The Invisible Coin

Some of the best tricks can be found in the bottom of your drawer, or in the back of an old catalog, or in a recollection of a Saturday afternoon at a magic shop. They’re not forgotten. In fact, you’d be surprised that those tricks are still as good as you thought they were.

David Regal
The Invisible Coin

The effect I'm recommending to you is something I first saw demonstrated to me in a magic shop, probably in the early 1970s.

Not every trick I talk about will fall into this category, but yes, conjure up an image of young me and imagine that adorable little ragamuffin seeing this: The magician hands the spectator an “invisible penny” and offers to do a trick with it. The magician takes a deck of cards, spreads it for display, then squares the deck and holds it face down in their left hand. They pick up a clear drinking glass, invert it, and lay it down on top of the deck. Asking for the return of the invisible penny, the magician pretends to carefully lay it on the inverted glass. Of course, nothing is there.

The magician proudly boasts, “Believe it or not, I am going to make the invisible penny penetrate the glass!” This sounds like lunacy until the magician adds, “…and when it penetrates the glass, the penny will become visible!”

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