How a Pen Made Me a Coin Magician - Part 4
By Tim Woodbridge - Thursday, May 12, 2022
Hello again and welcome to part 4 of my special blog series for magicians who find coin magic delightful, but feel the learning process is a bit daunting. My name is Tim Woodbridge and, after years of performing, I want to share the five coin magic tricks routines that simplified everything and helped me get the coin rolling.
Each post covers one routine and I have thought about the order carefully. So, if you haven’t yet, I recommend checking out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of How a Pen Made Me a Coin Magician before you read on.
Today, I am talking about a routine that showed me coin magic doesn’t have to be hard to be great.
The magician presents four coins and shows how they are each magic, in different ways.
There are so many sleight of hand moves in coin magic. Sometimes, it can feel less like learning magic and more like developing arthritis. That’s why, when I found “Tablehopper’s Quattro”, my hands cried tears of joy.
To perform most of “Tablehopper’s Quattro,”, you realy only need a false transfer and a palm. That’s it. With this, you can make coins vanish, go through a solid table and travel invisibly through the air. It’s the best of coin magic all in one. It belongs in the library’s myths & legends section next to Bigfoot. And, Derren Brown, of course.
Even better, this routine grows along with you. The more coin magic you learn, the more you’ll be able to add to this routine and make it yours. It provides a great reason to learn the fingertip muscle pass and the standard muscle pass. Also, with just a little playing around, this routine can be adapted to work as a stand up or parlor magic routine.
Kainoa Harbottle is one of the finest coin magicians humanity has ever magiced up. As anyone who watched Kainoa Harbottle’s Masterclass knows, even just watching him perform is super helpful. I learnt so much from even the smallest hint or tip he offered. I found his version of a spider grip vanish, especially helpful.
My only problem with "Tabblehoppers Quattro" is that I wish I'd found it sooner. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to learn a classic palm, retention vanish and buy this DVD. I hope this blog helps you avoid the same mistake.
PLEASE NOTE: While Kainoa teaches a few variations of a retention vanish in “Tablehopper’s Quattro”, he doesn’t go in depth on the basics. It's best to have a good grasp of the technique beforehand. My favorite version is David Roth’s, which can be found in Basic Coin Magic and many of his other DVDs. Those truly interested in building a solid base of coin magic should also invest in other beginner resources like Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo and “Basic Coin Magic 2.0” by Ian Kendall.
What Coins Do I Need to Start Learning Coin Magic?
This is probably a good time to talk about coins: What coins? How many coins? What gimmicked coins do I need? Should I use coin gimmicks at all? (I actually dove into this interesting topic in How a Pen Made Me a Coin Magician - Part 1)
The short answer is: start with whatever you’re most comfortable with.
We all have different size hands, so I recommend buying a half dollar and a dollar size coin and then playing around. If you don’t get along with either of those an English Half Crown and Double Florin are good middle sizes. You could also use a US Quarter. While some coin magicians feels these are a tad small, they are also definitely more common in America than a half dollar. As such, they don’t feel like a magic prop, which is a big reason “Imagination Coins” is so powerful.
A good standard coin set is: four coins and a shell. While there are lots of other gimmicks and variations, this is a great start. Tango Magic makes great coin shells (and other gimmicks) without breaking the bank. They are perfect for beginner magicians looking to test out a gimmicked coin set before moving on to more expensive versions.
To recap, “Tablehopper’s Quattro” is honestly one of the best table hopping routines and close up magic routines you’ll ever find. Coin or otherwise. It’s very easy to go down the Kainoa rabbit hole and come out a much better magician at the other end.
Jump in. Find the coins that work for you. Have fun. Thank me later.
Join me next week as I conclude this series with a rare moment in coin magic. A coin trick that is all about the audience.
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