"Slow Burn"

[Guest]

I just received this in the mail. It looks awesome!! I am wondering does anyone out there know where I could get the foreign currency Mr. Sanders suggested. (Banco Central Brasil 1000 mil cruzados). I tried the local bank. Pawn shops maybe...but I am wanting fairly new bills.

Thank you for your response

[Guest]

I don't know about that currency specifically, but look for coin shops that deal in rare coins and foreign currency, I know I have gotten Euro's from such a location.

Scott

[Guest]

If I remember correctly, he recommended Argentinian bills. I went to the local intl airport that has a money changing booth, and they had just about everything BUT the ones I wanted. The person there said that with the economy of Argentina being what it is, it will be difficult to find the bills I wanted. They were very accomodating and let me look at literally dozens of different bills and compare the shape to my new US $1's. There are few chinese and singapore bills that would work as well but they were too expensive. I tried using canadian 10's which are colorful and very economical compared to US currency, but the borderless canadian bills along with bordered bills make it much more difficult regarding angles. and the sizes don't match quite right, so they look a bit odd when everyting is cut to size. It's an exacting procedure.

So, I ended up using the same setup as described by Greg Wilson in Hundy 500, (which by the way has so many great ideas that if you have one of the DVD's you should also have the other) so the same gimmick can be used interchangably with one tiny 2-second modification. I choose which method to use depending on the number of spectators and the angles involved.

For informal settings, often my presentation is at a gas station or parking ramp where I count rapidly through the bills and say "That should cover it" As they look at me in disbelief like I'm some kind of idiot I do a double take, say "No really, this should do it", then look down and do the move and hand them the final bill or bills. It keeps the bills fresh, and knocks 'em for a total brain fade. I keep a fresh set of bills to replace the spent ones in my checkbook to keep 'em crisp and clean.

Greg's method is cleaner over a wider angle and Sanders method is a little more visual. They both look great. It's interesting to compare their philosophies and for that reason owning both DVD's is worthwhile.

[Guest]

Thanks Mark for your info. You have saved me some time. Even as I was reading your article I had an idea that would not require the foreign currency. I will still probably check out the airport as you have. With formal settings, I believe the touch of foreign currency would be a little more elegant.

Thanks again

[Guest]

Plenty of foreign currency here:

http://listings.ebay.com/pool1/plisting ... ml?from=R4

Just purchased five (5), crisp, Canadian One Dollar bills for 5 bucks, and hoping that the Iraq bills with SH's picture on them are close in size to US bills.

[David Acer]

I picked my bills up at a coin shop - they had a bin full of "worthless" money. Regarding the Canadian One Dollar Bills, I'm surprised you were able to find them so cheap. They've been out of circulation for some time (we use coins now, called "loonies," named after the idiots who thought we should all be walking around with pockets full of metal).

[Tony Baronio]

I picked up several different types of bills including the recommended Argentinian bills at www.banknotes.com .

The Argentinian bills were about $1.50 each and are beautiful.

[Guest]

The bourses at airports are great places to find matching bills for Slow Burn.

I went there, and loaded up on 10 peso notes from the Dominican Republic. Total cost for 5 notes, including commission: $3.50.

Also gave me a great way to put together a story for the patter in the routine ("My wife and I vacationed in the DR...").

[Guest]

Cool, I never thought about Dominican Republic.

One thing I've found thats an added bonus: At the local magic shop they have money clips with full color pictures of cards engraved on them. I bought two identical clips, and I keep my slowburn/hundy 500 bills in one clip, and four crisp dollar bills in another. At the start ofthe trick, I remove the clip mkaking sure that the front side is never made visible. As soon as the trick is over, I put the clip back on and put it in my pocket. Rarely do they ask to see the bills, but if they do, I'm prepared. It's easy by feel to grab the clip with the real bills, pull the clip and give them all four bills to inspect. This provides an excellent opportunity to perform "Lucky Coin" as described in Card college, but using the clip instead of a coin.

In todays ever expanding US quarter backs, the money clip makes even more sense, as previously I've had people turn over the coin to see what state its from. Why on earth would anybody prematrely turn over a money clip?

Total expenditure was about $30 for the two clips, plus the cost of the bills.

The money clip with "the lucky coin" routine is such a natural as long as you don't tip your hand as you remove the clip. It 'flips' better than a quarter, and because it is an exact duplicate of the card (in my case Jack of clubs), it gives plenty of misdirection for the one sleight required for the card trick, and it's a real jaw-dropper for very little effort.
Even if you're not prepared (and this is a wonderful way to switch in a cold deck), all it takes is a casual display of the cards as you prayer cull the required card to the top before the beginning of "The lucky coin" while showing the deck is all different. Just another hidden gem in Card College that really ties in nice with the bill routines. And what a wonderful way to switch decks if you happen to like stacks.