My coin magic mentor, Marion Boykin (“MB”), has created something truly wonderful from developing a variant of something called The Ramsay Subtlety (a way of casually showing a hand that seems to be empty even though there is a coin there), and making it the foundation for several routines. MB calls it the “Liwag Subtlety,” since he was initially inspired by the way Homer Liwag sometimes handled his coins.
MB took that initial spark and honed and developed and moulded and crafted the move to make it into something quite unique. I believe that even though others may have held the coin in a similar manner in the past (the Ramsay Subtlety is really just a use of the finger palm concealment), nobody that I’m aware of has pushed the limits of the “hold” in such a way that it allows for some otherwise impossible displays of coin magic.
One such display is a (seemingly) simple and very fast coin change at the fingertips – MB’s “Crimp Change.” He created this move, which can be both a utility move or a quick trick on its own, by combining the Liwag Subtlety with some techniques from JR Bobo’s “Modern Coin Magic” and the rendered result was larger than the sum of its constituent parts.
I may just be biased, but I think Marion Boykin is one of most creative coin magicians out there. And if it were not for him and his willingness to guide a newbie through the first year of coin magic immersion, I may well have done nothing with coin magic. As it is, coins are my passion and MB’s routines are my staples. Many a waitress and store clerk (my first magic spectators:)) have shaken their heads in wonder at the Crimp Change as a trick by itself. One person even saw me start with two coins, place one of them into Liwag Sublety (I’ll just write “LS” for this from now on) position, and asked where the coin went? It’s so effective that it can even be used as a vanish:).
Below is a quick video showing me holding two coins – one displayed and one in LS. Then I do the Crimp Change.
If you’re interested in learning the details, check out MB’s downloads at Vinny Marini’s site here: at http://www.vinnymarini.com/download/crimp2.html
Cheers!
Ken
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