The Crated Coin | Mark Strivings

In 2022, a single appearance on 'Penn and Teller Fool Us' created a small firestorm. Wes Iseli performed an effect using one coin that filled the entire auditorium with mystery and involved literally everyone in the audience. Not only did the effect impress (and FOOL) Penn and Teller, but they also added it to their Las Vegas show. Easily the highest praise possible.

Here's the basic effect. The performer shows a coin, and a helper comes on stage to verify everything. He then has everyone in the audience stand. He demonstrates a basic coin toss and instructs his audience to raise their hand if they think the next toss will be heads, but to leave their hands down if they think it will be tails.

The coin is tossed. Let's say it comes up heads. Everyone who left their hand down, indicating tails, is instructed to sit down. This is repeated until just one person in the entire auditorium remains standing. It is then shown that the performer predicted exactly who that person would be ahead of time!

lseli's effect was ultimately released as an instant download, and it has spawned a handful of variations, including what you now have.

As much as I loved Wes' effect (and yes, I bought it, along with other variations), I couldn't do it in my shows.

There were two primary reasons why this wouldn't work in my shows.

First, and this is the big one, there is stage lighting when you are on stage. These lights can be blinding, and catching a tossed coin can be a genuine challenge, at least for me. The last thing I wanted to happen was to lose sight of it, have it bounce off my hand, and roll off the stage not exactly entertaining.

Second, and this is a minor issue, the audience cannot see whether the coin toss ends up heads or tails and must rely on your on-stage helper to confirm what happens. While this is not a big deal, it would be nice if the audience could confirm what happens, even from the cheap seats.

There are other issues as well, at least for me, but all of them pale in comparison to these two. If I could find a solution to just these two issues, I would be a happy performer.

Inspired by an effect from the great Gaelan Bloom, I am pleased to say that I have solved all of these issues in a practical and straightforward way.

Allow me to introduce you to ...

The Crated Coin by Mark Strivings

From the moment I saw Wes perform 'Flip' on Penn and Teller's Fool Us a few years ago, I loved the concept. But as I just mentioned, I quickly found that there were potential issues for me personally when it came to performing it. I investigated other versions and found many of the same issues. I couldn't help but feel like I was at an impasse.

(And so that you are aware, this is NOT the same as the prediction of whether a tossed coin lands heads or tails, although you absolutely CAN do that plot with this release, easily and without fail.)

Then, a couple of years ago, I came across a piece by none other than the magical madman himself, Gaetan Bloom, that changed how I think about this piece completely.

Many years before Wes Iseli's piece, Gaetan published a similar concept - the multiple coin flip used as a game of sorts - except he used a container to hold the coin. The container could be freely shaken, the coin tossed around uncontrollably there in, and still be able to do the 'Flip' effect.

This was a game changer for me! Now there was no danger of losing the coin in the lights.

But as so often seems to happen, I had a difficult time finding the proper materials to create the container Bloom described, at least in a way that didn't look fishy.

But at least I was on the right track.

Flash forward a few months, and out of the blue, a thought struck me. I had the answer!

It took some serious work (and I'm not just saying that), but I tracked down what I needed and was able to immediately road test my idea. It worked flawlessly!

Now, this killer opening effect was beyond easy to do. In fact, nothing could possibly go wrong. This doesn't happen often for me, but this went straight into my 'A' list of working material, and it has been my opener from that day to this.

This is what I am bringing to you today.

The Crated Coin is my take on the famous 'Flip' routine, and it couldn't be more sure-fire or easier to do.

In place of a coin, I use a two-sided plastic gaming piece: white on one side and black on the other. Now, after shaking the box, all I have to do is tilt it towards the audience, and everyone can easily see what the outcome is. There is no longer any need for an audience member to verify heads or tails. Everyone can see it, even in the cheap seats. (And yes, I know that black on black is hard to see. I always use a joke about it disappearing when that side comes up. It's a non-issue, trust me.)

The 'flip" of that gaming piece inside the box is 100% under your control. You decide which side lands upward, and therefore, you decide who wins the game. It's the world's easiest prediction.

The box itself is black plastic and virtually indestructible. Beyond that and the gaming piece, I only need to write my prediction and put it into an envelope. My opener, which involves everyone in the room, is now ready to go!

This marvelous set of props includes complete instructions and the full routine, along with extra information should you decide you would rather use an actual coin instead of the gaming piece.

This is 100% self-contained, and nothing is added or taken away. This is as practical as it gets!

You will be able to do this literally 60 seconds after you open the package.