Is Johnson Magic open or closed forever??? I LOVE their magic coin products..

Closed forever. For several years now.

I wonder if Johnson's no-longer-made coin gaffs (and other magic products) will increase significantly in value, in the used/pre-owned marketplace -- or have they, already?

They may not have been the Lassen or Schoolcraft quality, but for 'mass produced' specialty coins, they were worth purchasing. Now that they are no longer in business, from what I noticed, Johnson Products seem to be getting a higher $ amount now.

I never had an issue with my Johnson products. Before the guys we have now, there was Connie Hayden. Roth had his shell. Never really heard of any other makers, other then the big names of Sasco and Sterling.

Johnson coins were well made and consistent, more than useable (and affordable). As stated earlier, they were no Lassen or Schoolcraft coins. Another early maker, putting out great coins was Pressley Guitar.

I have a couple of coin sets from Eddie Gibson. Great coins and still available if you search.

Rising prices for Johnson Products coin gaffs is an interesting phenomenon. Considering they made many examples of most gaffs, they aren't particularly rare, although there will never be more produced. From a collector's standpoint, I can see the temptation to buy, hold, and re-sell...but I'm cautious that strategy will pay off.

Lassen coin gaffs are much higher quality, made in smaller quantities, and like Johnson gaffs will never be produced again. From a collectibles standpoint, these check all the boxes. Since they're extremely well made gaffs, they're also very satisfying to use.

Has anyone ever written up a history of Johnson Magic Products (maybe a brief article in an old magic magazine, or the like)?

It would be interesting to know something of “the Johnson story.”

Who is (or was) “Johnson,” and/or any other co-founders or associates? When and how did the enterprise get started? Who were the brains behind their various creations? Who designed, engineered, manufactured and/or machined their precision products? What might a typical day at the office or factory have been like, during their heyday? Is there a complete list somewhere of everything they ever offered? If their main income was (and now perhaps solely is) from defense contractor work, do they do that work as a “Johnson” branded company, or under some other banner? And so forth.

Johnson played such a big part for a long time for so many magicians that it would be a shame not to have such a chronicle available for posterity, now that it seems they are a thing of the past.

I would love a set of the limited Copper Cups and Balls they made. They produced them mainly in brass, but did a small-ish run in copper.

Mike Caveney worked at Johnson in his younger days. Maybe he can impart some information.

I’d be curious to know their history as well. I purchased many of Johnson’s products over the years, but never knew anything about the company itself.

I also had a few things from them, that I still have and use to this day. Best C/S coin I ever had came from them and for a great price. I’ve had it and a half dollar shell from them for decades now. Wonderful operation when it was in business, nice folks too.

I think once the big craftsman started making all those specialty coins beyond the basics, the business changed a lot. I can remember when those specialty sets would go for a lot of money. Don’t get me wrong, they were some beautiful work but could be quite expensive based upon what you wanted. I was happy when some makers began to make these sets from replicas, which greatly cut the price down making it more affordable for folks. It took people a while to realize better that it really didn’t make much difference, except at how it affected your wallet. Don’t get me wrong, real silver is nice but it’s just good to have viable alternatives…I mean, it’s the American way, right?

Anyway, I’ve had my share of the good, better, best of it all, and from my view of it, you can get good enough stuff that doesn’t have to be top of the line. Johnson’s supplied this kind of product for decades and I was honestly saddened to see them leave the market. I hope whatever they did next turned out to be good for them…they deserve it.