Hi folks,
I've once bought a magnetic and a shimmed Walking Liberty.
Yeah, don't by gaffs if you don't know how to use them. But they are Lassen coins and to be honest, I bought them because they are Lassen. I am guilty and I have been weak (but also purchased a nice holdout).
In my defense, they were cheaper than new ones from MKS (from where I got them ) and I already had some ideas, but sadly the magnet is not as strong as I would like it to be, so my ideas are lame. Strange enough, it will not work properly with my shimmed shell. Why?

Long story short: What source do you recommend for ideas with magnetic coins (that are not super strong)?

What do you mean it won't work?

The shimmed shell won't stick to the magnetic coin?

Or once stuck it won't easily release?

The latter is expected unless they were made/matched to lightly stick and gently release as you'd find on an OxF, Triple Threat, etc.

Since yours were acquired separately I wouldn't expect them to "work" the 2nd way.

---

As for uses, a mag coin is handy for retrieving from or ditching to any sort of mag holdout. I keep a strong neodymium disc in my back pocket and it works great.
It let's you easily get one ahead or one behind.

Correct. It doesn't hold the shell.

I use them with a holdout, but I wonder why is one coin magnetic and the other shimmed. To use them with a magnetic holdout, the shimmed one is actually a bit more practical (north-south). I asked myself what is the additional benefit of the different features, which have almost the same effect and thought I was missing something here.

You bought them together, or separately and tried to combine them?
Magnets are tricky - you generally want to have a mag holdout and shimmed gaffs, or a shimmed holdout and magnetic gaffs.
Otherwise, you can end up with polarity issues, as you've observed.

As far as the "additional features" I'm not entirely sure what you were expecting, or what it didn't do that you thought it should.
There are certainly some things you can do in combinations (Kim Anderson's Silver Edge comes to mind), but the vast majority of situations are either
- so things don't come apart unexpectedly (like in a DDD or S&S)
- so you get a little bit of extra convincer/connection (like in an OxF or TT)
- so you can ditch/retrieve it more simply.

I bought the coins together, but not with the shell.
Speaking of the additional features, I don't know what it could be myself. It was just the thought that if two coins are sold as a “set” that do not have the same properties they can somehow be used together. I didn't realize that they were simply made for different holdouts.
Maybe I'm thinking too complicated.
Of course I also thought about Silveredge, but that would probably require the super-strong Kennedy's (or replicas of Oliver Magic).

I have “magnetized” a playing card for some extra use with the coins/shell. At least the shell sticks to that. Maybe there is not enough magnetic metal in it to work with the coin.

It's not just "for different holdouts" - that was one example. Sometimes you get both kinds in a set that comes with something else (like a special card) or to use one as an unlock tool in something like DDD or Triception - though that usually ends up with two magnets somewhere. Maybe it's useful together so the two coins can attract in either orientation, though if they're low strength that seems less likely.

In the end I'm not familiar with all of Todd's sets, and if you can figure out what set it was that would really help.

I would be shocked if the shimmed coin doesn't stick to a magnetic card. Does it stick to the magnetic coin? Otherwise, perhaps it's not actually shimmed? As far as Silver edge goes, without knowing how strong the coins are, there's no way to say. It might be enough, but given the comment about the second coin and the card, probably not.

I must have expressed myself unclearly. I have no problems with the card. It holds the shell and also the coins.
I bought them together, that's why I said set, seemed logical to me. But I don't know if they were sold as a set by Todd. Maybe not. They are probably just two coins that can be used with a holdout. Perhaps I should have asked the seller.

If I'm reading your post right, they're Lassen coins but were bought from MKS?
Have you asked MKS about them?

"Sold together" by a 3rd party doesn't mean they were "a set" from the maker.

Todd made lots of stuff, but I'm not familiar with any "set" with one shimmed shell and one magnetic coin.

It sounds more like a Triple Threat that's missing the outer shell?

That would explain the light attraction between the shell and the coin. Meant to keep it from flying off if the combo was gently tossed, while allowing "normal removal" for routines that need it.

Yes, I have the two coins from MKS. Thierry also has some second-hand, they were on offer there. I've received some old emails (as proof) with them. There's nothing specific in it. It was a larger order, the two coins were just a minor matter.
I asked him just recently, but received no answer to this subject. He's in the stress of moving to Corsica and probably has better things to do at the moment, so I don't want to bother him now.
I'm not sure, isn't Triple Thread exp.[ + [ + reduced coin?
My coins are not reduced. The shell is from Ebay. Sold as real silver exp. shimmed WL shell. Looks nice, little wide, with teflon.

I believe the "set" of coins is one shimmed coin and one magnetic coin.
The shimmed shell was separate.

That said, if they were bought from MKS, I can't tell if they were listed separately but purchased together, or actually listed together as a pair of coins.

Hi Marcel, I recently moved to Corsica and am looking for a new area to continue making my gaffs by hand.
About your problem, if you want the Lassen magnetic pieces to stay in a shimmed shell, the shimmed must be the same diameter as the inner magnet or larger, if not, the magnetic coin don't stay in place.
It's not only with the Lassen One, but it's how a magnet works with a shim. If you need more informations, don't hesitate to send me e message.

have a good day

Thierry