levitating coin

Magic Tricks With Coins You Should Be Performing

You should have some coin tricks in your repertoire. Learning coin tricks will make you a better magician. Coin magic requires sleight of hand and requires practice.

Here you will learn simple yet strong moves and tricks with coins that will fool your audience. I’m using a quarter here, yet I prefer using a half dollar. Both are fine.

Below are step by step instructions, in great detail, with clear pictures. I’m giving you the tools, make sure to put in the practice.

sleight of hand diagram

I am right handed. If you are a lefty switch hands.

Finger Palm Coin Sleight

Hold the coin at the base of your fingers, mostly on your 3rd finger, with it slightly overlapping your 2nd finger.

finger palm coin sleight

Curl your fingers naturally and hold the coin gently in place with your 3rd finger against the skin at the base of your hand. The finger palm is an easy, practical, and effective way to hide a coin in your hand.

FURTHER READING: Learn the Best Coin Magic Tricks – Detailed Instructions

Pro Tips

To practice keep a coin in finger palm throughout the day and forget about it as you go about your normal activity. Let your arm hang naturally. Get comfortable with the coin in your hand, no-one knows you are holding out a coin.

The finger palm is the easiest and most natural way of hiding a coin. It is the palm I use most often when performing coin tricks.

Fake Take Coin Vanish

You make a coin disappear.

Display the coin on your flat palm up right hand in finger palm position. Push the coin up with your right fingers.

Fake Take Coin Vanish

Left Hand Action

Come in from above with your palm down left hand and mime taking the coin. With the back of your left hand toward your audience close as if holding the coin.

Move your loosely closed fist up slightly drawing attention to it. Rub your fingers and thumb slightly, as if you have something in your hand. It is a good convincer.

Right Hand Action

Rotate your hand palm down, curl your fingers loosely, and grip the coin with your 3rd finger. Relax your hand naturally to your side and hold the coin casually in finger palm position. This is called “holding out.”

Holding out is when you have something secretly concealed in your hand. Get comfortable with this. Holding out is a big part of sleight of hand.

The Vanish

Move your left hand up to about chin level. Blow on it and open your hand in one quick motion with your palm to the audience and your fingers pointing upward. Make it crystal clear the coin is gone.

sleight of hand vanish

I like to make a whooshing sound as I open my hand, I think it adds to the vanish.

Pro Tips

Your audience will look where you look so focus on your hand that supposedly has the coin.

Don’t rush the vanish, pause for a second before you make the coin disappear.

Do the vanish softly, there should be no tension in your hand.

After the fake take, naturally relax your hand with the coin to your side.

Let your hand bounce a little before it comes to a stop. Your goal is to duplicate the actions you would naturally do if you dropped your empty hand to your side.

Spend some time in front of the mirror practicing this. It isn’t easy yet it is worth the effort.

A vanish is a tool, not a trick. Once you master this move you have an incredible technique you can use in so many routines with so many objects.

Coin Behind The Ear Trick

Reach behind someone’s ear and pull out a coin.

How to Do It

producing a coin magic trick

To move the coin from finger palm to display position there are two techniques. Sometimes my hands sweat which makes it hard to slide the coin. Try out both and see what works best for you.

Pro Tips

This is a very simple yet effective trick. Go slowly, don’t rush the coin production. 

This is a terrific trick for kids.

The strength in this trick lies in catching your spectators off guard. They have no idea you have a coin concealed in your hand.

Make sure you have your spectator’s attention before you produce the coin.

Do not touch your spectator. Just reach near their ear.

This is a great way to magically produce a coin for your next trick. You can produce any small object, for example a piece of candy. The technique is the same.

LEARN MORE: Sleight of Hand Tricks With Pencils – Ultra Visual Magic

Coin to Elbow Trick

A coin disappears, and appears behind your elbow.

coin to elbow magic trick

How to Do It

Coin Trick – One Hand to the Other

A coin disappears from your hand and appears in your other hand.

How to Do It

coin trick hand to hand
coin trick going from hand to hand
coins across coin trick

Pro Tips

Start with the coin on the right side of the table. This will motivate you picking up the coin with your left hand so your right hand can reach for the coin.

Go slowly and trust in the moves. When you don’t really have the coin, wiggle your thumb and fingers slightly, as a convincer.

Drop the coin onto the other coin as you make the tossing motion. The sound is very magical.

When you vanish the coin in a tossing motion open your hand wide so it is clear the coin has vanished. 

Coin Through Hand Trick

You push a coin right through your hand and it lands on your spectator’s hand.

How to Do It

coin through hand magic trick

Pro Tips

When you ask your spectator to place their hand out, mime the action so they see what you want them to do.

Keep your right hand still when you drop the coin from finger palm onto their hand.

Rub the supposed coin on the back of your hand a few times before it goes through. A little acting goes a long way here.

LEARN MORE: How to Roll a Coin Across Your Knuckles

Coin Through Table Trick

You tap a coin on the table and then push the coin right through the table.

How to Do It

coin through table trick

Pro Tips

You must believe you are holding a coin even when you are not if you want to be convincing to your spectators. 

Elbow To Elbow Coin Trick

You rub a coin into your elbow and it comes out your other elbow.

How to Do It

coin trick elbow to elbow

I’ve seen other versions of this trick where you have to “accidentally” drop the coin before you do the move. I don’t like dropping a coin, especially when I don’t have to.

It looks clumsy. In my opinion switching hands makes more sense and is the perfect motivation for the vanish. 

Conclusion

Good choreography is imperative for strong sleight of hand magic. Your moves have to be motivated. You are not just doing the fake take to vanish the coin, you are doing the fake take so you can free up your hand.

Consider this when constructing your routines so your magic is believable and deceptive. 

When performing magic tricks you should have a routine where you perform a few tricks in a row with the same props. Here is a sample routine you can perform with one coin:

Practice until you perfect the moves. When you feel comfortable and confident go out and perform.

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