Reverse Flipper/Acrobat gaff

[Jonathan Townsend]

Has the flipper coin (or card) gaff been explored/offered where the thing whats to be open displaying as two (ore more) and requires some effort to close it before one can display it as a "single"?

IE the gaff wants to be open. When you let the pressure off it displays as more rather than one.

Thanks in advance,

Jon

[CraigOusterling]

I don't recall reading about such a gaff. I'll check Don England's Gaffed to the Hilt! when I get home tonight. If a card type gaff idea exists I would think that would be the book it would be in. I can certainly keep an eye out and research into the idea. Might be time to activate my trial of Ask Alexander I got from Magic Con.

Coin-wise? No clue. Never heard of one going that direction.

I have pretty narrow minded thinking but it seems to me it would be harder to end a routine with something that inherently leaves you more than 'dirty'?

[Steve Hook]

Craig: With all due respect, there's no need to post that you don't know something.

And the question didn't imply that using this type of gaff would necessarily leave you ending a routine with something dirty.

Regardless, this would be a useful prop to make a coin appear (via transposition for instance) or as a setup subterfuge.

[Jonathan Townsend]

Craig,

Agreed about wanting to complete a trick with things that folks can grab in position to be handed out or back if a coin or signed card. The idea is to let the gaff(s) do the work to make the magic happen and clean up on the off beat during the natural applause cue. Consider the Tannen's "Blasted!" coin trick item as a model for the timing in cleaning up just after the magic happens.

Here's an application. You have a flopper (it wants to flop open) coin at your fingertips in one hand and a regular coin to match at the fingertips of the other hand. You let both coins fall into their respective hands and close them (the flopper opens). You palm the coin in one hand doing the standard toss (use NP these days) and then open the other hand to show two coins there - no noise - it's just there now. You use the action of a standard utility switch to close the gaffus and show both coins in at the fingertips of the other hand. And just to startle the wise acres you can then show you other hand empty after acting like you had a coin in FP there. (Okay I'm a Ramsay fan)

For cards, consider this as a method of doing open travelers where you use the pack or case or a glass to keep the thing closed then after showing you really only have X there and table those X cards, you have the X+1 card appear. Or using a Deland type card, X+N. Doing this where the gaffus opens to reveal a back - you can have face down cards appear on a pile of cards you dealt down face up - ala helicoptor card with CGI.

For billiard workers, imagine doing that mechanical (candle) type production without the effort of those clippy holders on the sides - one ball becomes four.

Again... so far it's wishful thinking. I would like to explore realizing these gaffs and want to respect what's been done before and ask those who've already done that work for help.

[Pete McCabe]

A flipper and a flopper used together could make for a quite remarkable coins across routine.

[Jonathan Townsend]

There's something about a gaff you can drop into a hat as one coin shown cleanly and then when they look in to find two... just makes me smile. Added to a Swadling Double Deception, a shimmed expanded shell - probably even more fun. Use a slider and you've got all but that last coin vanish ready to go for the three coin VCA.

[Jonathan Townsend]

BTW I'm thinking that a blackout coin held against a small black coin purse might suffice for the coin to either seem to vanish and then you find the coin purse there - or as a direct change. A direct penetration using that handling openly just seems a little risky if the lighting is even slightly unforgiving of the edge and too perfect if they think about it.

[CraigOusterling]

Pete, That's what I was thinking when I read Jon's first post.

Steve, Sorry, I just saw no one was chattin' about it and wanted to open up a conversation as I really like this idea. I'm already experimenting with how to build a mock up to horse around with.

An interesting thing I found while doing a search on Bill's Ask Alexander site for "reverse flipper coin" The ONLY article that came up was Steve Hook's 'Was not was (silver)' which at first made me laugh. Then I got a little paranoid.

So far the only other reference to a coin opening up is from Jimmy Buffalo, but the idea and execution he uses isn't the same thing that Jon's talking about. (THEME AND VARIATION IN SILVER PART II - Linking Ring Dec. 1987)

[Steve Hook]

An interesting thing I found while doing a search on Bill's Ask Alexander site for "reverse flipper coin" The ONLY article that came up was Steve Hook's 'Was not was (silver)' which at first made me laugh. Then I got a little paranoid.

And that was not me in one of the two black Crown Vics across the street from your house last night.