In Darwin Ortiz's Strong Magic (the one book that should not be on any magician's shelves because it should be off their shelves being read over and over again), he states:

"...part of magic presentation technique is narrative technique. It is concerned with considerations of theme, characterization, conflict, plotting, story line, clarity, atmosphere, and dramatic structure...I stress this because, as obvious as the point is, it has received very little attention in magic literature."

Enter Precision Magic's Promise Kept.

In it's most stripped down definition it is a coin transposition. But to say it is just a transposition is to do the overall effect a disservice.

There will be those who may overlook this absolute gem of an effect because it is not the latest flashy trick to be performed on TV or receive breathless hype on the Internet about being able to start a new religion with it. That's their loss. And their spectators'.

For those who truly want to entertain their audiences, however, Promise Kept, if performed correctly, will help you do that job of entertaining in spades. Those who get it and just concentrate on the props and toss the included story aside will be sorry they did.

It's taken me a long time in magic to eventually realize that what magicians like and what lay spectators like are two entirely different things. This effect operates on the latter. You can carry it in your pocket and perform it almost anywhere. It is a close-up effect and can be done practically surrounded. The more intimate the occasion/setting, the more powerful the piece will play. It helps to have some place to set the box down, but under the right conditions and with the right spectator, you could hand it to them to hold.

Far too many magicians (sadly, including myself in my younger years) think that patter is secondary (if that) to an effect. And far too many times that patter goes along the lines of, "I'm now putting the card back in the pack," "And now I'm shuffling the pack," and other lines obvious to all but the blind. But with this effect you are paying primarily for the story line. Granted, the props are very nice (and the magician in me loves the simple but effective subtleties used in the vanish and reappearance.) But the overall effect of this in your audience's mind will be how the story is used in conjunction with those props. And the effect on the audience is the only thing I am concerned about. Those who are just concerned with nothing but devious methods may as well stick to puzzles (not that there is anything wrong with puzzles!)

The old saying about the props basically doing all the work for you is true only in the sense of the basic mechanics of the trick with one minor and easy exception, but even a non-coin guy like me can pull it off due to the way it is done. Like everything else in magic, you'll have to practice to make sure everything is smooth in your hands. But you will have to do some work on your part to not only memorize the basic story, but deliver it in a manner fitting of the effect. Do that, and no matter how well you can execute a Double or how invisibly you can perform the Pass, this will be an effect that your audiences will remember. Put the time into this one that it deserves.

Posted: Mar 16, 2007 5:08pm
Whoops. Forgot to credit the "Promise Kept" routine to David Mitchel.

This is a awesome effect!! It just kills your spectators!!

I love performing this effect.

One thing that I have learned in magic is presentation is everything. After talking with magicians such as Eric Jones and Simon Lovell, I realized that I needed to concentrate more on my patter and actually connect more with the spectators.

I have now taken Promise Kept and engineered the story to include myself which now endeers me to my audience. I could do a card through window, third degree burn, levitate, and any number of card effects, however I am always getting remembered for Promise Kept.

I can't really explain it, people just love it and so do I. Promise Kept and it's presentation has got me changing my patter for most of my other effects to make them even stronger.

Promise Kept is a must have in my opinion.

Ok, I have decided to take the Plunge and get this as it sounds like a really strong effect. But before I ordered this I was PMed by a friend who seemed to think that this was a knock off. So, I did some investigating...and I found out that the effect was originated by Dave Mitchell and was Marketed by Art Emmerson under the name of Keep Sake. When the company was sold, ownership and rights to the effect were maintained by Dave Mitchell and re-named under its original name Promise Kept. So...the bottom line here is that it is not a knock off. Thanks Precision Magic for bringing a great Item back to us and Dave Mitchell for such a fantastic routine.

Just got mine in the mail today.....time to go to work on this and will post a review soon.

I want to slap whoever put Max Headroom's uncle on the front page.

I'm with you Brother. Everytime I go to that page, it's a mad scramble to turn off the speakers.

Oh, what? You mean it's not a real person? The voice, it sounds so genuine!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one to scramble to turn off the speakers, I wish they would get rid of him into cyber space!

I am going to destroy MaX Senior on this site, once he's gone to the great electric death, I am focusing on my magic. Good magic makes me want to do it right, and never live until others are believers!

Well, I finally saved enough cash to Purchase this trick and have had it for about 2 weeks now. The effect is easy to do...but it took me a little while before I had the story straight...getting old! Ha! But I tried it out on a gig I was doing...It went over very well. I had people after the show come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed the show but the trick with the box and coin was their favorite. Made a believer out of me!

Posted: Jun 12, 2007 8:26am
Just wanted to let everyone know that this is a really good trick. It has helped me get several more bookings...all I had to do was make sure I did the coin trick with the little box. People really...like this trick. Me too! It is now one of my favorites.

Whilst I love the effect, a couple of times I've had problems with the lid getting "stuck" as I open the box, doubtless because of the type of coin I'm using.

What kind of coins are anyone in the UK using?

Thanks,
Jon.

I don't think I like the half dollar part. They don't seem very romantic to me. I'm considering picking this up and writing a pirate story for use with my Relic when it comes. Is it best with a half dollar (as opposed to a smaller coin), or did they just choose it because they like half dollars? I want to go to a coin store and find something with a heart on it or something. Thanks for the review!


Terrick

Here is a good link for some odd coins: http://goldenstate-mint.com/

I have been performing this effect for over 30 years now. It is one of my favorite close-up effects. I found that I could change the story up to fit what I was doing and the routine could be expanded using more that the two coins...four coins in my routine.

I want to thank all of you for suppporting Promise Kept and help make it the success that is. Please feel free to PM me if anyone has any questions and I will try to be as much help as possible.

For people not in the US -

Does this come with coins?

Can you substitute any coins?

The coins need to be the size of a regular US Half Dollar. As long as the size is correct any coins can be used. In fact I have several coins that I use for specific types of venues. Like I use a Purple Heart Coin for our Soldiers Serving...and there are all types of coins on the market. I noticed above that there are some odd coins, I took a look at them and they should work fine. I don't actually have any of those but the dimensions seem correct.

Ok...I may be showing my substantial ignorance here but can anyone DESCRIBE clearly WHAT THE EFFECT IS? The advertising blurb is BIZARRE in the extreme and seems to be all about "the grave, they , the coin, the ghost, the owner and the return of the emtional package to the grave....etc, etc... WHAT THE!?

You put a coin in a box and it disappears during the story only to reappear again in the box at the end of the story

The ad has to be vague so as to not give away the story. Basically the story gives you a "logical" – and more importantly, an emotional - reason for doing the trick, which is, in its most stripped down description, a transposition of a coin.


Technically, the coin disappears out of a clear coin case inside a bag, only to reappear inside the box.

I bought the trick, and guess I am in the minority because I did not fall in love with it. I found the ad copy to be misleading -- I believed the entire trick was contained within the box, and was disappointed to find there was more that had to be done. Sorry for being vague, but do not want to disclose. Its not a bad trick by any means, and I can understand how some may like it, but do not think that you are simply playing with just the box and the coin.