Will Goldston's trick of passing a coin through his sleeve
Coin magic is the manipulating of coins to entertain audiences.[1] Because coins are small, most coin tricks are considered close-up magic or table magic, as the audience must be close to the performer to see the effects. Though stage conjurers generally do not use coin effects, coin magic is sometimes performed onstage using large coins. In a different type of performance setting, a close-up coin magician (or 'coin worker') will use a large video projector so the audience can see the magic on a big screen. Coin magic is generally considered harder to master than other close-up techniques such as card magic, as it requires great skill and grace to perform convincingly, and this requires much practice to acquire.
Elements
Coin effects include productions, vanishes, transformations, transpositions, teleportations, penetrations, restorations, levitations and mental magic—some are combined in a single routine. A simple effect might involve borrowing a coin, making it vanish, concealing the coin, then reproducing it again unexpectedly and returning it to the owner. More complex effects may involve multiple coins, substituting or switching coins and other objects or props can be employed (e.g. handkerchiefs, glasses) as well as the coins. However, the power of most coin magic lies in its simplicity and the solidity of the object; the basic skills of sleight of hand and misdirection often appear most magical without complex equipment. Almost any audience will be amazed by the simplest mystery, such as passing a coin through a table.
Although some coin magic use gimmicks (e.g. modified coins or trick coins), such gimmicks usually do not entirely create the magical effect. Gimmicked coins are made by several major manufacturers, such as Sterling, Johnson, Sasco or Tango Magic. Producing a memorable mystery requires significant skill in presenting the effect and utilizing misdirection to distract the audience from the secret of the gimmick. A performer who relies entirely on special equipment may not impress an audience. Many people are more impressed by an effect which depends (or seems to depend) entirely on skillful manipulation and misdirection than by an effect which appears to depend to some extent on specially made props. A performer who has mastered the basic skills can nonetheless use gimmicks to powerful effect without it being obvious to the audience. Some prefer not to use gimmicks at all, though most well-known coin magicians do use simple coin gimmicks.
In literature
Canadian novelist Robertson Davies devotes a good part of his Deptford Trilogy to the art of coin magic. All three novels follow in part or wholly the career of a fictitious magician, Magnus Eisengrim, who was abducted as a boy by a traveling circus and learned his craft while concealed in a papier-mâché automaton. The descriptions of coin magic throughout are remarkable for their clarity. The final novel in the series, World of Wonders, details his life and career.
In the Neil Gaiman novel American Gods, the main character, Shadow, is experienced with coin magic, and many different tricks and aspects of coin magic are discussed in the book.
In Stephen King's Dark Tower series of novels, the gunslinger Roland Deschain uses the coin walk, albeit substituting a bullet, to induce a hypnotic state in those concentrating on the object's movement across his knuckles.
