Haven't had any luck yet searching the net. Need one with an external (groove) system that folds exactly in half, not 3rds. Don't even know if they are made.

Chessman I got a 50 cent euro coin from Tango that folds exactly in half.. You should ask him.

Didn't see a half like that on his site, but good to know he sells that type of product. I'll contact Marcelo. Thanks for the tip, Niko!

Hi Mark,

Tango do sell a single-fold quarter - albeit it's cut rather strangely! Check out their website at http://www.tangomagic.com

One of my (many) gripes in magic is why manufacturers actually cut a coin into thirds in the first place. The majority of coins, even larger ones, would fit quite nicely into a bottle with just a single cut.

Peter Crush used to be a coin manufacturer in the UK. His company was called 'Presto Magic' but they vanished off the face of the planet some years ago. Peter made the best folders I've EVER seen. His coins were made with a single cut - AND, here's the important bit, made with two different coins. His rationale was that you would never get a perfect fit with two halves of the same coin, once it had been cut. I'm no engineer, but I can appreciate his logic.

Peter also used to say that there was a common misconception that half dollars were cut into three; so that at least one cut could follow the profile of Kennedy's head. He used to say this was utter BS, as a correctly made folder should be invisible even if it was a blank disc.

His other point, that I tend to agree with, is that a folding coin first saw the light of day in a Coin Wand - outlined in depth, within the Hoffmann books. Therefore, when someone had the idea of putting a folding coin into a bottle, they simply copied the Hoffmann/Coin Wand design and the rest, as they say, is history.

Just a final tip that Peter passed on was the banding process. Re-banding should always be done with something thin (such as the edge of tweezers), and the band should NEVER be twisted within the groove - in other words, the SAME edge of the rubber band should be touching the inner groove's rim. The way of ensuring this is once the coin is banded, re-check by pulling the band upwards/slightly outwards and running the edge of the tweezer, and the band, a few times around the circumference of the coin (hope that makes sense)!

Hey, Barry, thanks for the history (always appreciated!) and the tips!

You know, I have long always tried to keep the band from twisting - I never had a specific reason for this, but it just "seemed" right. Nice to have some confirmation! That is also very interesting to hear about never getting a perfect fit with 2 halves of the same coin. Like you, I couldn't prove it, but I can easily see how that conclusion could be correct.

I had just a couple of hours ago gone to Tango's site and saw their offerings. I had earlier searched for "folding half" and, of course, not come up with what I was looking for. They do have some 50-cent Euro coins that may fill the bill, though.

Hi Barry.

That said, I have a profile-cut Kennedy half dollar that I purchased from Jack Chanin 35 years ago. By now the cuts are pretty visible, no doubt due to wear over the years. But in the 1970's when I first got it the cuts were much less noticeable, especially once the coin was in a bottle. However if examined closely in your hands the cuts could definitely be seen, which is why a switch is always made at the end of CiB routines.

Of course the common shape of Coke bottles back then made the CiB routine much easier IMO, as the tapered neck would automatically fold the coin up nicely upon exit!

Thanks!

Jim

Chessman,
I just saw one on EBay.
The photo was a Kennedy half in 2 pieces.
However the description is kind of vague.
It's from Tapei so you never know what to expect.
I can't get the link because the EBay app doesn't show it on an Ipad.
Search "bite coin"
Good luck.

Still got an old Coke Bottle Jim and use it often. I don't think anything has ever beat it - as you say, it is the perfect design for all aspects of the trick.

Folders do get worn over the years - the constant banging around takes it's toll on the edges. However, it's often worth just rubbing the inner cut edges VERY lightly with some wet&dry (low grade/smooth) sandpaper. It gets rid of tiny nicks and natural oil/film/grime (or whatever it is!) that builds up upon the surface.

This still remains one of my top three tricks - I think that it always will. Especially with sleeving, it's as close to an impossibility in the eyes of the spectator that you can get.

I have to chuckle to myself when I see other tricks hitting the market involving the penetration of a plastic bottle. Maybe, I'm being unfair and I should try them first. However, can anything be stronger than borrowed metal penetrating through glass (even a borrowed bottle) held by a spectator?

Presented correctly, Coin in Bottle is truly up there in the Miracle Class. BUT there's the key point - 'presented correctly'. Far too often, I've seen it badly handled. Work on your sleeving technique and you are TOTALLY clean at EVERY stage.

"It's a bleedin' miracle Guv'nor........a bleedin' miracle"!

Best coin in bottle is done by Michael Ammar! He has a "corked wine botttle". You'll need Michael's gimmick and a tri-fold half to do it, however. But it's really awesome!

Sir Richard.

Thanks, Ihor - ill take a look! For some reason, I didn't include eBay in my search for this (duh). For some reason I just defaulted to shops and here.

I have always loved this effect also.