The Worlds Greatest Magic

Shadow Coins by David Roth & Michael Ammar

David Roth originally published his handling for the Bare Hand Coin Assembly in his 1977 lecture notes, then in the first year of APOCALYPSE as The Chinese Coin Assembly, which was then reprinted in his big book EXPERT COIN MAGIC.

In spite of that exposure, I used the finesse and thinking you’ll learn here to fool magicians all over the world for over 25 years.  It’s a bare handed assembly of 4 coins where the hands never seem to come close to the coins.

Any time you perform something for 20 - 30 years you end up with stories to tell so I’ve got my share about ShadowCoins. One of my favorites begins with me walking into the Castle one night to see the Professor sitting with his son, Ted. It was the first time I ever met Ted, so it was a memorable experience for me.

After introductions and small talk, the Professor asked me to ‘Do that trick on the floor for Ted!’ As I jumped onto the floor, like always, I thought to myself how bizarre it was to be performing something for Dai Vernon’s son! Can you imagine how many cards he must’ve had to select when he was a kid?

But I was in the perfect spot for this effect… I knew exactly what his line of vision was and I had performed on that carpet many times. So I delivered the goods. As I gathered my coin and stood back up, Ted said something I will never forget. He said, “That’s the most magical trick I’ve ever seen!”

Most of what happened after that is a blur because that comment was so unexpected. As it turns out, the relationship between the Professor and his children had been truly strained because of magic, so Ted had probably seen less magic than many of the members at the Magic Castle.

But for several years following that evening, whenever I performed this effect and the Professor was around, he made a point of saying, “You know my son Ted said that was the most magical trick he’s ever seen!” I can still hear it in my mind like it was yesterday.

In fact, the reason I’m telling this story is because I can’t think about Shadow Coins without hearing the Professor’s voice in my head, bringing back bittersweet memories.

Following the Performance and Explanation I feature an over-the-shoulder SuperPractice Session to make sure you understand ever move! Following this I then discuss the psychological aspect that many consider to be the Real Secret to what makes this effect so powerful.

Originally found in "Easy to Master Money Miracles Vol. 2" DVD.