Marucci's Bizarre Bazaar

The Ghost of a Coin (Revisited)
by Peter Marucci

The late J.B. Bobo’s book, Modern Coin Magic, is unarguably one of the great pillars of magic literature.

No self-respecting magician can afford to be without this book; note that I said “be without” it; not “not read”. Because, if you have the book, you will return to it again and again for new ideas. And you can’t to that, if you’ve just read it once or twice.

However, even J.B. wouldn’t say that he was infallible or that some of the routines in his book couldn’t be improved.

One that falls into that category – and a favorite of mine – is The Ghost of a Coin, where a coin changes to a glass disc in the spectator’s hands.

I never liked the idea of the glass disc (it was far too light to be believable). And so, I came up with the following:

The Ghost of a Coin (Revisited)

Effect: A gold-colored coin is “melted” in the magician’s hand into a glob of gold-colored metal.

Working: This is kept as simple as possible, to allow you to focus all your concentration on the presentation.

You show the audience a gold-colored coin, which you are holding at the tips of the index and middle fingers and thumb of the right hand. Hidden from view in the right hand is a lump of gold-colored metal, about the size of what the coin would be if it were melted down.

Using the Bobo switch (see, I warned you that you would need his book again!), toss the lump of metal into the left hand, which is immediately closed, while the coin is slid out of sight in the right hand.

The right hand, holding the unseen coin, goes to the right jacket pocket or pants pocket, where it drops the coin and picks up a cigarette lighter.

The right hand brings out the lighter, lights it, and waves it under the closed left fist (that is supposedly holding the coin).

Explaining that this is one way to check for counterfeit money – fake coins won’t melt – you open your left hand finally and let the lump of metal fall on the table.

“Well, we’re okay here because that was a real coin.”

Leave the lump of metal on the table, because the spectators WILL grab for it and you want them to examine it, but without your asking them to.

Second thoughts: This is a simple little illusion that only take a few seconds to perform and can be carried anywhere.

It’s the perfect effect to show when someone says, “So you’re a magician; can you show us something?”

(Little does that poor, unsuspecting person know that, having said that, they could be watching you still perform six hours later!)

The lump of metal should be smaller than the coin, so that no one is going to suspect that the coin is somehow hidden in it.

Both Canada and the U.S. have gold-colored dollar coins that are ideal. However, if you want to use a silver or copper coin, no problem. Just use a silver or copper lump of metal, too.

If you prefer to do this in the spectator’s hand, as in the original Bobo routine, you can use a blank metal slug, the same diameter as the coin. That way, you can point out that the surface gold has melted off.

Peter Marucci