A New Coin Fold.—Take a piece of paper four inches by five inches, place a coin on it, and fold the top of the paper down over the coin to within one inch of the bottom. Then fold the right-hand side of the paper under the coin, treating the left-hand side in a similar way. You must now fold the one inch of paper at the bottom, under the coin, and you will, apparently, have wrapped it securely in the paper; but really it is in a kind of pocket, and will readily slip out into either hand at pleasure.
Allow several persons in the audience to feel the coin through the paper, then take it from the left hand to the right, letting the coin slip out into the left hand, which picks up a plate from the table. You may burn the paper in the flame of a candle, and, dropping the ashes on the plate, the coin is found to have disappeared.
To Vanish a Marked Coin from a Tumbler and Cause it to Appear in a Small Box Wrapped in Paper in the Centre of a Large Ball of Wool.—For this very surprising trick you will require to make the following preparations:
Procure a tumbler having a slit cut flush with and parallel to the bottom, which should be flat. The opening should be just large enough to allow a half-dollar dropped into the tumbler to slip through into your hand (see Fig. 6).
Fig. 6
Obtain a small metal box large enough to take the coin easily, also a flat tin tube just wide enough for the half-dollar to slide through it. Place one end of this tube inside the box and close the lid on it, keeping it in position by passing an elastic band over the box. You now wrap the box in paper and wind a quantity of wool around it until you get a large ball with the end of the tube projecting about one inch. Place the ball thus prepared on the table at the rear of the stage, and you are ready to perform. Show the tumbler, and draw attention to the fact that it is an ordinary one by filling it with water, which can be done by holding the forefinger around the slit. Empty the tumbler and borrow a half-dollar, which has been marked by the owner, allowing him to actually drop it into the glass. Cover the tumbler with a handkerchief, shaking it continually to prove that your coin is still there, and then place it down on your table, securing the coin through the slit as you do so. Going to the back of the stage for the ball of wool, you insert the coin into the tube and withdraw the latter, when the action of the elastic band closes the box. Bring the ball forward in a large glass basin and have the wool unwound, disclosing the box; on this being opened the marked coin will be found within.
Coin, Wine Glass, and Paper Cone.—This very pretty and amusing table trick consists in causing a coin placed under a wine glass, the whole being covered with a paper cone, to disappear and return as often as desired.
The following arrangements are necessary: Take a wine glass and, having placed a little gum all around its edge, turn it over on a sheet of white paper, and when dry cut away the paper close to the glass. Obtain a Japanese tray and on it lay a large sheet of paper similar to that covering the mouth of the glass, and stand the glass, mouth downward, on it. Make a paper cone to fit over the glass, and you are ready to present the illusion.
Borrow a penny and lay it on the large sheet of paper by the side of the wine glass; cover the glass with the paper cone, and place the whole over the coin. Command the penny to disappear, and, on removing the cone, it will seem to have done so, as the paper over the mouth of the glass, being the same color as that on the tray, effectively conceals the coin. To cause it to reappear, you replace the cone and carry away the glass under it. This can be repeated as often as desired.