Most of the coins we use in magic aren’t really circulating modern currencies. The big two are the American half dollar and the old English penny. I call them the big three because their size is what makes them uniquely suited for coin magic, and the third is fake Chinese currency minted in that exact same size.
Most of the sleights described in the foundational text of coin magic were formulated and refined around the currency in common use at the time of its publication in 1952. Both the old English penny and the American half dollar left common circulation in the 1970s, which is why to get one now you have to buy them from a magic shop. Or do you?
American half dollars, though no longer ordered in bulk for circulation, are still minted for collections. Circulated half dollars are still out there, though far rarer, and while checking my facts on Wikipedia, I discovered that the circulating supply has been topped up in 2021, presumably to counter the reverse quantitative easing of the coins being sent around the world for the purposes of arbitrage through magic shops.
Meanwhile, old English pennies often turn up in antique fairs by the bagful and are in demand for use in vintage coin operated machines. The old English pennies I use (other than the first five I bought for 20p each from a magic shop in London) all come from a vintage arcade in Great Yarmouth where a pound will net you a bag of fifteen. The intention is that you use them to play the old arcade machines on site, thus allowing the owners to recirculate them, but fuck their business model, mommy needs some copper.
Continue reading “The Piggy Bankor Tomorrow’s Antiques”