After a few years' hiatus from magic, I decided to come back and really focus on some of the more basic sleights. I was especially keen on refining my french drop. After seeing Poof-Daddy's review, I decided to take the plunge...

Tresor by Jeff Copeland
$39.95 from Copeland Coins
Trailer Here: Youtube Trailer
Topic is Also Discussed Here: Nothing Up My Sleeve Post
Also Reviewed Here: Tresor by Jeff Copeland (Poof-Daddy)

What You Get
It's worth noting that unlike many other tutorials at similar price points, Tresor does not come in DVD form. Rather, Copeland has decided to invest those funds into increased production value and development of the DAVE system. Instead, you get a portfolio that comes with two beautifully produced copper coins and a password protected link. From there, you can stream Tresor through DAVE or download the 99 minute / 343MB file.

Overview
As Poof-Daddy mentions in his review, Tresor really is a masterclass on the sleight colloquially known as the french drop. Copeland covers several different variations, including takes, puts, and productions. The DAVE system was more useful than my initial impression from the trailer. At the top of the screen are reference pictures that show clear views of exact finger positions you'd need. This eliminates the awkward hassle of having to pause and rewind a stream over and over again. Consequently, it streamlines the teaching rather nicely. After the basic sleight is explained, Jeff goes into detailed subtleties, applications, and finer points of misdirection, body weight, and timing/rhythm. At that point, it was nice to refer back to the reference pictures while incorporating those refinements. On the sides of the screen are notes that offer helpful tips, references, and credits. Although Copeland does credit many of the sleights, there were some issues. As an example, the French pop was credited to Chris Kenner (used in his 3 Fly), rather than Geoff Latta.

Content


Most of the beginner and intermediate variations will be familiar to those who have read through Bobo's or Michael Rubinstein's Encyclopedia of Coin Sleights. However, there are a few useful refinements that I haven't come across. The french fairy was one that I was convinced wouldn't fool anyone. However, I've gotten some great responses from laypeople on it thus far. It uses a method to create enough "static" that the sudden vanish seems to cause a bit of uncertainty in the spectator.

The new material that is featured most prominently in the trailer are the advanced sleights. They use some principles explored by others such as Eric Jones and result in very visual vanishes/productions. There are some angle restrictions to be wary of. Some, such as the inverted drop, are really only for situations where you have a few spectators directly in front of you. While these look great in Copeland's hands, they don't feel organic to my personal style, which is a bit more flowing. The hand placements also look a bit awkward and "move-y" at times. While vanishing a coin with only your index finger may be visual, it's not something I ever see myself doing since it's not an organic movement for me. I will admit though that his Mexi-Maze rapidfire sequences are pretty fun to watch.

The biggest value in Tresor for me have been the refinements to the what he calls the Guaranteed Retention sleight. If you're familiar with Kainoa's work, it's the same retention vanish that he so often uses. Copeland gives a few different pointers that have really elevated it for me.


The three routines each offer a good bits of performing advice. His lessons on "less is more" with spellbound will stay with me for a while to come. The routines make liberal use of his other two products (the Traveler wallet and Blackbird holdout). It did feel a bit like an advertisement for those products at times, but he makes up for it by giving alternate handlings if you don't have those same gimmicks.

Difficulty
Most of the content taught is beginner friendly. The advanced sleights may be a bit knacky, but were still fairly easy to grasp to this beginner/intermediate coin worker. I, however, may be a bit biased since I'm currently working through Kainoa Harbottle's Coins on Edge .

The Coins
The two copper coins are absolutely amazing. I had been using 99.9% copper rounds for my spellbounds, as it had been difficult to find dollar sized coins for me. However, after a few days, the oxidation significantly darkened the coin, requiring me to constantly clean it. The coins include a nice coating that make them fairly resistant to such issues, and are a bit brighter than most other copper coins I've seen. This makes them much more visible in darker environments.

I initially had concerns that the coins would look too artificial (see Ellusionist's Artifact coins). However, Copeland and his designer have put serious thought into creating accurate currency art and into creating a semi-circulated look. The validity of the coins were never questioned, but I had received a few compliments on it from spectators.

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The Bottom Line
At $40, the price is a bit steep. While the refinements made the purchase worthwhile for me, other resources (such as the previously mentioned Encyclopedia of Coin Sleights) offer much more in terms of variety. For the seasoned coin worker, there will not be much new content. It's definitely worth re-watching the trailer a few times to really gauge whether the original sleights offered really mesh well with your personal style.

Pros
+ Great production value and integration with the DAVE system
+ Lots of good refinements and subtleties
+ Clear, concise teaching
+ Awesome copper coins

Cons
- Original sleights may not work for you
- Price will be a bit steep for some

Only issue I have is that while the video portion of the instructions is downloadable, the photos and text are not. One of the reasons I like written instructions with photos is that they can be viewed where I am practicing the moves and routines. I don’t practice in front of my computer - actually nowhere near my computer. That's in my office at home while I have a separate room with all my magic props and supplies along with a table and mirrors for practice. If it were all able to be downloaded I'd try it out right away.

Thanks!

Jim

Mavericklancer, thanks for taking the time in such complete overview! Excellent evaluation and I know that everyone here will benefit from this review.

I've fixed the Geoff Latta oversight... the beauty of DAVE is he learns. =)

Why the price tag? The tangibles: the coin set ($22 value alone in comparable markets... if any coin compares. lol) , and also the custom, artistic album, a full length and detailed video with multiple camera men shooting, and also the new DAVE learning format that increases the speed of learning (time=money) These all together justify the price being much higher than a standard download or common DVD, though it is only a little higher. Believe it or not, at least a dozen people on Five different continents were involved in the making of this project!! It wasn't that long ago that $35 or $40 just got you a scratchy VHS tape. hahaha I hope people can see the extreme value!

I'm intentionally taking it to the next level with my products. Every one has just a little extra thought and a few more years of development before releasing, which is where my price point comes from. I hope that this post comes across genuine and may help someone.

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Jim, I felt like most people are learning off their computers with downloads these days. If that is not you, I understand, but that is the thought process and why just incase I included the download where you can enjoy it as a traditional video. I did not do DVD because the video resolution would be lower and added cost couldn't be justified when the majority would not use it. In the future I will seek ways around this, but the web is a part of it and since that is where it is sold, I assume my customers will have access. I appreciate your voice! DAVE will function just fine on a laptop and large tablets if you need it in another room and that is an option, I just don't want to promote it for mobile use, the phone screen is just too small for text, pictures, and video together, though it should function, hard to read. I might suggest that many moves are simple to pick up, you could do a quick study at your computer, there is a lot of visual to help with easy learning and then practice in the other room. thanks for your interest!!

I just want to share, that many reviews are now live on Copeland Coins. Read what people are saying by visiting the bottom of this page:

https://shop.copelandcoins.com/products/tresor