How to Find Coins for Magic Tricks

A magician who wants to do coin tricks needs both real and gimmick coins. While gimmick coins look like the currency of the country the magician and audience live in, when a real coin is needed, a foreign, antique or exotic coin can create a better effect.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Ask for coins at the bank. The teller may be able to find half-dollars, dollar coins such as Sacagaweas or Susan B. Anthony coins. You may also want statehood quarters.

2. Visit coin shops. You may be able to find old or exotic coins that have lost their value due to wear but will still look great for a coin trick.

3. Check the Internet. Many coin collectors and traders offer coins for sale on sites such as eBay or through their own websites.

4. Buy coins from magic shops. You will find gimmick coins such as expanded shells or folding coins that look like common coins as well as real foreign coins.

5. Keep your eyes open when shopping at bookstores, antique shops, jewelry stores or other small shops that may offer unusual coins.

Tips & Warnings

• Coins with holes in the center, such as some Japanese and Chinese coins are great choices for coin tricks because the audience will believe that the hole makes it harder to perform the trick.
• While an exotic coin might allow you to invent some interesting patter while performing a trick, the audience may be more inclined to believe it is a gimmicked coin than when you use a common coin they are familiar with.