The Phantom Coin

This is one of the classics of coin magic and requires little pre-planning. Great for use in a bar or a dinner party where you’re trying to get someone’s attention.

The Setup:

The magician places a coin into the dead center of a dinner napkin and inverts it over a wine glass or a pilsner. The magician then drops the coin into the glass and then secures the dinner napkin over the glass with a rubber band. The magician then passes a handkerchief over the glass and commands the coin to vanish. And when the dinner napkin is removed, the coin is gone.

The Secret:

• Cover your hand with the dinner napkin, place the coin into the dead center of your covered hand, and then place flip the napkin so that you are still holding the coin in your fingers.

• Take the wine glass or pilsner by the base and lower the napkin over the top – don’t let go of the coin yet!

• Tilt the mouth of the glass towards you slightly and drop the coin so that it hits the base of the glass, making a deliberate clinking sound that convinces your audience that it fell into the mouth of the glass. You may want to practice the drop a bit so that it always hits the base; if it just hits your hand, the opportunity is lost.

• OPTIONAL: If you want to ham it up a bit, keep the palm with the coin in it loose enough for the coin to move around, then shake the glass around a bit so that it sounds like the coin is rattling around in the glass. This is purely for effect and should be practiced so that it sounds like the coin is hitting more glass than skin!

• With the hand that is now holding the coin, reach into your pocket to retrieve the rubber band and leave the coin behind. Use the rubber band to secure the dinner napkin to the glass.

• Pass a handkerchief over the glass while commanding the coin to disappear. For effect, you can always borrow someone else’s hanky (if you have find someone who carries one these days!).

• Remove the dinner napkin from the glass and show your audience that it is now gone! At this stage, the coin is already gone, so you could even have your mark remove the napkin from the glass just to drive the point home.

• Smile quietly to yourself as your mark freaks out.

Learn this trick and many others in The Gag's collection of Books of Magic, Money Magic, and Starter and Deluxe Magic Sets.

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