Review: Mirage - (DVD and Coin Set) by Craig Petty

An apt description, the ads refer to this coin set as the "Swiss army knife of coin gimmicks." But "Mirage" is not only a powerful set of well made coin gimmicks, the DVD teaches equally powerful routines designed by Craig Petty.

Petty has applied his creativity and exquisite sleight-of-hand skills to put together some astounding magic. You'll pay handsomely for this set, but for those who are serious about coin magic, the kit is worth it.

The kit comes with everything that you need to learn, begin practicing and eventually perform. Here's what you get (mis-spellings are intentional): 1) three Kennedy half dollars; 2) a Kennedy expanded shel; 3) a Chinese-style coin the size of a half-dollar and 4) a milled-down English Penny that fits in the shel.

The prize in this package is a gravity-style fliper coin that when expanded creates the appearance of an English Penny lain on top of a half dollar. The fliper also works as an English Penny/half dollar gimmick. The gimmicked coins are quality ones that are well made and work flawlessly.

With all of the coin gimmicks in this set, the potential is enormous. I've seen Petty perform live, and when he combines his sleight-of-hand technique with the gimmicked coins, there's some serious magic going down. I like the way that the routines combine lots of different coins: English Penny, half-dollar, Chinese Coin, which adds interest and thematic possibilities. Petty teaches seven strong routines.

Silver Switch is a multi-phase copper/silver routine. A copper and silver coin continually transpose-change places-three times, in your hands. In the final phase, the transposition happens as a spectator holds the silver coin.

Hide and Seek Coins is something of a coins across that employs the Chinese coin, English penny and two half dollars. The coins travel from one hand to the other, one at a time. The final coin travels to a card case and into a deck, right next to a card that was previously selected by a spectator.

Petty's excellent International Reverse Matrix offers a classic matrix routine that uses two half dollars, an English penny and a Chinese coin. The coins are laid down a distance from each other and each is covered with a playing card. They then gather under a single card. At the end, the coins return under their original cards.

Impossible Coins Across is a commercial stand-up coins across routine. This one uses three half-dollars and one English Penny that travel, one at a time, from one hand to the other.

Using a half dollar and English penny, Penaskin offers a five-phase routine where coins penetrate through the back of your hand. The final penetration occurs in the spectator's hand.

In a nod to David Roth, Wild Hanging Coins involves the production of three silver coins that each turn into English Pennies, which, in turn, vanish. A routine with an Okito box (not included), in Mirage Box, four coins jump into and out of a small brass box, one at a time.

The DVD wisely features a "Sleights" section that teaches you the fundamental moves with the gimmicks as well as Petty's preferred single and multiple coin vanishes. This is great material. But even after mastering the given sleights there's lots more to learn and apply in each of the routines. Obviously, you'll need a strong foundation in coin skills before graduating to this DVD and set.

Petty does an excellent job of explaining and teaching the routines. At his side is David Penn who asks questions. Amazingly, even Penn, an expert and respected magician, is fooled by Petty's excellent technique.

This is an expensive set. But given the quality of the coin gimmicks and the superb routines and instructions, I think it's worth it. Those of you who would like to take your coin magic in new directions should find lots to like, practice and perform.

If you have any questions about this or any other product that we have reviewed, please feel free to post a message on our forum by clicking here. (You don't have to register to visit our forum, simply click on the link for "Guest Access.")