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Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring
·
Professor Hoffmann
264
The
trick
may
be
varied
in
many
ways,
according
to
the
ingenuity
of
the
performer,
but
it
belongs
at
best
to
the
“juvenile”
school
of
conjuring,
and
we
have
not
thought
it
worth
while
to
waste
space
in
elaborating
it.
THE
ANIMATED
COIN,
WHICH
ANSWERS
QUESTIONS,
ETC.--This
trick
is
performed
in
a
variety
of
different
ways,
some
with
apparatus,
some
without.
The
effect
produced
is
as
follows:--The
performer
borrows
a
coin,
and,
after
making
a
few
mesmeric
passes
over
it,
drops
it
into
a
glass
upon
the
table,
where
it
immediately
begins
to
jump
about
as
if
alive.
The
performer
then
announces
that
the
coin
thus
mesmerized
has
the
power
of
fortune-telling,
naming
chosen
cards,
predicting
the
number
that
will
be
thrown
by
a
pair
of
dice,
etc.
The
coin
answers
“Yes”
by
jumping
three
times,
“No”
by
jumping
once--according
to
the
approved
spiritualistic
code
of
signals.
We
shall
not
stay
to
discuss
the
questions
asked,
which
are
of
the
same
class
as
those
which
are
generally
put
to
the
Magic
Bell
or
Drum,
but
proceed
at
once
to
explain
the
various
modes
of
producing
the
movement
of
the
coin.
One
plan
is
for
the
performer
to
have
a
coin
of
his
own,
to
which
is
attached
a
long
black
silk
thread,
the
other
end
of
which
is
in
the
hand
of
an
assistant
behind
the
scenes,
or
elsewhere
out
of
sight
of
the
audience.
This
coin
is
placed
on
the
table
in
readiness,
but
concealed
from
the
spectators
by
some
larger
object
in
front
of
it.
When
the
performer
advances
to
the
table
with
the
borrowed
coin,
he
secretly
picks
up
the
prepared
one,
and
drops
the
latter
into
the
glass
as
being
that
which
he
has
borrowed.
A
short,
quick
jerk
of
the
thread
by
the
assistant
will
make
the
coin
spring
up
and
fall
back
again,
producing
the
required
chink.
It
is
only
necessary
to
be
careful
not
to
jerk
the
thread
so
violently
as
to
make
the
coin
fly
out
of
the
glass.
It
is
desirable,
where
practicable,
to
make
the
thread
pass
either
through
a
hole
in
the
top
of
the
table,
or
a
ring
fixed
to
its
surface
and
placed
immediately
behind
the
glass.
This
will
keep
that
portion
of
the
thread
nearest
to
the
glass
perpendicular
behind
it,
in
which
position
it
will
be
completely
hidden
by
the
glass,
and
so
be
invisible.
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