The trick may be continued, and its effect considerably heightened, by now offering not only to pass another half-crown in the same way, and adding that, although the pass is too rapid to be made visible, except to the very quick-sighted, yet, there being two coins involved, it will be quite possible by the chink to make the pass audible. It will be evident that the above instructions, with the slight adaptation needed of jerking the two coins together at the time when the pretended pass is made, will be all that are sufficient. Another variety of the same trick, executed in a similar manner, may be performed, to induce the company to believe that the coins are passed from one hand held on the top of a table, to the other hand held underneath the table; in short, there are few tricks so easily and simply capable of variations as those of the Flying Coins.
This is a very simple, ingenious little trick, but one that requires special apparatus, which may, however, be purchased at a trifling cost at most of the toy-shops, or at any of those establishments from which conjuring materials are professedly supplied. The materials required are a block made to represent a pile of ordinary halfpennies (_see_ Fig. 1), out of which a large round piece has been cut (_see_ Fig. 2, which is Fig. 1 made transparent), and a round pasteboard box that will cover both blocks (Fig. 3). A loose heap of halfpennies should also be provided to hand round the room, with a die and a box, in order that the illusion of the actual halfpennies being used in the performance of the trick may be kept up. The trick can be best performed by an operator sitting at one end of a long dining-room table, and, provided only he is careful to keep his audience at a properly respectful distance, they may be clustered round the opposite end of the table. When the exhibited materials have been handed back, the block (Fig. 1) should be adroitly substituted for the real halfpennies. A simple way of doing this will be to seem to manipulate the coins into an exactly even heap; during the manipulation a dexterous movement of one or other of the hands will enable the necessary change to be made, when the coins may for convenience, and for the better subsequent developments of the trick, be placed on a handkerchief or table napkin, spread over the knees for the purpose. The block (Fig. 1) is to be covered with the box; the command "Pass" is to be given; the real halfpennies are to be produced from underneath the table, and thrown thereupon. At the same time let the box be lifted by slightly pinching it near the bottom with the finger and thumb of the right hand, by which motion the block of imitation halfpennies will also be lifted. When the box is well beyond the edge of the table, and over the lap, relinquish the pressure, letting the block fall into the lap; throw the box on the table, and the impression will be created that the halfpennies, upon being covered with the box, disappeared through, and had to be brought up from beneath the table. It will be understood that in this simple deceit, as well as in the more professional sleight-of-hand tricks, considerable dexterity must be shown to make several of the movements, that are necessarily described as separate movements, simultaneously. The die is brought into use in the second part of the trick in the following manner:--Proceed as above, so far as substituting the real for the imaginary halfpennies is concerned, and at the same time pass round the die, in order that it may be duly inspected and examined, meanwhile place the block in the box secretly, pinching it tightly so as to hold the block therein. When the die is returned, cover it visibly with the box, which will secretly contain the block. (Fig. 2). Pretend to pass the coins up through the table. Remove the box without removing the block, and it will appear that the magic box has changed the die into the halfpennies, and that the die has disappeared. It is scarcely necessary to observe that a reversal of this part of the trick will, of course, bring back the die, and make the halfpennies disappear.