Australian Coins

[verifythisnow]

Hey guys, I'm looking to get into coin magic and I'm from Aus. I have heard a few people say that Australian coins are extremely difficult to perform coin effects with because of there sizes and weight and also due to very little gimmicked effects made for them. I know i could just use US coins, but i want the freedom of just being able to pick up a coin or be given one by anyone and to start performing. I have some questions...

How does the US 50c compare to the Aus 20c (in terms of size)? Can the Aus 20 be used to muscle pass or is it too small?

Has anyone found a coin suitable for Sinful?

WHere can I purchase Australian coin shells?

THanks

[AntonHolmes]

What City are you from?

there are some 20c shells floating around, I'm about to bring some in that are being custom made for me at the moment.

You can muscle pass any size coin, it just takes practice. And 20c are smaller than US50c.

[drorange]

yeh i tried sinful it works with a 10c coin on a coke can

[ozzymagic]

Hi mate, it is true Australian coins are harder to work with. However you just need to get used to them. It is all personal preference for me i like the 20 cents because it is a bit bigger and fits my hands although some of my freinds prefer 10 cents it is completely up to you:). As far as sinful goes 10 cents works very well. Hope this helps :)

[-Ty]

I use 20's and they are perfect. I love 'em, and think they are the exact right size for me.

And yes, you can get gimmicks and such for them, you just have to know where to look ;)

Ty

[-Ty]

Oh and yes, you can MP a 20c coin. I can get bit over 7 inches.... I think.

Ty

[nrgu]

hey, where abouts are you getting those shells, im intrested! =O

[verifythisnow]

Excellent. Thanks for the replies guys...now I'm off to try and use our notes for Life.... Now that's stressfull :eek:

[-Ty]

Our notes on the other hand are mostly garbage. Very restrictng.

Ty

[Amane]

You might wanna keep it low key on the Aus shells (or any gaff for that matter)......it is illegal after all....
On the other hand if you're looking for a good aus coin to do magic with, you should try the old 50c pieces, they're round and they're made of silver.
slightly bigger than a half dollar, very very easy to handle and they look great.

[AntonHolmes]

The 1966 round 50c are what I use.

If you are looking for shells, pop me a PM, I may know a thing or two about them.

[SW magic]

Wow I have never seen a round 50c coin...anyway I use 20c and 50c mainly. I know that you can get custom made gaff but they are a bit pricey. Anyway any of you from Sydney?:D

[AntonHolmes]

How much are you looking at spending on a shell?
I can tell you that due to not being able to get them easily mass produced the price is higher than the US equivilent.

[verifythisnow]

How much are you looking at spending on a shell?
I can tell you that due to not being able to get them easily mass produced the price is higher than the US equivilent.

Hmmm.... Well if it's more than the US ones I probably wouldnt't be willing to pay for that much. I'm do not perform often enough to make it worthwhile.

[AntonHolmes]

By More than the US, I mean that we're not talking the same as Tango Magic can make a half dollar shell for.
It's still cheaper than buying a set of say, Walking Liberty halfs from Todd Lassen or Schoolcraft.

[kayfour]

sinful hasn't been working for me, it only works for "some" cans, especally the newer cokes i think, and 5c's are just too small to work with

you can MP a 20c, thats what i am working on at the moment

*edit this if theres any exposure thanks*

[SW magic]

What I would love to have would be a bite out 10c coin. By the way, if your having problems muscle passing coins, try poker chips then move onto coins. Poker chips go really fast because they are light.

[greeney]

Yeah sinful has been difficult for me... I've only ever seen one can that it worked with a 10c coin.
I've been looking for shells for a long time... the thing is you need special permission from the Mint to get them made. The best solution I know of is to use US coins and say, "Let me show you something with these american coins, it works better with them coz they're made of cheaper material." :p

[AntonHolmes]

;)
That's unless you know a guy that knows a guy that knows a guy ;)

Sinful,
Solo cans and 10c work great for me. No problems there.

[Sleight_of_Hand]

MY local magic shop in sydney , TAYLOR:S MAGIC SHOP sells the shell for 80$ YES 80$ FOR A 20c SHELL...

[-Ty]

Well let's not let that spread round eh? And that's not a bad price depending on who they're made by.

Ty

[Amane]

yea dude you should keep it slightly low key lol....
remember...'illegal'
the ones from Sean Taylor are made by Tango if i'm not mistaken.

[Sleight_of_Hand]

As if the Australian covernment will look at these threads..... lol and Sean makes them legally
Pretty Sure casue he has this absolutely HUGE 20$ coin about 40 cm in diameter... which was amde by the federal mint... in AUSTRALIA

[AntonHolmes]

yea dude you should keep it slightly low key lol....
remember...'illegal'
the ones from Sean Taylor are made by Tango if i'm not mistaken.

You're correct, they are made by Tango in Argentina.
They are made from real Au 20c which makes them illegal as you are not allowed to deface any currency (Gov property).

Considering you can get a half dollar shell from P for about $20 made by Tango, $80 is fairly steap.
I'm paying less for mine made by Todd Lassen.

[AntonHolmes]

I just received my order of Aussie gaffs today.
I have 2 spare 20c shells for $80 each
And one Silver 50c (round 1966) for $90 if any one is interested (these are made by Todd Lassen, not just a bulk manufacturer). For another $30 I will go and hunt down 4 close matching coins that fit it. It is a little dirty, but will polish up nicely with some silvo if you so desire. For me tho, older looking coins look more magical.

Shipping to you will be what ever the post office charge me, for what ever method you would like them to be sent via.

Let me know if there is anyone interested.

Anton

[Amane]

Hey Anton,
I'm interested in the 20c shell
I would PM you but it seems your PM box is full,
please get back to me with the details.

[-Ty]

Yeah man empty your PM's. I gotta get back to ya. :D

[Hawk-Eye]

For coin matrixes, coins across and pretty much all coin magic, I use 20c pieces - they're quite a nice size and easy enough to handle. I've considered using U.S. half dollars as they're slightly rounder as well as thinner; but although good presentation should be able to cover it up, I do like using coins that the people I'm performing for know.

Anton has a nice idea with the round 50s...silver coins are meant to be nice to handle, too. Make sure you pick me up some next time you pass the store, Anton. ;)

[AntonHolmes]

Yeah man empty your PM's. I gotta get back to ya. :D

Emptied my PM box.
You guys can send me messages now.
I'll get my details to you guys and the shells out very soon.

[AntonHolmes]

I now have 1 spare 20c shell left for $80,
And one Silver 50c (round 1966) for $90 if any one is interested (these are made by Todd Lassen, not just a bulk manufacturer). For another $30 I will go and hunt down 4 close matching coins that fit it. It is a little dirty, but will polish up nicely with some silvo if you so desire. For me tho, older looking coins look far more magical.

If anyone is interested then let me know.
These would be an awesome set for an international that likes coin work. A lovely addition to to any collection, and a pleasure to work with.

[Blink]

Once again Anton, thanks a hell of a lot.

Got mine yesterday guys, and well well worth the price. The quality is brilliant.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8352/dsc01565ff9.jpg

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/1452/dsc01562oy4.jpg

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/985/dsc01563dt2.jpg

[Hawk-Eye]

I have an Aussie 20c expanded shell up for grabs, if anyone's interested; it was hand-crafted by Todd Lassen and hasn't been used in performance. I'm looking at $60 for it.

If you're interested, feel free to PM me and I'll send over some pics.

Cheers,

Nick

[bernster]

Somebody said in the thread that sinful can be done with an Australian 10c piece and a coke can. I believe this is not true. From my experience, it only works with a 5c piece.
If anyone knows of a can that you can perform sinful with a 10c piece, let us know.
:)

[Jakeh]

Somebody said in the thread that sinful can be done with an Australian 10c piece and a coke can. I believe this is not true. From my experience, it only works with a 5c piece.
If anyone knows of a can that you can perform sinful with a 10c piece, let us know.
:)

You're right, you can't use a ten cent coin with a Coke can, which is extremely annoying. I heard that a Solo can works with a ten cent coin, but I haven't tried it yet.

Also, does anyone know where I could get Australian Steel-core coins?

[AntonHolmes]

You'll be hard pressed to find steel core aussie coins unless you get them made.
I'm thinking about putting in another order from Todd in the near future. If you want I can tack a few on to that order for you.
They won't be the cheapest coins that you ever come across tho.

Also on that note, Nick, I may be able to sell your shell for you.

And another, I still have the round 50c shell here, I may have a second that is slightly cleaner, tho I think I will clean up the other one I have rather than leave it a little dirty. $90 each. $120 as a set with 4 matching coins.

And one 20c Shell left also. $80.
You'll not find coins like these in any Aussie magic stores. They are made by the best in the business.

[Jakeh]

You'll be hard pressed to find steel core aussie coins unless you get them made.
I'm thinking about putting in another order from Todd in the near future. If you want I can tack a few on to that order for you.
They won't be the cheapest coins that you ever come across tho.

How much am I looking at?

[AntonHolmes]

I have no idea mate.
I've never asked him to make any before.
I'll shoot off an email.
which coins are you wanting steel core?

[Jakeh]

I have no idea mate.
I've never asked him to make any before.
I'll shoot off an email.
which coins are you wanting steel core?

Either a 10c or a 20c would be ideal.

[mini magician]

yer i live in aussie to i use most coins they should be fine
wekk at least they are for me and there are shells and stuff where do live because i know a magic shop in nsw.

[AntonHolmes]

yer i live in aussie to i use most coins they should be fine
wekk at least they are for me and there are shells and stuff where do live because i know a magic shop in nsw.

Yeah, Taylors have some cheaply made shells and aussie gimmicks.
But he charges the same price as what I have managed to get these few for.



Still waiting to hear back about steel core coins for you.

[Jakeh]

Yeah, Taylors have some cheaply made shells and aussie gimmicks.
But he charges the same price as what I have managed to get these few for.



Still waiting to hear back about steel core coins for you.

Thanks heaps. :)

[Hawk-Eye]

Lately, I've been using US Kennedy half dollar coins.

I like them more than 20c coins for several reasons; firstly, they're quite a bit thinner than the 20s (palming four half dollar coins is pretty much the same as palming three 20c coins). They're a bit wider, which makes them even easier to palm.

But the main thing I like about them is that the milling (the many, tiny little divets) on the sides of the half dollars is much deeper than the 20s, which makes them much easier to grip.

They are foreign coins, but they're something a bit special and exotic for Australian audiences; any notion of their being gimmicked seems to be dispelled after allowing the spectators a quick inspection of the coins.

Nick