If you have owned one of these I would appreciate some help.
I have just bought a coin unique and it rattles a little when handled . I had one a few years ago and it locked tight and I was happy for spectators to handle it. I am wondering if mine is an inferior copy .
It is a british 10p and 2p and there is no mention of coin unique in the enclosed literature .
I couldn't find this version in any UK dealer so grabbed at an ebay offer .
Could any owners of this tell me if theres rattles at all or where I might find the silent version.

I have 2 sets of coin unique. My one set rattles just a little bit and the other set doesn't. I got them both at Hank Lee's website. I remember reading other posts about this same topic and if I remember correctly, other people have said theirs rattles too.

But I still hand out the one that rattles and have never been caught yet. Most people won't shake a coin when they have it, they usually look at it very close on both sides. Unless your inner coin actually has a gap that you can see with the naked eye, I wouldn't worry about it.

I got one just the other day from Hank Lee and it talks a little depending on how I handle it, but in my opinion the insert is just too obvious... it's like the part of the back around the area of interest is angled slightly inward... I dunno if they punched it out or drilled it but it looks slighty deformed by the process. The back and the insert kindof aren't on the same level, not flat, so they reflect light differently and stand out like a sore thumb even on a quick flash (at least to me). I haven't got the nerve to try it out on anyone yet... I am a bit disappointed...

I have a UK 1p - £1 version which is the opposite and really quite a tight fit, I think I'd rather have one that rattles.
I would imagine that the only way to fix the rattle is to have a craftsman (or DIY if you're brave) tap in the edges a little.
BTW, if it rattles then it also presumably 'twists' and therefore would be a bit risky to hand out for inspection?

Mike

Got my 10p/2p one from International Magic a while back. It is a Gibson one and is very quiet and a pleasure to use. Probably still got some on stock. Presto used to do some nice coins but not seen their adverts for a while.

There's no way in the world I could hand the one I just got from Hank Lee for inspection... it's a "spinner"... the insert fits loosely enough you can twist it around pretty easily, even if it didn't look peculiar like I mentioned earlier... are the ones in US currency supposed to fit snugly enough that the insert doesn't turn?

The insert can turn for the US currency. I never hand the coin out for examination. It's still a well made prop.

Both my sets spin. They are all made that way so the US quarter can come out.

The routine that I do, I have never had any heat on the half...all the heat is on the duplicate quarter that I dump out of my shoe into my hand.

Bob Phillips

care to Pm me some tips on this? Mine is a free spinner/no looker also

Mine (US version) spins, but not very easily. It doesn't rattle at all.

I never hand out anything "for inspection" but I've let people handle it during the course of the effect many times and have never been caught.

I recently got one of these, (American Half and Quarter). So far, I'm in love with the thing. I'm using it a lot and when I'm not using it...I'm still playing with it. It doesn't spin or rattle for me. It's a very tight fit. I don't hand out my gaffed coins for inspection. Not only do I not want to get caught, but I don't like putting a prop that cost me good money in the hands of a spectator that might do something unpredictable or uncontrollable.

I like doing a coin through glass routine where they can inspect the real quarter all day long. I also like to do the open-palmed vanish described in the instructions that came with the coin. I can immediately produce the quater from anywhere I choose and, as I reveal the quarter, I flip the half in the air, catch it smartly and simply drop the half into my pocket. They can inspect the quarter or not...but I then do the same with the quarter that I did with the half and move onto another effect. This is a wonderfully made trick. My wife even thinks it's pretty darn cool.

I have one of each, US and British versions I mean. The British version is the penny variety, no talking, little spinning, an excellent product. The US version I bought used and a bit worn... it talks a very little, but all in all, a great product as well.

My only beef with the US version is that the HD side of the insert tarnishes to a different color than the coin itself, noticably so. I have to clean it constantly to maintain a congruent color and luster. Not a huge problem, but I typically don't like cleaning coins, I prefer the look of age and tarnish.

Best,

Mike

Mike, I have 2 sets of coin unique for a few years now and I have not experienced that problem.

I don't think it's a common problem with the product... I think it's a uniqiue problem with my Coin Unique tbaer...

Best,

-Mike

Mike,
Interesting. I find this tarnishing and luster problem, not with Coin Unique,which I don't own, but with my Johnsons C/S/B and my some of my C/S coins. My Scotch and Soda is the worst. I don't like polishing coins either, but in order to make these various coin configurations(gaffed and not) match in color and luster, I find that I have to polish them up once a month. Especially my Centavos.
Jim

Mike, I also have major tarnishing problems with my centavos and my english pennies.

I have four coin uniques in euros (one Gibson, three from other places). I find a tiny piece of bluetac in the [ keeps the only rattling one (not the Gibson) from being detected. With the bluetac I can actually hand it out, though I prefer not to.

I accidentally spent my first Gibson euro coin unique a year ago and kicked myself to sleep every night till I received a new one. You can keep them separate from other change by keeping a smaller coin clinging to it - something I learnt too late.

If anyone is in the Toledo area of Spain and happens to have a 50 cent coin and a magnet handy, check your change...

Roki,
if it rattles I doubt it's an authentic eddie gibson coin unique, eddies coin uniques are pretty much perfect. He's a master craftsman and it's a shame that these copies are providing competition, in the end, it's most definitely worth paying the extra and buying gibson coins

Carron

Jim and tbaer: I sometimes go the other way with this problem and make everything tarnished instead of clean. I take about 3 hard-boiled eggs, shells removed, and put them in a baggie with the silver coins that I want to tarnish. Once the bag is sealed, I smash up the eggs and let the whole disgusting mess sit about a day or two. The sulfur-dioxide that the eggs give off tarnishes silver pretty nicely, giving them a reddish, brownish color which quickly becomes darker and more blackish when the coins are removed from the bag and exposed to air. For copper coins I simply handle them equally for an evening (watch TV and play around with the coins for example). The next day the coins are oxidized fairly similarly. I don't know what to do about composite coins (newer halves made from nickel, copper, and whatever else is thrown in there).

Best,

-Mike