The foundation of
coin magic is
palming -
sleight of hand
methods of keeping something in one's palm (or thereabouts) without
anyone's knowledge. The
classic palm is one of the most useful palms in all
of coin magic. It is
versatile, useful, and fools even the most
discerning audiences (if done well at least).
The downside to the classic palm is that although conceptually it
sounds easy, in practice it can be rough going. So see how it
works.
Take a look at the palm of your dominant hand. Now touch your pinky
finger and thumb together. As you do this the muscles of your hand
will form a V-shaped channel - it is within this channel that the coin
will rest when the palm is completed. Now take a coin of the larger
variety (if you have very small hands an American Gold Dollar coin
works, if you have small or normal size hands an American Half Dollar
is best, and if you have big hands try an American Silver Dollar (the
one with Eisenhower on it)) and place it in the lower center of your
palm. Now begin to bring together your pinky and thumb again until
you find the muscles have applied enough pressure to the coin to hold
it if you turn you hand palm down. You will want to adjust the coin's
seating such that it feels comfortable and the hand doesn't outwardly
appear cramped. Generally you want to have the "higher" edge of the
coin below the line of your hand that comes down from between your
index and middle fingers and ends near the middle of the non-thumb
edge of your palm.
In general you won't just be placing the coin there anyway you like -
usually it will have to be done using the fingers of the same hand.
Some sources say to use your middle and ring fingers, but since I have
small hands I like my ring and pinky - whichever you choose here is how
you do it: with your palm facing you and the coin in place bend
whichever pair of fingers you decided on over and into contact with
the coin. Now turn your hand over and bring the fingers away from the
palm, allowing the coin to come along for the ride. Don't go too far
though - you are going to now want to try and replace the coin and
then "re-engage the palm." Try practicing this a bit, getting a feel for
where and how to best place and release the coin - this is the essence
of the classic palm.
Now once you have done this a bit, while you have the coin balanced on
your fingers, try twisting you hand so as to have your hand
palm-side up (since all the while you should have been practicing with
it down - fighting gravity wit your burgeoning palming abilities),
keeping the coin balanced on the ends of your pair of fingers. This
combined with the previous points form the entirety of the classic
palm.
One thing you will notice as you practice is that as you place the coin into the classic palm your thumb will unconsciously jut outward from your hand - sending a signal to those who notice these things that you have just palmed something. If you can swing it try and keep your first finger and thumbtip touching as you place the coin in the palm - it is difficult, but looks more natural than always sticking your thumb out.
From here on out it is all about practice and the illusion of
normality. Practice using a pen with a coin palmed, try snapping your
fingers, try typing on a keyboard (this is tough), etc. Do whatever
needs to be done to make it appear as though the hand is fully
functional when palming a coin - it is this illusion of normality that
is the true end goal of the classic palm.
Sources:
Bobo, J.B., Modern Coin Magic, Dover Publications, Inc., New York,
1982
Watkins, Dan, The Coin Purse, http://www.zyworld.com/coinpurse/Classicpalm.htm