And the brass coin box collection comes in two styles: American coins or Japanese coins. The boxes are different colors. I used to have them and gave photos to Angelo, which are on his website.

I don't own the brass boxes.

The Tenyo World of Magic set is great. It has many "plussed" versions of tricks you may already know, but done in the special Tenyo style. And it has tricks they've never put out before, plus an enormous instruction book and DVD. Between the DVD performances and drawings in the instruction book, it's all pretty easy to figure out.

It's been 10 years since this thread has been active. I guess perception and situation would have changed in these 10 years. At the same time, I think it would be very difficult to pin down a list of "rare" Tenyo items because Tenyo's products spans from more obscured domestic-only releases, and those that are exported overseas, which would be more widely known to collectors outside Japan. So the scope can be really wide, and it would be impossible to pin down a definitive list.

But I would attempt to come up with a few lists with some qualifications. I shall not venture into the mirky list of Domestic Japan-only tricks, pre-1960s nor Magic Box Sets or the TC Sets - some of them could be so obscure that they only surface sporadically - cos otherwise, the list would become too long...


Mainstream Tricks that I consider Rare (To find complete with packaging)
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1) Break-away Fan
2) Die-Abolical Box
3) Walt Disney World
4) Coin Case
5) Rainbow Silks (USA Flag version)
6) Floating Lady (Doug Henning version)
7) That is your Card
8) Super Stick
9) Melting Loop
10) Invisible Man

A second list I would like to make is a list of more desirable/popular Tenyo that most collectors (Serious or casual) would want to find / have in their collection and that would probably justify the higher prices if they are made available for sale. They may not be necessarily very rare, and I have purposely excluded any of the tricks that I had in my first list above


Mainstream Tricks that I consider desirable in Collections
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1) Ultra Tube
2) SideTrack
3) Mystery China Box
4) Floating Lady
5) Mirage
6) Cross Roads
7) Excalibur
8) Astro Coin
9) Mini Morphosis
10) Eye of the Idol

It's now been another year since this thread has been active, but a quick search for "rare Tenyo magic" these days on the Big Auction Site will usually yield multiple hits for vintage items such as Mystery China Box in the $100-$300+ range.

Bottom line: You may want to consider adding vintage Tenyo to your "great investment" lists along with classic automobiles, vintage wines, rare coins and fine art as a vehicle to preserve your wealth in these troubled times.