Price$45.00
Media TypeTrick
CategoryGeneral, Close Up
Date AddedJun 24, 2015
Transition
Docherty, Jamie
World Magic Shop
(Based on 1 review)
Coin Transformation: Showing your hands empty you simply momentarily click your fingers in front of the coin and it visually transforms into a completely different coin, immediately everything is examinable.
Coin in Bag: This is 'Bag 4 Life' on steroids. You visually penetrate the coin into a clear grip seal bag and instantly everything is examinable, the spectator can even take the bag from you the second the coin appears inside.
Spinning Coin: As you simply spin a coin on a table it morphs into a completely different one.
Turn over change: Simply turn the coin over and it transforms completely.
Drop Change: You drop the coin into your hand and the second it lands it has magically become a completely different coin.
Bonus effect: Coin Thru Card - You lay the coin on a playing card which has a hole in the middle of it. Instantly the coin visually passes through the card.
Comes with a custom made gimmick and instructional DVD
"That's amazing, I love it! Looks like real magic!"
- Peter Eggink
"Fantastic! Very visual and very clean!"
- Matthew Garrett
"This fooled me so hard when I first saw it and every time I saw it after that, it felt and looked like pure magic. There are so many possibilities with this gimmick. It's absolutely awesome and visually stunning!"
- Chris Webb
Reviews
(Top ▲)
This is one of those products that when you watch the video trailer, you wonder if some of the effects/handlings look the same in person as they do in the video. In this case, they do.
What you are getting here is an instructional DVD and the materials to make the gimmick, which you must do one time and you will have to take a bit of time to adjust it to your body size. If the gimmick ever breaks, all of the parts are easily replaced but one part you will have to buy from a magic shop but that part will have to be further altered once you get it, unless you order it from a coin gaffer such as Roy Kueppers or Todd Lassen.
The DVD quality was good, but unfortunately there were times when the background music just drowned Jamie out when he was talking. This got annoying but you could still clearly see things enough to know what was going on and at other times you could hear him just fine when the background music faded, before it started back up again.
The menu was laid out into chapters with a 'play all' option, but there was this really weird, choppy music going on that really made it sound more like a CD when it was skipping very badly.
The ad copy of the product is accurate and honest, so no problems there.
As far as the instruction goes, here is where I have an issue: Jamie shows you what you get with the DVD, he shows you how to make the first part of the gimmick, he shows you how to measure the two pieces that are attached to the coin gimmick and how to attach them to each other and the gimmick. He shows you how to figure out where you need to place the gimmick for optimum operation and how to adjust it if it is not right. This gimmick can be used by both left-handers and right-handers, which is pointed out in the video. He then shows you the basic working mechanics, which is then followed by 5 effects using the gimmick.
Nowhere does he show you how to get the gimmick into play and they needed to give some ideas because it is not outwardly obvious as to how one would do that. It is not just something you can pick up and be ready to go. You have to access the gimmick first, and then bring it into play before you can use it. Unfortunately, they leave you to work out how that is supposed to be accomplished.
There is clothing requirement for this in that you must be wearing a suit/sport coat. They do not mention the alternative that I am giving you here: There is no reason you could not use this with a waistcoat (here in the US you call that a 'vest') with a full back on it with the necessary adjustments. This can be used whether you are left-handed or right-handed, and if you want, you can remove it and place it into another jacket if you want to; it is not a permanently installed gimmick. It is as simple as unpinning two parts, transferring it, and then making the necessary adjustments.
The effects are all doable but you really have to watch how you hold the gimmick or else it can get hung up, which would absolutely be visible to someone. In playing around with this for a few hours, I have found that if you hold the gimmick at the right angle just before you "ditch" it, the angles are better than I expected. The speed of the gimmick, supposing you are holding it right so that it will not get hung up, is what makes the angles work. You will have to play around with it to figure out the best angles for yourself, but it is not really hard to do.
The effects on the DVD were taught well, but some of the effects require you to hold the gimmick in such a way to begin the effect that it may look a bit odd. Two of the bag penetrations, while elevating the effect from 'crotch-level magic' to the coveted 'face-level magic', require you to hold the gimmick in a very strange way.
The other four effects taught are all coin changes in the vein of a Copper/Silver effect, where the coin changes from a silver [colored] coin to a copper (or a darker colored) coin. Some look better than others but the Spinning Coin is probably the coolest one, although you will really have to watch your handling of the gimmick; because of the way the Spinning Coin works, you have to contort the gimmick to begin the spinning action, which will take a bit of a knack to eliminate any initial noise.
The Coin Transformation is very visual - you show a silver coin at your fingertips, and as the other hand waves very quickly or snaps its fingers in front of the coin, it changes without the hand which is holding it ever moving. Again, very visual!
The bonus effect, Coin Thru Card, is in my estimation not really all that appealing. What you are taught is how to do it using the gimmick, but there is a way to do it with one single normal coin, although that is not mentioned here. Incidentally, the gimmick version here looks practically identical to the non-gimmicked version, except for the weird hand positions.
There are lots and lots of ways that you can use this gimmick and many of them will pop into your head as soon as you start playing with it. Unfortunately the DVD missed out on some of the more obvious ways this could be used, but as I said before, you have to figure out how to access the gimmick and bring it into play first before you can use it. It can be a challenge because neither of those two things are simple with this gimmick, though the gimmick is very easy to use once in play.
One downside to this gimmick is that, for certain grips, you will have the "Frozen Arm Syndrome" and this has more to do with the length of the gimmick, but changing the length will not solve it because it has to be a certain length in order to work properly, and that ideal length is on the shorter side. I cannot really say too much more than that.
As I mentioned before, you will have to learn how to hold the gimmick before "ditching" it so it does not get hung up, and while this is best suited for use when standing, it could be used while seated, but you will have to be careful because the clear path the gimmick needs can be reduced or contorted, thus causing it to hang up for a moment. The operation of this gimmick is not totally silent, but it is not going to be noticed in most situations with normal, everyday sound levels. If you think it may be an issue, it is easy to figure out how to cover the minimal sound it might make.
In my opinion they should have expanded the gimmick (no, the coin gimmick is not a turtle shell, but it is a type that can be expanded) that they included with this. That would allow for some better handling options and larger coins (half-dollar sized coins, that is). As it stands, when you do any coin changes with this gimmick, because of the nature of it, you will have to use a coin that is slightly smaller than an American half dollar. This is not a problem per se, but it would have been nice to have the option of changing a half dollar to an old English penny.
I had a really hard time rating this effect because I think the price is right for it, but I felt that the overall instruction could have been a bit more expansive, especially where accessing the gimmick and how to bring it into play are concerned. I really wanted to give this closer to 3.6 or 3.7 stars, but I am giving it the benefit because the gimmick has its uses and it does work once you figure out how to handle it after adjusting it for your own body.
For that reason, this is a four star product. Once you make the gimmick, hook it up, make the necessary adjustments and play around with it, and again figuring out how to look natural while accessing and ringing it into play, you will find all kinds of other things to use this with.
If you have a use for this, check it out.
What you are getting here is an instructional DVD and the materials to make the gimmick, which you must do one time and you will have to take a bit of time to adjust it to your body size. If the gimmick ever breaks, all of the parts are easily replaced but one part you will have to buy from a magic shop but that part will have to be further altered once you get it, unless you order it from a coin gaffer such as Roy Kueppers or Todd Lassen.
The DVD quality was good, but unfortunately there were times when the background music just drowned Jamie out when he was talking. This got annoying but you could still clearly see things enough to know what was going on and at other times you could hear him just fine when the background music faded, before it started back up again.
The menu was laid out into chapters with a 'play all' option, but there was this really weird, choppy music going on that really made it sound more like a CD when it was skipping very badly.
The ad copy of the product is accurate and honest, so no problems there.
As far as the instruction goes, here is where I have an issue: Jamie shows you what you get with the DVD, he shows you how to make the first part of the gimmick, he shows you how to measure the two pieces that are attached to the coin gimmick and how to attach them to each other and the gimmick. He shows you how to figure out where you need to place the gimmick for optimum operation and how to adjust it if it is not right. This gimmick can be used by both left-handers and right-handers, which is pointed out in the video. He then shows you the basic working mechanics, which is then followed by 5 effects using the gimmick.
Nowhere does he show you how to get the gimmick into play and they needed to give some ideas because it is not outwardly obvious as to how one would do that. It is not just something you can pick up and be ready to go. You have to access the gimmick first, and then bring it into play before you can use it. Unfortunately, they leave you to work out how that is supposed to be accomplished.
There is clothing requirement for this in that you must be wearing a suit/sport coat. They do not mention the alternative that I am giving you here: There is no reason you could not use this with a waistcoat (here in the US you call that a 'vest') with a full back on it with the necessary adjustments. This can be used whether you are left-handed or right-handed, and if you want, you can remove it and place it into another jacket if you want to; it is not a permanently installed gimmick. It is as simple as unpinning two parts, transferring it, and then making the necessary adjustments.
The effects are all doable but you really have to watch how you hold the gimmick or else it can get hung up, which would absolutely be visible to someone. In playing around with this for a few hours, I have found that if you hold the gimmick at the right angle just before you "ditch" it, the angles are better than I expected. The speed of the gimmick, supposing you are holding it right so that it will not get hung up, is what makes the angles work. You will have to play around with it to figure out the best angles for yourself, but it is not really hard to do.
The effects on the DVD were taught well, but some of the effects require you to hold the gimmick in such a way to begin the effect that it may look a bit odd. Two of the bag penetrations, while elevating the effect from 'crotch-level magic' to the coveted 'face-level magic', require you to hold the gimmick in a very strange way.
The other four effects taught are all coin changes in the vein of a Copper/Silver effect, where the coin changes from a silver [colored] coin to a copper (or a darker colored) coin. Some look better than others but the Spinning Coin is probably the coolest one, although you will really have to watch your handling of the gimmick; because of the way the Spinning Coin works, you have to contort the gimmick to begin the spinning action, which will take a bit of a knack to eliminate any initial noise.
The Coin Transformation is very visual - you show a silver coin at your fingertips, and as the other hand waves very quickly or snaps its fingers in front of the coin, it changes without the hand which is holding it ever moving. Again, very visual!
The bonus effect, Coin Thru Card, is in my estimation not really all that appealing. What you are taught is how to do it using the gimmick, but there is a way to do it with one single normal coin, although that is not mentioned here. Incidentally, the gimmick version here looks practically identical to the non-gimmicked version, except for the weird hand positions.
There are lots and lots of ways that you can use this gimmick and many of them will pop into your head as soon as you start playing with it. Unfortunately the DVD missed out on some of the more obvious ways this could be used, but as I said before, you have to figure out how to access the gimmick and bring it into play first before you can use it. It can be a challenge because neither of those two things are simple with this gimmick, though the gimmick is very easy to use once in play.
One downside to this gimmick is that, for certain grips, you will have the "Frozen Arm Syndrome" and this has more to do with the length of the gimmick, but changing the length will not solve it because it has to be a certain length in order to work properly, and that ideal length is on the shorter side. I cannot really say too much more than that.
As I mentioned before, you will have to learn how to hold the gimmick before "ditching" it so it does not get hung up, and while this is best suited for use when standing, it could be used while seated, but you will have to be careful because the clear path the gimmick needs can be reduced or contorted, thus causing it to hang up for a moment. The operation of this gimmick is not totally silent, but it is not going to be noticed in most situations with normal, everyday sound levels. If you think it may be an issue, it is easy to figure out how to cover the minimal sound it might make.
In my opinion they should have expanded the gimmick (no, the coin gimmick is not a turtle shell, but it is a type that can be expanded) that they included with this. That would allow for some better handling options and larger coins (half-dollar sized coins, that is). As it stands, when you do any coin changes with this gimmick, because of the nature of it, you will have to use a coin that is slightly smaller than an American half dollar. This is not a problem per se, but it would have been nice to have the option of changing a half dollar to an old English penny.
I had a really hard time rating this effect because I think the price is right for it, but I felt that the overall instruction could have been a bit more expansive, especially where accessing the gimmick and how to bring it into play are concerned. I really wanted to give this closer to 3.6 or 3.7 stars, but I am giving it the benefit because the gimmick has its uses and it does work once you figure out how to handle it after adjusting it for your own body.
For that reason, this is a four star product. Once you make the gimmick, hook it up, make the necessary adjustments and play around with it, and again figuring out how to look natural while accessing and ringing it into play, you will find all kinds of other things to use this with.
If you have a use for this, check it out.