Hello all. I'm brand new to EVERYTHING in the world of magic. I've always been a fan since I was young, and recently began exploring what all is out there to try and learn. I found this site a few days ago, and only a day ago I noticed that it had this large forum community, which I think is awesome. Coin magic is what i've set my eye on to learn, so I ordered the Bobo book. It came in earlier today and man is this stuff not a walk in the park. I'm just trying to avoid getting discouraged haha. It's clearly going to take some time to learn, but my question revolves around the following: Do I need to start out using a larger coin such as a half dollar to help "build" or get my hand muscles used to learning these new motor skills? I'm finding it very difficult to work with a quarter, but like I said, i've had the book only a day now. My hands are also pretty big, so that may have something to do with working with a quarter. They aren't that big, but I consider them "fatty" I want to try to eventually master using a quarter, since people usually always have them, so that's what i'm really trying to learn to use. But you have to learn to crawl before you walk, or do you? I'm going to give the book a week or two and then i'm going to get a dvd to help supplement my learning. If someone could elaborate on my question though, that would be awesome.

Most coin workers use half dollars...
Also, in my opinion, the bigger the coin, the more visual the magic is...
Think about it: vanishing a dollar sized coin VS vanishing a quarter...

I learned everything with quarters. It does take longer, but like you said, most people carry those. I have moved up to half dollars, but now it's just a natural actions for me, so I can't say if it's harder or easier.

Daniel is correct though, many coin workers use half dollars (or Walking Liberty's silver dollars).

You definitely don't want to get discouraged so move up to the half dollars. All banks should have them (sometimes the bank tellers are lazy and won't go grab a roll from the vault).

Sure quarters are more common but I've never encountered anyone that had never seen a half dollar before. There's usually one jingling around in my pocket at all times.

I LOVE Bobo's MCM but I would encourage you to get a DVD resource like In The Beginning There Were Coins. That DVD is going to help shorten the learning curve dramatically. Then once you get the basics perfected, open up Bobo's and go to town!

http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1581

I agree ... Half Dollars are the way to go, they're easier to handle and they palm easier than Quarters. With the Halves your hands won't have to look so cramped when palming as they do with a smaller coin.
Not only are they more visual as stated, but as you move into gimmicked coins almost all of the most popular gimmicked coins are also of Half Dollar size.

One other good thing at the Kennedy half...they are the same size as the English penny. That way you can do a nice Copper to Silver transpostion or color change.

BTW, I found that my copper pennies look beautiful after soaking them in ketchup for a few minutes.

I started practicing with halves. Perform with them, I don't anymore that much unless the trick requires them.

ye i know- sometimes it happens to me too

Thanks for all of the replies and pointers. I'll definitely be getting one of the DVDs very soon. I'm also going to get some half-dollars tomorrow and start practicing with those. Thanks once again!

When you buy a dvd I would highly suggest david stone's first coin magic dvd. He is a good teacher and he gives you quite a bit of really fun; really practical material to get you started. He starts you from the ground up. And the routines toward the end are challenging enough to give you someting to work on.I still use most of the routine's on it from day to day. It will give you a GREAT kick start into coin magic. You WILL NOT regret it. Good luck.

Another good resource, if you are using Bobo's book is to get The beginners Guide to Coin magic by Ammar. It's a progressive learning DVD. It teaches sleights essentially and not many effects but it is a good resource. I use it a lot when learning a new routine and I need a new sleight that may be undertaught in the book or DVD I am learning from!

I don't do much coin magic, but I can assure you that halves, are a lot easier to work with.

A always have the same half dollar in my back pocket. Sometimes in math class, when it gets just too boring, I practice a coin roll. Halves are a lot easier to handle than quarters.

Another good starting point is David Roth's Expert Coin Magic Made Easy. That's where I started. I don't own any of the other beginners DVDs, but if you want extensive reviews on many good coin magic DVDs go to www.coinvanish.com, where you will find everything you need. There is a link there that says "Roth vs. Stone vs. Ammar" which you should look at.

First of all Hunted, welcome to Penguin forums. Quarters in my opinion are just too small to start learning with. Most people use half dollars that I've seen but if you have large hands you might even consider silver dollars. Of the videos mentioned I personally like the Michael Ammar video. He is an excellent teacher of magic and it's directed at the new coin magician. While I also have the Bobo book I learn better with video instruction myself. But that is certainly a subjective viewpoint. Good luck to you. Rachel Milano.

My problem with Halves. No store will hand them out, and Bank Cashiers have gotten lazy, they tend to discourage handing them out as well. So I practice my palming with Poker Chips. I find they are more or less the same size as Half Dollars.

Ya.. Quarters while something to strive for so that you can do more impromptu things Like a fast "Borrowed quarters" coins across, is just a bit of a frustrating challenge in the beginning. Start with the Larger coins so you can feel the progress, and not become discouraged.

An aside, pennies in ketchup??? never thought of that. Would it also work for the Sackajewia Dollars? The copper colored ones? What to use to Polish Quarters?