“2. Passing, is the art of so palming any article that it is apparently transferred to some other receptacle, or altering the position of the cards in a pack unseen by the audience.
“3. Slipping, is the art of moving, altering the position of, or getting possession of any single card without being detected, and,
“4. Cheek is—[3].
“Coin Sleights.—Palming.—1. Place a penny or florin across the middle joints of the second and third fingers of either hand, as at a, Fig. 99, reproduced from illustrations by Miss Dora Noyes; on slightly bending the hand in an easy and natural manner, the coin will be clipped, as at b, by the fleshy part of the other two joints, and the hand may be turned over, and in fact placed in any position, so long as the back of the hand is presented to the audience. This is a useful palm on an emergency, as when people suspect that the coin is in the palm of the hand it may be shown empty, the top joints of the fingers hiding the coin thus held.
99. Coin and Card Sleights.
“2. Place the coin between the joint of the thumb and the hand, and on slightly bending the thumb the coin will be held flat. This is most useful for changing, described further on, but as an ordinary concealment of a coin it is too dangerous except for small coins which the thumb is large enough to hide.
“3. The principal palm (from which the manipulation derives its name) is as follows: Place the coin so that one edge just touches the highest of the three marked lines that cross the palm of the hand, rather towards the thumb. On slightly bending the hand the coin will be retained; you will find it difficult at first, but practice will show you the exact spot, where the difficulty is reduced to a minimum. If you take the coin flatwise between the thumb, the tips of the second and third fingers, by naturally closing the fingers over and clasping them tight in the palm of the hand, the coin will be brought into the exact position, so that if you pick up a coin, by a sudden outward sweep you can cover this movement, and on recovering the hand the coin will be palmed and the hand apparently empty.
“Other means of holding a coin en cache will naturally present themselves when these have been thoroughly mastered.