By Tom Interval
Have you ever seen a movie in which a character rolls a coin on his fingers?
Examples include Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993) and as Chris Knight in Real Genius (1985), Van Heflin as Sam Masterson in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), and Woody Allen as Miles Monroe in Sleeper (1973).
If you, too, would like to emulate some of Hollywood’s finest coin-rollers, then you might enjoy the video tutorial I just uploaded to YouTube: How to Roll a Coin on Your Fingers, Full Tutorial. Follow the link or watch the embedded video below.
And if you’re a trivia buff, you might be interested to know that a coin roll is also known as a coin walk, knuckle roll, and steeplechase.
The oldest published description of a coin roll I could find is in T. Nelson Down’s The Art of Magic (1909), p. 246. Other sources include The Tarbell Course in Magic, Vol. 3, by Harlan Tarbell (1927), p. 140; Coin Magic, by Jean Hugard (1935), p. 47; Modern Coin Magic, by J.B. Bobo (1952), p. 201; and Now You See It Now You Don’t!, by Bill Tarr (1976), p. 108.
After watching the video, please update me on your progress by commenting below or contacting me. Happy steeplechasing!
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