Minty Fresh Coin in Bottle

. . . So there I was, sitting in the car with the motor running while my wife ran into the store for “just a minute.” Ya that’s right, I fell for it! While my wife’s minute turned into thirty, then forty, then . . . well, you get the idea – I got bored. I had eaten the last little mint from my box of tic-tacs and was fiddling around with the box.

So bored was I that I started to wonder, “What magic trick could I do with this little box?” After awhile I worked out a method for doing a coin in bottle trick with the box taking the place of the bottle. The more I fiddled with it, the cooler it looked. All the props were non-gimmicked, even the coin!

When my wife returned to the car I figured it was only fair that she be forced to watch my new little magic trick as punishment for making me sit an hour waiting for her minute to pass. So I asked her for a quarter, showed her the empty tic-tac box, then slammed the box onto the quarter. With a loud crack of a noise the quarter popped into the box – barely filling the container.

I handed the box with quarter inside to my wife who looked it over, shot me the skunk eye and said, “How did you do that?” Now I knew I had something! It’s not always easy to impress a magician’s wife with a new magic trick, and even more difficult to fool April. So here is my semi impromptu, super easy, non-gimmicked, minty fresh method for coin in bottle.

Set Up:

You will need a little tic-tac container and two quarters. Empty out the mints from the tic-tac box using your favorite method. Keep just a few to put back in the box later. The tic-tac box has a sticker that runs from one side of the box, over the top, and down the other side. The seal is broken slightly when you open the little pour spout to get your mints. Run a razor blade or a thin pocket knife across the seal where the top of the clear box meets the bottom of the lid. The lid of the box actually extends a half inch into the box. Open the little pour spout and pull it up to remove the lid from the box.

The sticker left on the box makes a one inch square on either side. This will easily cover a quarter. Lay one of the quarters in the box across the front of the box (the side with the sticker that shows the tic-tac logo) so that half the quarter is in the box and half is sticking out of the box. Now insert the lid into the box so that the quarter will be trapped between the lid and the box. As you press the lid down into the box the coin will slide along with the lid completely into the box, trapped between box and lid, and hidden by the outside sticker. You may need to push the quarter just a little to get it to go down far enough into the box. You want the sticker to hide more of the coin than the lid holds. Now put four or five mints back into the box and you’re all set.

Routine:

Stand around looking like a miracle worker until someone comes up to you and asks you to do a trick with a coin and a tic tac box. This may take a while. Okay, maybe you had better offer to show someone.

This works best as a spur of the moment trick. Take out the tic tac box open the pour spout and offer one to your spectator. Let him take the mint out himself. Usually he will not notice the trapped coin and later will remember that he held the nearly empty box himself. If he hesitates remind him that there is only one and a half calorie per refreshing mint, and suggest to him that he really needs one.

Place the box aside as though you were through with it and ask for the loan of a quarter. (You have an extra one just encase no-one is willing to give you theirs.) Open your left hand palm up and place the quarter across the base of your left fingers so that if you were to close your hand the quarter would be immediately finger palmed.

Pick up the tic tac box with your right hand. Hold it with the front label towards the spectator, your thumb on the left side of the box, your index finger firmly on the top of the lid, and your second and third fingers on the right side of the box. This not only gives the spectators a clear view of the front of the box, but partially hides the side view, and the index finger will provide the necessary force you will need to dislodge the coin.

Holding the box in this position, bring it over the coin in the left hand and slam it down hard on the coin. The instant that the trapped coin becomes dislodged, and you will be able to tell by the noise it makes, casually drop your left hand to the side keeping the quarter finger palmed. All eyes will be on the coin in the box. Shake it around a bit so that it rattles in the box along with the extra tic-tacs. Hand out the box to let the spectator examine and remove the coin. Pocket the extra quarter at your convenience.

Notes:

I found that I had to do the trick about a dozen times until the lid had just the right amount of tension to hold the coin firmly, but still let it fall on the first whack. Sometimes you may need to whack it twice.

Since the first printing of these notes it has been suggested to me by several people that you could possibly steam the tic-tac box and peal off the label. Set up the coin, then glue stick the label back on. I have not tried this, but it certainly sounds possible.

Also, the new “States Quarters” are out. Which means you are going to have to make sure the quarter you borrow has the same back design as the one in the container. I will sometimes ask for two quarters, chose one and switch in a duplicate. By asking for two coins the spectator doesn’t try to memorize the backs. Or you could ask specifically to borrow a states quarter that matches the one in the box. “Have you guys seen what can be done with the new Ohio Quarters?”

That’s it! It’s fun, it’s easy, and packs a surprisingly good punch. You’ll find this version of coin in bottle to be a nice treat for your audience. Ahem . . .