If you’re looking for lots of good coin magic at a modest price, take a look at 25 TRICKS WITH A SCOTCH & SODA OR A DIME & PENNY, produced by Royal Magic. It’s available from most dealers and Magic Warehouse at http://www.themagicwarehouse.com.

This DVD sells for only $10, yet contains some great ideas and routines for these sets of gimmicked coins. As you will see, the basic Scotch & Soda “bar bet” routine doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the coins’ potential. Even if you only use three or four of the 25 effects, you’ll get your money’s worth. There are also some cute gags and one-liners that may be useful. Production values on this DVD are modest, but the sound is good, everything is clearly explained and everything is clearly visible. Interestingly, the DVD would not run in my new DVD player, but played fine in my computer’s 2002 DVD drive. I note that other posters in this section have had similar experiences with Royal DVD’s.

In my opinion, the “Hand Sandwich” routine is one of the simplest and best coin-thru-hand effects I’ve seen. There is also a clever idea for loading a coin beneath a playing card, as well as a very nice variation on a L’Homme Masque-type load into a closed fist from a thumb palm, that I frankly had never seen before.

Although this DVD is suitable for the beginning magician, it also includes effects that require (and teach) various palms and finger clips that take some of these routines to the next level of coin magic. The combination of a good gaff and some sleight-of-hand makes for truly unbeatable effects!

Remember that one of the goals of a gimmicked coin is to look like an ordinary coin. What could be more ordinary than a dime and a penny? A Mexican centavo might be more interesting, but is also more unusual and attracts more suspicion. You can also get a Dime & Penny set for about $5, surely one of the great bargains in magic.

Having tried a few manufacturers, I have found that the Dime & Penny set offered by Royal Magic is well-made and very serviceable. It’s available from Magic Warehouse and many other dealers, but doesn’t include a bang ring, which is needed to reset the gaff easily (Magic Warehouse sells a $5 bang ring separately). They also carry the deluxe Johnson Products version for $15, which is a precision piece and also includes a heavy-duty brass bang ring; it should last forever with careful handling. In fact, I bought both versions, and generally use the Royal Magic set for everyday use along with the Johnson bang ring.

If you want to use larger coins for more visibility, there is always the quarter-size Scotch & Soda set or the half-dollar size Johnson Ultimate Copper/Silver Set, which operates on the same principle as the Dime & Penny, but uses a half dollar and an English Penny. You could even use a Johnson Sun & Moon Set, which is a non-locking version that doesn’t require a bang ring and can be used for many other effects as well.

Yes , nice