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Merenkov Elite user 472 Posts 
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I know you can buy a shimmed shell coin, but does anyone know where I can find a thin, circular shim that I could glue into an expanded half dollar shell that I already own?
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inigmntoya Inner circle DC area native, now in Atlanta 2450 Posts
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Not circular but the thin metal inside security tags works.
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TTT New user 56 Posts
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0,05mm iron foil works well. Something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/403820092798?_s......jTuMDPZg |
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Merenkov Elite user 472 Posts
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Thanks fellow magi, but I'm an idiot when it comes to arts and crafts. I was hoping for a source for actual circular shim inserts that the gimmicked coin manufacturers use, assuming there is such a thing...
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inigmntoya Inner circle DC area native, now in Atlanta 2450 Posts
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They likely buy shim stock and cut their own.
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On Nov 13, 2025, Merenkov wrote: |
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countrymaven Inner circle 1714 Posts
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Also you might want to experiment with 1mm or less thick neo mags. Why?
They respond much more predictably and strongly to a magnet. With shim material, there is no real central point where it is attracted to a mag, and it could end up hanging from a magnet. Just something to think about and experiment with. With a neo mag., you can often have the mags attract each other at the center, and the hold is both stronger and much more predictable... |
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inigmntoya Inner circle DC area native, now in Atlanta 2450 Posts
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You'll lose a good bit of shell coverage by using a magnet.
A half dollar is only 2.15mm thick. A 1mm magnet would eat up half of the coverage right away. Even a 0.25mm magnet (thinnest I've found) is about an 8th of a half dollar's thickness. Also with a magnet you have to worry about the polarity of what you'll be attaching it to. Quote:
On Nov 27, 2025, countrymaven wrote: |
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countrymaven Inner circle 1714 Posts
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Thanks latoya,
due to your denying my observations, I have come up with a way of having a neo mag inside a shell, that takes zero, yes zero space from the nesting of the coin with the shell. I won't reveal this because I will be selling and manufacturing this, which blows a recent thang from Penguino out of the water. But I have to be tight lipped about this. in magic, when someone says no, it often can be the means to being wildly creative and getting to a yes... hehe. |
mindhunter.jpg "View Profile"){kind=tracking} Inner circle Upstate NY 2322 Posts
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Quote:
On Jan 8, 2026, countrymaven wrote: Please post when you do.....I had to take the shim out of a non-expanded shim US quarter shell and re-glue it inside an expanded shell.... 
Bryn
Bryn D. Reynolds, Author of:
"The Safwan Papers" & "The LOGAR Scrolls" Mentalism ebooks - PM any interest. My artwork: https://darkmountainarts.com |
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inigmntoya Inner circle DC area native, now in Atlanta 2450 Posts
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I didn't "deny" anything, but rather noted that 1mm would be quite thick.
As for having a magnet inside a shell with zero space used up, people have made shells with recesses for shims and magnets for quite some time, but that's beyond what most people can do on their own with an already made shell in hand. "latoya" lol! Quote:
On Jan 8, 2026, countrymaven wrote: |
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countrymaven Inner circle 1714 Posts
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Latoya (can't spell your long name), your guess is completely wrong. But I can't disclose it because it is valuable.
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inigmntoya Inner circle DC area native, now in Atlanta 2450 Posts
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Quote:
On Jan 16, 2026, countrymaven wrote: There's a "quote" link here that does that for you on every post and comment. There's also the ability to select text then copy and paste. You're also literally looking at the spelling on your screen. Willful ignorance, or gross incompetence? Only you know for sure. Quote:
On Jan 16, 2026, countrymaven wrote: That wasn't a guess, it was stating a fact about how people have embedded magnets and shims in shells for many years. An alternate method will only prove to be valuable if it's more effective functionally and/or economically. But if it's held as a secret it's worthless to those in the thread interested in the original question of how to add something to an existing shell. |
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countrymaven Inner circle 1714 Posts
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Latoya, I apologizer, I copied your pseudo name but my pc pasted Latoya. I believe my pc has
an auto editor that removes possible racist tropes. I don't think you are like that, but what can I doo with my auto feature? so, I performed this innovation in a trick very recently and a group of spectators thought it was witchcraft. They ran away after seeing it. It happened in someone's hand. That is my goal in magic, not to tease their minds, or to tell a story or to get famous. It is to keep working on magic and innovating until there is not only no answer, but they might be scared out of their wits at having seen magic. the real thing without being told stories, etc. Please reread my posts above. If there is commercial value in an innovation (not the ones you suggested you have been wrong) then you cannot always expect someone to give that away for free. If you don't believe me, call up Tango Magic and ask them for how they make one of their top secret coins. tell them you would like to make some of them and sell them from your basement. See, it doesn't work. If something has value, it deserves to be sold and shared with the magic comm. as part of the magic business. Again thanks, Latoya (there my d..... pc editor goes again)for your help to so many, and have a great magical day. |
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Merenkov Elite user 472 Posts
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I ended up finding a source for these right here at the Cafe: I've purchased two so far for expanded half dollar shells and they're perfect. I wish some unexpanded dollar shells would be made but apparently more people would have to ask for that that size to go to the trouble.
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Tom G Inner circle SW Michigan 2909 Posts
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I think Airship Magic has shim stock, at least they did at one time.
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Merenkov Elite user 472 Posts
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I just wanted to clarify further the type of shimmed option for a shell I was looking for (and found here at the Cafe). It's not just a half-dollar sized circle cut from a thin metal sheet (the kind used for modeling or shimmed playing cards) that's somehow glued to the interior of a shell. It's almost exactly like the teflon adhesive circles that Tango Magic makes, as seen here. It's a super thin circle with adhesive on the back that fits perfectly within the shell and is attracted to a magnet. A video lecture by Shaun Robison, in which he used a shimmed shell during the performance of Milt Kort's classic coins through table routine with a shot glass, demonstrated to me how useful a shimmed shell could be. (Don't get me started on how hard it was to find the perfect 2-oz shot glass for Shaun's routine, but I found one on eBay after a lot of trial and error.)
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GJo Special user 588 Posts
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I just purchased .003" carbon steel shim material (12"x6") from McMaster.com, and it's perfect for shimming shells.
Add a teflon disc and use 3M tissue tape, and you can pretty easily make a shimmed shell. The shim material cost about $4 and shipping was about $10. $14 for a lifetime supply (unless you're a commercial gaff maker). |
Mad Jake Inner circle All the voices in my head helped me make 2305 Posts
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Quote:
On Mar 14, 2026, Tom G wrote: Thanks for the mention Tom. We sell 0.001 steel shim stock, the thinnest you'll find. We sell it in sheets or we can custom cut the steel shims on our fiber laser to your exact specs. Sames goes for teflon disks, but they are 0.002.
Licensed Steve Dusheck Manufacturer and distributor visit www.airshipmagic.com
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| The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Trick coin trickery » » Need a source for shim to fit inside expanded shell (5 Likes) | |
Posted: Nov 13, 2025 12:06 am 
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