THE EFFECT: You take an ordinary drinks bottle and empty the contents. You then ask to borrow a coin from a spectator. Holding the bottle in one hand and the coin in the other you slam the coin into the bottom of the bottle. Bam! The coin penetrates into the bottle.
It is CLEARLY seen inside. There is no way to get it out, the coin is too big to be removed from the bottle neck! You can give it to a spectator to examine, or they can keep it for a souvenir. Alternatively you can cut the bottle open to remove the coin! - One of the coolest free coin magic tricks around!
• You can perform this with the bottle top
• Bottle can be examined
• Real coin used - not fake and not gaffed
Watch a video of the effect below, then learn the secret to another one of my favourite free coin magic tricks (yes I have many!).
Have you worked out how to do one of the coolest free coin magic tricks yet? Please read on to learn the secrets or click here for other free coin magic tricks.
THE SECRET: You'd be forgiven for thinking this free coin magic trick is the same as the Coin in Can illusion but it's not. It has a totally different secret and method. For this trick you are going to need a small magnet. Preferably a Neodymium Magnet (Neodymium Magnets are the most powerful magnets in the world. They are fantastically strong making them perfect for free coin magic tricks.)
These magnets can be bought really cheaply on the net, try a good old Google search below. Stuck as to what size to get? I use 6mm dia x 3mm Neodymium Magnets. They are perfect for this trick and the Spinning Coins Trick, in which two coins magically stick together then spin.
(To search the web click on the web radio button after you click search)
It is the magnet which holds the coin inside the bottle, hidden behind the label. So how does the coin get in the bottle? You have to put it there before you perform.
To prepare for the trick you are going to need a clear plastic drinks bottle. Empty the contents into a glass or container, you will need it later. When the bottle is empty you need to peel back the label at the join slightly to reveal the plastic.
Then with a very sharp scalpel or scissors cut a small slit large enough for a two pence piece to fit through (pic 1). Push a two pence piece (or any magnetic coin) into the bottle. Any coin smaller than a two pence piece is not great to use as they can fit through the neck of the bottle defeating the purpose of this impossible looking illusion.
When the coin is in the bottle simply stick the label back together. Usually the labels are quite sticky and no extra glue is required, but if you wish you can glue the label back on (pic 2). If you happen to carry a penknife around with you then this illusion becomes quite impromptu as this set up only takes a few minutes.
Next lay the bottle on its side and position the coin in the middle of the label, then place the magnet against the bottle to hold the coin there (pic 3). You should now find that because the magnet is so strong you can wave the bottle around or even turn it up side down and the coin will stay put. The last step to prepare the bottle is to pour some of the contents back into the bottle, just below the slit (to prevent any possible leaks).
THE METHOD: Take the prepared bottle and show it to your audience, make sure the magnet is facing towards your body away from the spectators. You can place your thumb over the magnet to hide it (pic 4). The magnet is quite small so it should not be a problem to keep it out of sight. Try and remenber to handle the bottle naturally as if it is just any normal bottle.
TIP: Always show the bottle front on where the lable provides cover. Never turn it to the side (end on) or the hidden coin will be seen!
An advanced move at this stage is to turn the bottle by its base while still holding the magnet against the bottle. This will cause the magnet and coin to stay still while the bottle turns between them (pic 5). This move seemingly shows the whole bottle to the spectators and can look very natural and convincing. This does take practice though!
Remove the top of the bottle and pour the contents onto the floor or into a glass, make sure the coin is above the liquid and it will pass right under the coin. Pouring the liquid out emphasises the fact that there is nothing in the bottle and that it is completely normal.
Once the bottle is empty ask to borrow a two pence piece. Take this in the palm of one hand and the bottle in the other. Slam the coin onto the bottom of the bottle (pic 6) hard enough to dislodge the coin from the magnet which will fall to the bottom of the bottle. Because this is done so fast the spectators will not see the coin drop.
At this point all the attention is focussed on the coin in the bottle, which looks amazing. So just close your other hand with the coin in ‘palming’ the spectators coin. If you are sat at a table simply drop the coin into your lap, or secretly place it into your pocket.
When the coin drops from the magnet make sure you keep your thumb on the magnet, so it does not fall as well. If you press the magnet firmly against the bottle during the trick you should find that when you take your thumb off the bottle to hand it to the spectators to examine the magnet will stay stuck to your thumb (pic 7).
You can get rid of the magnet too, in a pocket if you wish. But it is so small and the spectators are not actively looking for a magnet. So I usually just keep it concealed in my hand.
You can let the spectators examine or even keep the bottle, after all the secret is cleverly hidden, that's why it's one of the cooler free coin magic tricks. If you don't want the spectators to keep the bottle you can cut it open with scissors or a knife at the point where the small slit is, which would then get rid of any evidence. You can then hand back the coin.
ALTERNATIVE HANDLING: With many of these free coin magic tricks I like to give you a variety of ways to perform the trick. This one is no exception. If you wish you can perform the effect with the bottle top. All that's needed is a bit more preparation. First thing you will need is an identical bottle top. You then need to ‘shim’ it. This means to make it magnetic. There are a number of ways to do this.
The easiest way is to glue a one pence piece into the top. This will pass casual examination and performance but would not hold up to close scrutiny. Alternatively some plastic bottle tops have a plastic insert, if you first remove this you can place a small piece of metal like a paper clip into the cap then glue the plastic insert back in.
Once this is inside the bottle even close inspection will not reveal anything. If you are going to use a bottle top for the performance the slit you cut into the bottle will obviously have to be slightly larger.
TIP: If you find that handling the magnet and palming the coin at the same time is too complicated you can purchase a magnetic finger ring. Often known as PK rings. That way you have the magnet on your finger, so it’s in your hand at all times.
Alternatively the small magnet can be glued under the bottle label, then you do not need to worry about handling the magnet. Although with this method you may not want to give away the bottle!
IMPROMPTU METHOD: Like impromptu free coin magic tricks? You can perform a sililar effect without using a magnet. This method is cool because the spectator can examine the bottle before the trick.
First hand them the bottle top to look at, when they are happy hand them the bottle, while they are looking at the bottle secretly place a small coin like a one pence piece into the lid. You can also distact them by saying something like "Get into the bottle and have a look around" This usually gets a laugh. Take back the bottle and screw the lid on keeping the bottle tilted toward the floor so the coin stays hidden in the cap.
Borrow a one pence piece and slam it into the bottom tilting the bottle back upright in the process, so the coin falls from the lid and comes into view. Then secretly get rid of the coin in your hand in a pocket or onto your lap if you are sat at a table.
This is one of the cooler impromptu free coin magic tricks but it relies on the fact that the coin can fit into the bottle neck, so the impact is not quite as good as the main illusion above. But still a nice trick! Have fun with these free coin magic tricks and as always practice!