Thanks. I have been enjoying all these coin videos.

Harris
Palms of Aluminum Foil

I heard that Ramon is a very well known and very good street magician and you can see him performing on the street somewhere in New York.
I don't live in the USA, but I still got this video with Ramon's performance from my good friend (many of you know him and his incredible coin magic, he is an excellent coin magician).
He sent me this live performance by Ramon:
https://youtu.be/qLvPN8oD4e4

That is an interesting presentation, dj. Amazing to see his audience management out on the NYC streets hold them there that long for one trick. And what a trick he delivered. I’m still scratching my head.

Those that think holding and growing a crowd on the streets us easy probably
never busked. Ramon definitely has.

I often speak of variety here, and for coin guys that can include a little card stuff, but can also include a closeup effect or two. For me, this piece of closeup is one of the best I ever came across, “simple genius” I call it. I’ve been doing it for years and it’s one of the very few things I’ve kept readily available in my old quick-carry purse of tricks. I just keep a few things in there, things that have somehow over the years stuck with me for one reason or other.

This guy was good at it all, not just doing the magic but creating it as well. And not to mention, was a top coin guy that came up with some interesting stuff. One of the things he did was quite relative to coin magic and became one of his absolute instant classics. Nothing hard to it (you coin guys already know the moves), but still hits like a ton of bricks. I’m so glad that other important magicians took the time to recognize his many works in lasting book form, actually a trilogy. It’s one thing to write about yourself, but it’s something else when people think so much of you that they take the time to write about you exclusively, sorta like Kaufman on David Roth.

Strangely, you don’t hear much about him nowadays, but he made an indelible mark on the art with his comedic nature and fine abilities. He’s quite a thinker as you can see here with one of his (& mine) all time favorite closeup effects…I think all coin men should carry this little set for some on the spot killer magic.

And yes, one of the most popular coins across of all times came from Sankey…”Mr. Clean Coins Across.” It was the absolute craze and a tremendous hit out there everywhere, years back. Sankey has a lot of great coin material, much of it SOH stuff. I mentioned his book trilogy by the guys at Vanishing Inc.,, but Kaufman also covered the man in a couple of books, so you know he’s most interestingly the real deal and well worth looking into again & again, as most magic books by Richard Kaufman typically are.

I always liked the guys that can do it all best. It’s nice to specialize in one thing or other, but it might not be as interesting after a while, no matter how you rationalize it. Or as my grandpa useta say, “However you fix your pillow to sleep at night.” And so, another wonderful Sankey closeup effect is his “Leaving Home.” It’s another one that I still have in the old magic purse. Packs small and plays BIG! A bit of a deviation but still uses some metal for you, not a coin but a key. Really nice little piece of on-the-go magic.

*And if you just have to have a coin in there somewhere, try his “Killer Key,” that also uses a nickle. That should do the trick for’ya!

I enjoyed Mr Sankeys book on comedy and the monologue just as
much as his coin effects. His ideas went well with Albert Goshman
who emphasized The Magic is You.

Harris
Palms of Aluminum Foil

Yes, Goshman was a wizard if ever a wiz there was. And his understanding that “The Magic is YOU,” means the big, small, & all of us in this thing.

As a matter of fact, let’s visit the old wizard here to see and remember why he was a real master of the art…

Thanks MB.
I was lucky to see him live a few times.
The first time I knew very little about coin work.
I still use his ideas. Lately I have been using my own music as background Tracks for
close up work.

From the old to the new…I love trying to bring you magic from places you might not have gone, or heard of or seen much of now or lately. Here is another really clever fellow that shows you sorta something new from something old and classic. Love the creativity here and you can absolutely see that he loves it too. He’s another topnotch, all-around closeup man that can work the coins as well. Yet another wonderful magi worth looking into as to ideas, technique, and all of the many ingredients that go into any kind of good magic…

That's fantastic. I don't remember having seen that particular method before, though I imagine it's not a new one.

Here's a monster coin routine from my favorite magician:

https://youtu.be/2TyOFNUmlmc

Here's another nice routine by Jeki Yoo:
https://youtu.be/jkhi3UUMfOI

Dj, just wonderful stuff, and the Gary Kurtz video most definitely belongs here as well. He is a complete master as to coin magic. He’s another one you don’t hear much about anymore, but few can compare to. Just the consummate performer as to topnotch technique and presentation. I was glad to see that old video, as I’m sure many here are as well. Unfortunately, you can’t be every place or see everything, and we probably miss much more than we catch as to good magic. And that’s one of the purposes of this string, and why I enjoy when people post here of pieces like this. They show you where we come from and how we might’ve gotten anywhere that we are in the art, all the way to someone like Jedi Yoo (Who?)…That’s what I mean.

Just these two presentations of his show you coin work a bit different than what you might’ve thought as to presentation & technique, either with a cup or a plastic bag, as posted here. Just amazing stuff. It is creativity in action. And Kurtz’ magic is some of the basis (& basics) for it all if you look carefully. How clever is that cup effect? And the plastic bag is off the charts amazing as to technique! I’ve seen the small plastic bag effects, but it plays so much bigger & better with a larger freezer bag as you see it done here, so much more coin magic to it. I love it!

And I continue to invite folks to share such wonderful pieces of magic with all of us, from not just the supposed best, but also from all the rest. Many times we just get to see what others think we should look at and appreciate most as to the art, but there’s so much more, many of which they typically may never mention for one reason or other. In this string, we try to call balls & strikes as to good magic from the big, small, and all of us.

Thanks for all the wonderful posts and responses. Keep enjoying the magic because, as Goshman says, “It is YOU,” and a bit of us all.

A real good friend here passed along an old book to me about another one of the true masters of magic, and I’m so thankful to get to read again through it with much greater appreciation. It was written by the prolific magic writer, Karl Fulves back when I was a young teenager. The book is wonderful, but it is the introduction that sets the table (as introductions do), as it speaks to what I speak to here as to the overall importance of this part of the art. It speaks to how closeup magic became so very popular in the US. It also speaks of its importance to the art, and of one man that courted it along like no other at the time. And like a lot of the closeup men I’ve posted about here, he happens to have also been quite a coin guy with work that remains classic to this day.

I posted here once long ago now about Earl “Presto” Johnson doing one of his most beloved stage routines, that I happened to see as a kid at the famed, Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC. Like all of his work, this wonderful worker was just wonderful to behold. He came from nothing to be one of America’s greatest magicians, and still sets some of the highest of standards today…A magic creator, teacher, renowned performer and magical genius, he remains one of our very best…



*Fast Fact: In this old book, NYC magician, Tony Spina pens the Preface. Tony was a part of the famous, Lou Tannen’s Magic Shop and always welcomed me there on Saturdays with just a machine gun presentation of a variety of closeup tricks. Those were the days.

Combing the globe…Destination Singapore…From the well known to maybe not so much here, but that’s OK. Watch the magic speak for itself, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg from this guy, who happens to also (besides his mentalism) be a darn good coin man as well…

I’ve featured this guy before, but he just has such a wealth of good work & energy, and like a few notable others here, he deserves an encore. This time he teaches you a really nice table piece that looks like pure magic but that with some practice, you can do it too. Why not just grab your coins and come along…I think you’ll be glad you did.

Enjoy!

You guys are most welcome, appreciate all your PMs. And I agree, this is just a wonderful little table trick, fairly easy to do, and just why would someone not want to learn such a wonderful little gem from a great one like Dean Dill, who was just a master of these type of coin effects. And “No Extras” is what I’m talking about, good old SOH with just 4 coins, some practice and just your deceptive 2 hands.

Jason Maher above here does it a bit different from how Dean did it, but it’s good to see things evolve in other hands, and just how much so many hands appreciated the work of Dean Dill. Anyway, for perspective & in great reverence, here’s Dean doing it his way…

The godfather and the manila enforcer matrix wIth one hAND MANY YEARS AGO

https://youtu.be/uJuOdvPvayc

Don’t want to forget about this guy, a champion magician that just creates some amazing magic. Again, he’s a closeup guy that can really do some astounding coin magic. This was one from him that just sings so loudly…wonderful piece!