Lou Gallo INCREDIBLE CARDS AND COINS
One of the routines with which Lou Gallo has earned his reputation is this one, wherein eight
coins are produced from beneath four Aces. He loads the coins so silently and cleanly that
even the most astute magicians, let along laymen, are struck dumb with amazement. He first
performed this for me while standing, doing the trick on a bar stool at a convention. When he
produced the first four coins my jaw fell an embarrassing distance, and when he produced the
second four coins 1 choked. The glee in Lou's eyes was quite apparent.
You need eight half dollars, and the smoother they are the better. Lou uses liberty halves,
though Franklins will also do. I have seen him do it using Kennedys when he is feeling
particularly adventurous. You must judge the circumstances and act accordingly: if the room
has a bit of background noise then you can get away with using Kennedys. If its a quiet room
then use libertys.
For the moment, let's assume that you're sitting at a table. While Lou often does this standing,
it involves stealing the two stacks of four coins out of your pants or jacket pocket - something
I cannot accurately describe in print. Doing that deceptively is based entirely on
incorporating such a steal into your natural body language and taking advantage of the
misdirection at that particular moment. Since 1 don't know what your unique and individual
body language is or how the misdirection will go when you perform the trick, I cannot say
just when you should steal the coins. So, first practice it while sealed at a table. The ones who
can do it while standing will know who they are.
Divide the coins into two stacks of four and place one group on each thigh. Set up a deck as
follows, from the top down (all cards face down): four indifferent cards, four Aces, four
Kings, and the rest of the deck.
To perform, give the deck a false shuffle. Say that you are going to demonstrate what you
would like the spectator to do in a moment as you begin to deal cards alternately into two
piles side by side on the table. Deal two cards into each pile then gather those four cards and
put them on the bottom of the deck. As you do this make sure your hands are seen to be
otherwise empty.
Hand the deck to the spectator and ask her to begin dealing cards into two piles the same way
that you did. After at least eight cards have been dealt (the eight-card setup), say, ''The good
thing about this is that you may stop at any point. It s your choice - don't let me influence
you." When the spectator stops dealing say, "Are you satisfied? You can drop a few more
down, or take a few away... it's your choice." Either way, place the rest of the deck aside.
Square the two piles, again allowing your hands to be seen otherwise empty. Gesture toward
one of the piles and ask the spectator to divide it into two packets, following the established
procedure. When that's completed, have the spectator divide the second pile also into two
packets. That will leave four packets of about equal size on the table in a horizontal row.
While the spectator is busy making the third and fourth packets, allow your hands to drop
into your lap. Your left hand picks up the stack of coins that's on your right thigh and places
it into finger palm in your right hand (they re to be held in place mostly by your second
finger), spreading the coins slightly toward your right first finger.
Due to the manner in which the spectator has dealt out the four packets, there is an Ace on
top of each with a King directly beneath it. Your right hand rests on the table in a relaxed
position, fingers loosely curled, palm toward you, with the pinky side of the hand resting on
the table. Say, ''Have you ever handled cards professionally? You did that very well As
you speak your left hand reaches to the packet at the extreme left, plucking off the top card
by its outer left corner, thumb above and fingers beneath (fig. 1 is an audience view).
Turn your left hand over, swinging the face of the card up toward the audience. That's done
as the card is brought over to your right hand and placed behind your right first finger (fig. 2
is the audience view).
At the same time your right hand moves onto the innermost coin of the palmed stack and
begins to push it behind the card (fig.3 is your view).
Your left hand lets go of the card and immediately moves forward to the packet second from
the left. At the same time your right hand turns palm down and moves forward to table the
Ace it holds, face up, just inward of the packet at the extreme left (fig.4).
On the way, your right thumb pushes the first coin completely under the card, and both are
placed on the table.
Retract both hands - your right hand first, so you are back to the position shown in figure 1,
and then your left hand with the second Ace, so you are in the position shown in figure 2. In
this way the left hand takes some of the at off the right hand while it is loading. Complete the
load of the second coin beneath the second Ace, and continue already described. Repeat the
whole business for the two remaining Aces and two remaining coins, loading one beneath
each card. Afterward there will be a row of face-down packets, and inward of that a row of
face-up Aces.
Sometimes Lou will push each of the face-down packets forward an inch or so with his left
hand just before picking to the Ace off the lop. This provides additional time and "shade" for
your right hand to slip the coin beneath the card and table it.
During the following patter you steal the second stack of four coins and place it into finger
palm in your right hand. Say, "The first time l saw this trick was in New York, and it was
done by a magician who. I offered to buy it from. Of course he wasn't willing to sell, but I
persisted and eventually he gave in." Here's where your hands drop to your lap and you
make the steal. Continue, "We negotiated and came up with a price -he said 'I'll have to sell
it to you by the card. .
You are now going to lift each Ace one at a time to reveal the coin beneath it. In the process
you will repeat the loading sequence exactly as already described, so that as you turn each
Ace over you are loading another coin beneath it as the first one is revealed: who could ask
for more perfect misdirection? Do it like this, working from left to right. Say, "I paid fifty-
cents for this card, fifty cents far this card, fifty-cents for this card, and fifty-cents far this
card." As you mention each card, your left hand lifts it (by the outer left corner) and places it
into your right hand. Your left hand then returns to the coin which has just been revealed on
the table and slides it forward a few inches. Your right hand immediately replaces the Ace
face down on the table, inward of the first coin (which must remain in view), loading a
second coin beneath it.
The whole business is repeated as you say that you paid fifty-cents for each card, revealing
the remaining three coins and loading the other three coins under the Aces as they're placed
face down on the table. When you're done, say, ''I liked the trick so much I gave the guy a
tip." Very cleanly lift the Aces one at a time to reveal the second mw of four coins.
Look up al the spectator and say, "You dealt out those Aces very nicely, so 1'd like to give
you a tip as well." Tom over the top cards of the four packets to reveal the Kings to end.
I should mention that you may have a bit of difficulty when you have to load the fourth and
eighth coins under the final Ace each time. The reason is that, since this is the last coin, it has
no other coin to slide against - only your skin. The friction involved, if your hands are moist,
can cause a problem unless you are prepared to deal with it. Sometimes Lou will actually use
the side of the card as wedge, pushing it between the coin and his skin, in order to gel the
coin "started," so to speak. A little experimentation on your part will enable you to overcome
any difficulties which might arise.