Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

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erdnasephile
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Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby erdnasephile » February 16th, 2021, 11:00 am

I was studying Stars of Magic and have a couple of silly questions please:

In "Kangaroo Coins" in Stars of Magic (pg 38, Figure 2) the coins pictured do not match the description in the text. From what I can find, the Australian half dollar sized coins from that era are copper with a big kangaroo on them, unlike those pictured.

Does anyone know:
1. What are the coins pictured in the description?
2. Did Mr. Vernon use the aforementioned copper coins in actual performance?

Sean Piper
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Sean Piper » February 16th, 2021, 4:41 pm

The old Australian Pennies are about half dollar size, but quite thin. Cheap and easy to find on the used market.

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_fro ... y&_sacat=0

On the Revelations videos he mentions that his son named the trick because the coins "jump around like Kangaroos", so the use of the Australian coins may have been a later addition.

The photos in the book are tough to make out, but lookie like they could be worn silver dollars?

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erdnasephile
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby erdnasephile » February 16th, 2021, 5:23 pm

Hi, Mr. Piper:
Appreciate the reply!
I have a bunch of those old pennies. They are really cool.

I couldn't make out the coins in that figure in my Tannen's reprint, so I pulled out my SOM originals and took a look. Here's a picture:

Image

They don't look like any silver dollars with which I am familiar. I'm hoping one of you numismatists can come to the rescue please...

Jonathan Townsend
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Jonathan Townsend » February 16th, 2021, 7:02 pm

Can't read the writing but the design looks like UK (India? around 1940s) design with denomination written in the center.

Joe Lyons
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Joe Lyons » February 16th, 2021, 8:26 pm

Looks like magician's tokens/palming coins to me but that could be context...

Jack Shalom
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Jack Shalom » February 16th, 2021, 10:29 pm

I played around with the contrast of the photo; the top word looks like ULTRA to me, though I wouldn't swear it.

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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Bill Mullins » February 17th, 2021, 12:38 am

Most Western countries had a silver-dollar sized coin made of silver. It could be any of dozens of them.

Richard Forster
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Richard Forster » February 17th, 2021, 11:48 am

Jonathan Townsend wrote:Can't read the writing but the design looks like UK (India? around 1940s) design with denomination written in the center.


I think that is correct. More specifically, I think the top coin looks like a silver Victorian One Rupee coin, with the writing facing away from the reader. The writing would read (one word per line) ONE RUPEE INDIA xxxx (xxx being the year) and it's surrounded by a floral motif. I'm guessing Victorian as there's no visible circle between the motif and the writing and there's a hoizontal line in the centre of the coin. Later Rupee coins appear to gain the circle and drop the line.

Bill Mullins
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Bill Mullins » February 17th, 2021, 3:17 pm

Here are the 1 Rupee coins used during the Raj.

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erdnasephile
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby erdnasephile » February 18th, 2021, 12:50 pm

Thanks, all! Mystery solved!
(I wonder if they used silver coins for the photoshoot to avoid the contrast issues with the copper coins they experienced in the first Scarne series)

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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Bill Mullins » February 24th, 2021, 5:39 pm

Bill Mullins wrote:Most Western countries had a silver-dollar sized coin made of silver. It could be any of dozens of them.



Here are some typical "crowns" from my later father's collection. All are about the same size as a US Silver Dollar.

Image

Top, L-R: Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Spain, Chile
France, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, Latvia
Germany, Bermuda

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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Jonathan Townsend » February 25th, 2021, 1:06 pm

@Bill, any Rupee or older Thaller coins?

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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Bill Mullins » February 25th, 2021, 7:40 pm

Not that I've run across.

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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Jonathan Townsend » February 25th, 2021, 9:14 pm

Just a generation or two ago... when coins were copper, silver, or gold.

Here's a guess at the coins in Vernon's hand: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3719.html
what do you think?

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Brad Jeffers
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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Brad Jeffers » February 26th, 2021, 2:52 am

Richard Forster wrote: I think the top coin looks like a silver Victorian One Rupee coin.

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Re: Coins pictured in SOM "Kangaroo Coins"?

Postby Bill Mullins » February 27th, 2021, 6:13 pm

Jonathan Townsend wrote:@Bill, any Rupee or older Thaller coins?


Yes.
Rupee: This, which is more or less the same size as a U.S. half dollar.

Thaler: Modern restrike. Slightly bigger than a U.S. silver dollar. (The word "dollar" comes from "Thaler".)


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