chapter three, Through and Through, opens with a detailed history of the Coins Through The Table plot and really shows off David’s creativity and the lengths his mind goes to when exploring an effect. There are sitting versions and standing versions. There are versions that use a single shell and others that employ an arsenal of gimmicks. There are international versions, using coins from different countries. There are versions where the coins travel down through the table the back up again. There are versions done on a glass tabletop. And yes, there are even international versions that are done on a glass tabletop! Whew!

There truly is something for everyone in these pages. The creativity, massive amount of information, and wide scope of this book make it a must-have for ALL coin workers from beginners to experts. Highly recommended!

Click here to get your copy of volume 1 of the David Neighbors Project-Defining the Edges of the Box

Buried Treasure!

For every single popular coin routine in magic there are probably 20 hidden treasures, effects that are fantastic and look like real magic, but for any number of reasons did not make it as big as I think they should have.

Today's bit of hidden coin magic awesomeness is

"Money Doesn't Grow On Trees" from Bill Citino's Coinsomnia - The Random Conjurings of a Sleep Deprived Mind is a tight 3-coin production and vanish with a very nice bit of misdirection at the end. As the third coin is produced, it vanishes taking the first two with it!

I have been using this for my restaurant gigs lately and the reactions are fantastic! It's quick and clean and really gets people's attention. It plays perfectly as an opener for table work because you control the pace of the effect. The routine includes a reproduction of the coins, but I like to end at the complete vanish of the 3 coins then move into another effect. There is no odd hand-washing or weird gimmicks to control which gives the routine a nice pure feeling. It's everything you could ask for in a coin routine.

The link above is to show you more about the book and the awesomeness inside. If you want a copy you can get it directly from Bill for just $25 (a steal!). Email Bill at citino93 @ hotmail.com, you'll be glad you did!

Shake It Up!

Today's bit of Coin Magic Coolness comes courtesy of Coin Mage Robert Benedict! Robert found these awesome Morgan Dollar Salt & Pepper Shakers at Cracker Barrel.

So I made a quick run to my local Cracker Barrel and scoured the gift shop until I found a set. They also come in Buffalo Head Nickel, Dime, and Penny denominations.

For 99 cents, every Coin Man out there should grab a set of these! Huge thanks to Robert Benedict!

Modern Coin Magic 4-DVD set for Half Price!

Just today I have gotten so much great feedback about my Modern Coin Magic DVD set, that I decided to do something nice for everyone who hasn't picked it up yet.

All this weekend go to the SalinasMagic online store and check out my Modern Coin 4-DVD Set and enter 'Bobo' as a discount code to get 50% off the retail price!

That's right, just $5 a disc for over 170 tricks, sleights, routines, and techniques! But only for this weekend, so hit it now!