let me describe the effect of this clever vanish so you can better visualize its deceptiveness.
With his sleeves rolled high the wizard places a half dollar in his left hand. He immediately opens his hand to show the coin gone; in fact, both hands are shown with fingers apart, front and back. There is no doubt about it, the coin has completely disappeared. But reaching behind his left leg the performer extracts the missing coin. No trick coins and no gimmicks. Sounds good? It is good!
Here’s how: The half dollar is displayed in the right hand between the first two fingers and thumb. The left hand is held palm up and the fingers point directly toward the spectators. Right hand places the coin on left palm but right fingers and thumb still retain their grip on the coin. As the left hand closes into a loose fist it is raised slightly and the right hand moves inward quickly and deposits the half dollar on the left wrist, Fig. 1.
In this one continuous action the half dollar is screened from view by the closing left fingers and if the left hand is held about chest high the coin will be invisible as it lies flat on the wrist.
Blow into the left hand as it is opened. Both hands are held about chest high and seen to be empty, as in Fig. 2. Be careful not to move the arms too much or the coin may fall off the wrist. Now point fingers of both hands skyward and the audience will observe the backs of the hands as in Fig. 3.
To give the onlookers another view of the empty hands drop them to the sides. The left hand bends inward at the wrist and the coin is held in position by the watch band at one edge and the wrinkles at the heel of the wrist at the opposite edge, Fig. 4.
As the left hand goes behind left knee the hand straightens, releasing the coin, which is caught in the cupped fingers and brought into view.
The vanish is just as effective without the watch band but a little more skill will be necessary to retain the coin on the left wrist. If a wrist watch is not worn the hands can only be shown on both sides at chest height. Either way, this is a beautiful and thoroughly mystifying coin vanish, well worth the time necessary to master it.
Special attention should be given to angles; do not perform this closer than six feet from the spectators.
THE FLYAWAY COIN
FRANK GARCIA
The following feat, although quite easy to do as far as skill is concerned, will test your ability to act and misdirect. The mystery depends almost entirely on subterfuge rather than skill.
Effect: After showing a half dollar the performer places it in his left hand and immediately tosses it into the air where it vanishes. Both hands appear empty as they are seen with the fingers wide apart.
The performer then makes a grab in the air with his left hand, catching the coin. It is tossed toward the right hand where it instantly appears at the extreme fingertips, creating a very pretty effect.
You will not find this an effect with which you can create a reputation for yourself as a sleight of hand artist. But it is a nice bit of chicanery that can be used anytime, since it is entirely impromptu.
Method: Show the half dollar in the right hand. Pretend to place it in the left hand, but retain it classic palmed in the right. Hold both hands shoulder high as you stand facing the spectators. Make crumbling motions with the fingers of both hands simultaneously. Suddenly raise the hands a few inches and open them, pretending to toss the coin into the air. Watch its invisible flight upward. Hold both hands with the fingers wide open and do not try to hold the coin in the palm. Just let it lie flat on the hand. This gives the hands a very natural appearance, and since the palms are above the eye level of the spectators the coin cannot be seen, Fig. 1.
Keep your eyes firmly fixed on the non-existent coin in its upward journey, then pretend to follow its flight downward again to a point directly in front of you. Exclaim, “There it is!” and make a quick grab in the air with the left hand, feigning to catch the coin. Simultaneously with this action the right hand turns palm inward and transfers the coin to the front finger hold (see Fig. 2, The Back Palm, page 28). The left hand, supposedly holding the coin is about 12 inches below the right hand.
“Watch it!”
Make a motion of tossing the coin upward from the left to the right hand. Suddenly expose the half dollar at the extreme fingertips of the right hand, by simply pushing it into view with the thumb. The effect is that you caught the coin with your left hand, then tossed it invisible into your right hand, where it instantly materialized.
The entire effect shouldn’t require more than 15 seconds.
BEHIND THE BACK
Here is a method which may be used to vanish almost any small object.
Stand with the body turned one quarter to the right and toss a coin into the air a few times with the right hand, but catching it as it descends with both hands. Each time the coin is caught, drop both arms to the sides before raising them to toss again. Both arms move up and down in unison as the coin is tossed and caught. After the second or third throw the hands drop to the sides as before and the right hand tosses the coin behind the back into the left hand.
At first this may seem difficult, but after a few trials the knack will come. It will be found that the hands almost come together behind the back as the arms are dropped just prior to the next throw. Actually there is no hesitation when the coin is tossed into the left hand; the toss is accomplished without suspicious movement precisely at the moment the hands drop down. The flight of the coin into the left hand is concealed from view by the body. Just as the coin is caught in the left hand the body turns so left side is toward the spectators. The hands are immediately brought up as before and the right hand tosses the non-existent coin into the air. The left hand has classic palmed the coin in its upward swing and both hands appear to be empty—the spectators viewing the back of the left hand and the palm of the right—fingers of both hands are wide apart, Fig. 1.
Stand in this position a moment as you watch the upward flight of the invisible coin. It apparently fades into the air.
If the last move appears identical with the preceding ones the illusion will be perfect. The spectators become used to seeing the coin go upward after each toss and their eyes naturally will go upward on the last throw if you have played your part correctly.
THE FRENCH DROP (LE TOURNIQUET VANISH)
One of the oldest methods known for vanishing a coin is this one which is known
