I recently stumbled across a topic in THE LOUNGE section of the Cafe', about a new effect called "Pretty Penny." This is a "coin in bottle" effect, done with a plain beer bottle and a plain U.S. penny (although there is a little setup and some easy sleight-of-hand involved). If you haven't seen the effect, I strongly suggest you head over to the Penguin Magic website and take a look. Here's a copy of the post I recently placed in THE LOUNGE about this effect:

((( Based on the reviews and comments, I decided to spring for this download and am glad that I did. There have been many other CIB effects, but I believe they all required a special gaffed coin and setup. David Roth's "Funnel" routine represented some fine new CIB work, and recently I saw a good "coin into a Tic-Tac breath mints box" that used a slightly different method. But this effect is much more visual and VERY commercial. And as far as I know, there was nothing like this on the market before. What impressed me the most -- besides the very clever and original effect itself -- was that Michael took the time and trouble to work out some additional options and ways to present the trick, so that it's not just a "one-trick pony" situation. The additional quarter gimmick was also a great idea, and can be made up in about five minutes. This guy is obviously a "thinking man's magician" and deserves mucho credit for this. I look forward to seeing more of his work in the near future! )))

The $20 download from Penguin is very well done and well worth the money. Take a look and I think you'll agree. SETH

Https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......orum=218

Having now worked up the props for this effect, I'm suggesting that you use a relatively new penny, which is going to be much easier to work with.

The reason will become clear as you set everything up. SETH

Well, it's a good thing that I bought a six-pack of Corona for this trick! I've made up one prop successfully, but have broken two bottles in an attempt to make one more backup.

I'm going to try again shortly with the remaining bottles. My thought is that this time around, perhaps a little soap might be helpful in getting things done. Stay tuned! SETH

Try using some graphite on the edge

And remember about alignment!

You know, I had thought about that, too. I have some powdered graphite for lubricating locks and lock tumblers, but I figured it might make more of a mess than it was worth.

I'll see how the soap works out, and if it doesn't do the job, then I might give it a try. And there's always WD-40 . . . . SETH

Just run the lead of a pencil around the edge of the coin.

Good idea, I forgot about that! I do the same thing to lubricate the slots in the nut and in the bridge on my guitar. SETH

Yep, that's probably how one of the bottles bit the dust. Details, details! SETH

OK, first I tried the lead pencil/graphite, and broke another bottle.

So then I went back to my original soap idea. But instead of putting it on the penny, I tried a soapy water solution in the bottle itself. This time was the charm, and it was also an easy cleanup, I just rinsed everything out. SETH