Since L&L has re-released the Knock Out Coin Magic series of Michael Rubinstein, I have heard nothing but good things about Mr. Rubinstein's work.

One thing I haven't heard mentioned though is his book from the 80's titled "Intermediate and Advanced Coin Technique." Does anyone know anything about this work (review?), if it is available and how much one might expect to pay today.

Thanks in advance.

Dan Magyari

Hi Dan,

I spent two hours writing a review for you last night, but it seems to have vanished into cyberspace. Well, I have the afternoon off today, so I'll try this again.

I put out the book in 1982 with Jerry Mentzer, having sold him the English rights. I put out versions in Italian and French, and allowed parts to be published in German and Japanese as well.

I was a novice in the business part of the field then, and thought that Mentzer would edit the book. He didn't, and as a result there were several errors of the left/right sort. I got Mentzer to put in a correction sheet, but I was really ticked off at the time. The book sold for $20, and is long out of print. The material contained my earliest material, from the mid 70's. The stuff is very different than the style I use now, but there were some good ideas contained within.

Let's go over the content:

Chapter one - new sleights.

1. The back finger clip -technique for clipping a coin between the first two fingers.

2. Changeover to Angle Palm (also known as Drobina palm, Chanin grip, Mishell palm, Lamont grip). The back clip and changeover techniques were new, but more angly than the Rosenthal or Tenkai pinch. Good for one on one, or one on two. There is a lot of this stuff in the book.

3. Multi coin vanish - evolved to the Bronx take, on my DVD - it's like a multi coin french drop without noise, with the coins going into angle palm.

4. Miracle one hand coin vanish - goes from the clip to angle palm. I still do it, and it is great. It doesn't read well, but I'll burn you on it every time.

5. Back Clip French drop - good if you like french drop stuff. I don't anymore.

6. Incredible change of color- the above as a color change, with a nice cleanup that makes the move.

7. Rubinstein vanish - not visual enough

8. Rubinstein coin load - loads a coin into your hand as you open it. its a style type of move.

9. Reverse heel clip load - as described

10. Large coin vanish - good on one to one

11. Large coin vanish at a table - sucks

12 - coin load and steal from a card -good ideas for matrix stuff.

13. The Rubinstein one hand coin switch - good, but too much work. You can get the same result working easier.

Chapter two - Asorted Coin effects

1. Commuting Coins routine - a gaddabout coins routine with a variation that two coins, dropped visibly into your pocket, arrive back in the hand audibly, one at a time

2. Arithmatic coins routine - I liked this one, but it was very basic - I updated the handling on my DVD

3. Three coins to Okito. - A VERY basic coins to box routine. I updated this and added sound to my routine on my DVD.

4. The Diminishing coin routine - sucks big time. I should have been shot for even thinking about putting this into the book.

5. Step by step coin creation. - a good idea, can be modified for a nice coin change

Chapter 3 - C/S effects

1. Visual coin changes, three methods. The first two suck, the third was independently created by Roth and others

2. Routine incorporating the three changes - sucks

3. Sucker c/s routine - this is good. The sitdown version (this one) is on my basic applications tape in the West German series, and the standup version is on the DVD (not explained). It is explained on my lecture tape and the West German advanced application tape.

4. c/s transpo under cards. The idea is good, but not as a stand alone. It uses a load later taught by others with no credit to me. Marlo had a similar type of move, developed on his own

5.Two effects in one - copper and silver switch places, then turn into Chinese coins. The idea was newish at the time. It's not great, uses lapping

6. Trick coin routine - a double face coin is split into a copper and silver coin. Good idea, better method can be worked out.

Chapter 4 - More coin effects

1. Key to coin -I don't think it's a good effect, but it works

2. second method - sucks

3. Dime to half dollar - it's a quickie, but it works well. Should have a retention pass at the end instead of what's written. Uses the clipping stuff from earlier in the book

4. Stand up three coin routine - it's a flurry, before flurry became popular. I always wanted to go back to this and put in better sleights. Look for it in my newest batch of stuff (and don't ask me when that will come out!)

Chapter 5 -more c/s

1. penny silver coin transposition. A half and penny change places, and as a kicker the penny becomes an American penny. Good idea, could use a better method

2. c/s across - three methods - ideas to incorporate into larger effects.

3. Miracle Metamorphosis routine - the c and s coins change places, then the colors only change places. Good idea, but needs a better method.

4. Two silver, one copper- three methods - I fried Paviato back in Italy with the first method. I also fried prociutto and mozarella, and couldn't clean the pan for a week, but that's another story.

5. Coin transposition with one card, two methods - good ideas for matrix stuff. One uses a new idea, that Tom Gagnon also came up with independently.

6. Sub trunk mystery - good idea, I have three versions. This was the first.

7. Multi coin lapping made easy - also used independently by Roth and others

8. Large coin to Okito lid, nice ending

9. International coin flight - this predated the international reverse matrix in Encore Three, but it's not really a matrix - 3 different coins are covered by playing cards. They vanish one at a time, appearing in the hand. They go from the hand to under one card, then back to under the original three cards. It has some interesting ideas.

And that's it. I got some praise for it, and also got some nasty criticism, which although uncalled for, quickly shrunk my ego!(that was a good thing!) Looking back, I think the book had some good ideas but it wasn't a classic. It really needed better methods for many of the routines (I say that now, years after my newer techniques developed. Outside of the back clipping stuff, the moves were pretty basic). In fact, it came out just after Coinmagic, and was largely forgotten. I would be interested to hear what other magicians thought of the book when it came out. Hope the review helps,

Michael Rubinstein (my own worst critic)

Dr. Rubinstein, thank you, thank you, thank you. You humble me.

Before I go on, I have to tell you that I asked Scott Guinn to move my post to the "Show Me The Money" area so that I might get some kind of response, as none were forthcoming in the review area of this board.
Scott suggested that I contact you directly, but I thought an unbiased review might be better and maybe some of us could learn a little bit about your earlier work by those in the know.

Your responding like this is spooky-are you a mentalist as well?

Bravissimo! I didn't really expect a response from anyone with this kind of detail, not alone such detail and honest self-criticism.

Thank you for your selflessness in your response and for taking time from what I'm sure is a very busy schedule.

I look forward to finding a copy of Intermediate and Advanced Coin Technique and I will patiently await your next written work.

When you get a chance, would you mind illucidating on your "newer techniques". The original Videonics tapes followed the release of the above-mentioned book, so, as you already mentioned you incorporated your "newer technique" into the tape set. How would you say your technique has developed since the release of those tapes in the '80s (no hurry, whenever you have time)?

Thanks again for being so generous with your thoughts.

Best!

Dan Magyari

Hi again. My newer techniques are really showcased on the DVD set that L&L re-released. They are the retention and fingertip techniques, ROPS, and matting. The stuff I developed afterwards was just utilizations and additions to the above techniques. The older stuff (the back clipping and angle palming stuff) was OK, but I think the retention style is just so much cleaner. Remember, when I put out my book, everyone was doing Slydini and Vernon stuff. Only Roth and some of the underground guys were into cleaner styles. My book was topical for the material available at the time, until Kaufman's Coinmagic popularized the retention material and showed magicians there was life after Bobo.

Dr. Rubinstein, I love your material on the knock out coin magic series, I was wondering if you have put out any recent material?

Thanks for your kind words. I haven't released anything in awhile. First I'll let L&L put out the West German coin move tapes from 1985 (4 hours of coin moves, both basic and unpublished advanced stuff, covering loads, steals, vanishes, spellbound, click passes, changeover palms, etc., along with the three show tapes - basic coin magic, advanced coin magic, and closeup magic).

Then, we'll see. I envision a large book with most of my material, and perhaps a new video series. But when the time is right.
I do have some coin items for sale in another forum. I don't know how to reference it, but it's in the for sale section around the middle of February.

Hi,

This is the reference you want.

[expired link]

PS. Excellent DVD Michael, totally enjoyed it.

Thanks for the reference, wayman!