I've been using Cody Fisher's routine for a long time now and I think it is good because you can have them examine the coins before and after the effect. Very well thought out routine.

Not to change the subject, but has anyone ever experimented with doing a CSB routine totally ungaffed, with just 3 coins...I came up with a handling a few months ago. Was just curious if anyone has gone this route?

-Bill

Not using just three coins but yes ungaffed.

remember... it's the EFFECT, not the method that we fuss over, and one less gaff to rattle and dent is a good thing in my pocket.

Yea I have worked A few things! Mostly I use them Just before I ring in The Gaff!:)!

As I'm getting more into close up work nowadays (Meaning that there is more of it around and I need the money!) I thought that I would do the version of Copper Silver Brass that Doc Eason does on his Bar Magic Vol 3. To cut a long story short, I thought I'd go for the slightly cheaper version made by Sterling.

When it arrived there were only 4 coins instead of the 5 that it clearly says in the advert and upon reading the instructions, they informed me that I would have to supply an extra Sliver Half Dollar. Now they may grow on trees in America, but here in England they are a bit few and far between! (It was brought from a UK on-line magic shop, so 1; their advert is clearly wrong and 2, they should also know about the complete lack of American Silver Half Dollars growing on our trees.

And upon close inspection the [ half was so thick and looked like the side bits of two coins superglued together. When assembled it looked like a Silver Half Dollar badly glued on top of a Brass washer. Come to think about it the Chinese coin is also as cheap and nasty as it can be. Not only does it just look like an old brass washer that is cheaply made to look a bit Chinese coin, it IS an old brass washer that is cheaply made to look a bit Chinese coin!

You would have to be registered blind and standing in a room lit by one candle and stand about 20 feet away not to see the joins! Surly it's not meant to look that bad is it? Do your ones?

I shall be sending it back on Monday not only for the cheapness of construction, but for the misrepresentation in their advert.

I'll then splash out a few £ more and try the set made by Johnson. (The one that Doc Eason uses in the video) It can't be as cheap, nasty and unusable as this pile of junk I have here at the moment.

Eddie Gibson used to make a very nice "Chinse Bit" coin set.

Thanks for that, Jonathan.

I have found them here:

http://www.magictricks.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=4404

Quite a bit more expensive, but what I have here at the moment is unusable, so worth the extra money. I'll just have to look after then and never drop them.

I think you do get what you pay for with regard to coin workmanship.

Gary,
I would also like to recommend the C/S/B routinge that Doc Eason does. It is on his 2nd DVD. I use it whenever I do the C/S/B.
John

I thought it was on Vol 3 - but I could be wrong.

But yes, it is a great routine by Doc Eason. Straight forward, entertaining and very good. (And not that difficult either) It was whilst watching that very version that I said to myself, "Now I MUST have that!" and that doesn't happen often.

:)

I might suggest that interested parties look into the sets that are custom made by either Jaimie Schoolcraft or Todd Lassen I have sets from them both and both do excellent work. The coins are an East African 10 cent piece, a Peruvian Sol, and a walking liberty half .. Pricey? yah, but they are beautifully made (Both TL and JS are masters of their trade. I love em both)... Theirs are the Maserati of the CSB, Johnson is the Cadillac, Sterling is the Chevy and Sasco is the Yugo. Don't get me wrong.. Sasco does some very nice gimmicks and they are priced well. It's just that their CSB set isn't an example of their best work.

Brad is right on.. The issue of the pocket is overblown. I have done this routine since I started..30 years ago...3 times a night, 5 nights a week, for 30 years. It is one of the first tricks that Sheets taught me. and the pocket has never been an issue. at least for me
The sting aspect of the guessing game is played lightly and in fun.. IMHO the *purse* is weird. who carries a purse? casual in and out of the pocket.. simpler and straightforward..

I could be wrong...

Results may vary...

thnks for the kind words above.

Doc

To Shrubsole... yes that is the standard way the Johnson coins come too (without the matching half dollar) .. But it is an extra step that all ye loyal subjects of the queen shouldn't have to do. When I lectured over there I always brought a roll of halves with me and offered them along with the johnson set.... TL and JS both include them in their 'Maserati' sets. It would seem that UK dealers should include them when a sale is made... Kennedy halves are hard enough to find here... let alone in the UK!

Doc

Do you think the idea of showing the extra foreign coins kinda a giveaway? I know that is one of the ways to clean up but does anyone question that? I've been doing Cody Fisher's routine for a while now but recently I purchased the WGM Gaffed Coins DVD and was suprised with the fake explanation. Maybe I'm thinking too much like a magician

WOW! A reply from the master himself! I am truly honoured!

Yes, as they are all "foreign" coins to me, my brain doesn't even register that they are "Currency" and that even in America they haven't been minting coins with Kennedy on them for quite some years. (about 44 years!) What was also very misleading was the advert that said that it consisted of 5 coins when it doesn't at all. (with everything separate, I can only count 4, so the complete Kennedy is very much missing)

Thank you so much for advice and I will certainly look into all of it full.

And now off topic: It may sound a very rude thing to say, but I hadn't heard of you until I came across your Bar Magic vol3 and it was so exactly what I was looking for I've almost worn it out. The relaxed and friendly style that you use is simply top class and something I would recommend that everyone watch and learn from. I have since read up on your story and wow! what a story. Have you or are you ever thinking of writing up your autobiography or just the "Tower years". This sort of info and experience is gold dust to magicians of ALL ages and skills. Stories about 30 YEARS of not talking about it, but actually doing it simply MUST been put down in some form for everyone in the future to learn from.
I was really upset to hear about the Tower closing back in 2004; what a waste! But that makes it even more important that you record your experiences of almost 30 years.

Thanks once again for the personal reply and help. (Just practising "The Impossible Opener" now and soon moving onto "Tearable") I can't recommend your Videos/DVDs highly enough - If anyone wants to do bar work then they MUST view your work on the subject before setting out and even if you just want to do good magic in a relaxed and friendly style then go out a get a Doc Eason DVD.

I don't know how I missed your existence, but I'm very happy that I have corrected that major error on my part.

The VERY best of luck in all your future projects.

Haz... I feel that you are thinking like a magician.. just do it and see for your self...
The bogus explanation 'exposing' the extra set does help with the cleanup and is never questioned... I look at it like a red herring that rather than 'clearing it up for them' throws another boulder in their path. It is a case where the explanation asks more questions than it answers. It obfuscates under the guise of clarification. (look it up)

shrub sole.. yes .. I am wrestling with a book trying to beat it in to some form. It is not easy for me. but Iam working on it. thanks for your kind words...

I am still working ... just not at the Tower.. it is ok... and I am contemplating another tour of the UK next year.

BTW.. for the UK members of this forum.. My email server has a fairly severe spam filter on stuff coming from the UK .. the best way to contact me is doceason@gmail.com

thanks

Doc

Well if you make it here, I shall certainly be first in the queue, that's for sure!

Is the UK now the spam capital of the world now then? That figures!:bg:

I am a big Doc Eason fan and have only been performing professionally for 6 years so that doesn't really compare to his 30 some years but on this one point I have to disagree.

I don't think it adds to the routine by exposing the extra coins. If anything, it just confuses them and "clutters" the routine. I do a very similar routine to Mr. Eason's but I don't "expose" the extra coins and I end after the magic has happened in the spectators hand. You can only go downhill after that...

Can anyone comment more on Cody Fisher's routine? Does it expose the extra coins? What pocket do you work from if at all? I would love some details on this routine before I purchase his dvd. Thanks in advance...

Thanks for you input Mr Eason

Cody Fisher's routine does not expose the extra coins. It uses a coin purse to reveal the coins. You don't need to use your pocket (just once actually but it is well before the trick begins). It does require a gimmick purse but I have done it without the gimmick purse and it works just as well. Its a very well thought out routine IMHO.

Never mind then. I agree with Doc on the whole purse thing...

I think that it's most important that when doing someone else's routine (Obviously in this case WITH their permission.) make sure that you DO adapt it to suit you and how you feel. There is nothing like having to do a certain move that you just don't like and don't get on with just because it was part of the original routine. I'm sure that the Doc would be the first to say (in fact he does in his video explanations) that he himself takes ideas from all over the place and changes it to suit what he likes and what he thinks is good.

The bottom line is that if you don't like the extra coin bit then it is actually best if you leave it out as no one can or should sell something to a crowd that their heart isn't into.

In the Doc's "the Impossible opener", I prefer to start with the two cards on top of the deck and D/L them from there instead of from the bottom as he starts. Hardly a major rewrite or change just how it felt easier for me.

Remember the whole of Magic evolved and will continue to long after we are gone because everyone watches something and says, "Great I love it, but what if instead of..."

My current favorite CSB routine is James Lewis's on his Million Dollar Mysteries video. There is no pocket work, it is very magical, not too confusing. The coins are examined in the beginning and at the end.