You probably know a lot about money, but what's it good for besides spending? Magic tricks, of course! You can do a lot of cool tricks with money. If you keep reading, you will learn about coins and how you can make them magic.

Trick #1
Four to Five

This trick is called Four to Five. Put four pennies in your hand, close it and open it. What? There are now five pennies. But how did you do it?

First, get five pennies. Stick one penny to the underside of the table you're working on with tape or gum. (Do this before anyone is watching.) Put four pennies in your hand and wave your hands around. Say some magic words. The trick is to wave the pennies around above and UNDER the table. While you're waving your hand under the table, grab the fifth penny. When you open your hand to show your audience, you now have five pennies instead of four!

Trick #2
Disappearing Penny

Fold a paper into nine equal squares. Unfold the paper and put a penny in it and fold it up again. Say some magic words. When you unfold the paper the penny is gone! How did this happen? When you are unfolding the paper, let the penny drop into your lap (without your audience seeing). Now your penny has disappeared!

Trick #3
Disappearing Quarter

This time you'll make a quarter disappear. You'll need a clear, glass jar, a quarter, and a scarf or cloth. Lay one quarter flat on your hand. Put the clear jar OVER the quarter on your hand. Now it looks like the quarter is in the jar (but it's really underneath). Put a scarf or cloth over the jar and say some magic words. When you close your hand to move the jar off it, grab the quarter. Now it looks like the quarter has disappeared and the jar is empty!

Trick #4
Bending Penny

You can also make a penny bend! Ask someone for a penny, put it in your hand, squeeze hard, and it's bent! Pretty cool, huh? Here's how to do it.

First, before your performance, you need to bend a penny using a pliers or a vice. You'll need an adult to help you with bending the penny. Hide this bent penny in the fourth and fifth fingers of your right hand. Pick up a friend's penny with this same hand. Toss the regular penny from hand to hand a few times. On the last time you toss them, switch the regular penny and the bent one. Now, look like you're concentrating really hard to squeeze the penny. When you show your audience the penny, you'll show them the bent one and they'll think you did it with magic!

Have fun doing these money tricks. I bet you can think up some of your own.

Citations

Books

Wyler, Rose and Gerald Ames Magic Secrets  New York: , Harper and Pow publishers 1990.

Images

Images of penny, jar, magic table, and pliers from "Microsoft Office Online"  <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag=1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (October-February, 2003-2004).