I'm writing this today to note that I'm branching beyond my normal focus of only card magic into the wild west of coins! I know, I know... I've written a couple of times before (even recently) that I'm branching out beyond cards to other things as well, and I have! But I've always been kind of anti-coin-magic.
It's fun to watch, but really, once you've seen a coin matrix a dozen times, they're all the same. Miser's Dream, coin boxes, vanishes... they're neat, but repetitive. I can't lie though, when I saw Shoot Ogawa a couple years ago at Magifest, and Luis Olmedo on Fool Us (not to mention Ryan Hayashi from several years back), I did get a bit inspired.
But no, those aren't what did it for me for real... it was Paul Harris.
I recently binge-watched the Stars of Magic 3-volume set by Mr. Harris, and in Volume 3 (also referred to as Adventures in Close-Up), he does a monster coin routine featuring:
- Silver Slide
- Giant Killer Coin
- Free Flight
- Michael's Proposition
- PDQ Coins Across
It's several tricks back-to-back, all put together in... well, a monster coin routine! Just about everything else in all of the other volumes is only card magic -- which is fantastic -- but you can tell that he's pretty "meh" about most of it. But when he gets to this coin routine, it's like watching a different person altogether. Even while he explains the sleights, they're invisible. I know they're happening, but "wait, what?!" was my main reaction.
I have a bunch of half dollars, never purposed for coin magic but I figured why not, so I brought out four of them and gave Silver Slide a try. It requires basic things like a classic palm and a finger palm. I've always practiced classic palms with just about anything I've ever held in my hands, so that one's easy... the finger palm on the other hand, no idea how to actually do that one well. I'm assuming it's a "if you're a magician, you know this" kind of thing because Paul legit just says "hold it in finger palm" and moves on with the explanation.
Anyways, I just brought down Modern Coin Magic from my shelf. I bought it in 2014, and this is the first time I've opened it. Why did I originally buy it? Because I thought it was a necessary thing to include on my "magic shelf"... but that's a stupid thought, if I'm being honest. It was only $7, but back then that could've scored me two drinks at Starbucks. Regardless, at least I don't have to order it now and wait =P
I'm starting from square one here with coin magic, so we'll see how it goes! If you have any beginner references that might be good to know of, let me know!