The Raven Magic Trick Revealed

The Raven is a type of magic trick that revolves around a disappearing coin, and involves placing a coin on the magician's hand and then making the coin disappear by waving the magician's other hand over the coin. The magician waves the hand three or four times over the coin, making it vanish on the last time over. The magician then turns both hands over multiple times to show that the coin is not there. So where did the coin go?

The Raven trick revolves around two objects. The first is a fake coin that is actually made of steel and plated to look like a coin. The other is a magnet attached to an elastic band with a clip at the other end and a string that is practically invisible. Clip the elastic band to your belt or inside your shirt sleeve. For beginners, it is best to wear a black jacket or something with long sleeves, but experts can pull the trick off even with short sleeves. The invisible string at the magnet's other end has a loop at the end. Hook this loop onto a finger. The magnet should now be positioned on the palm of your hand near the bridge of your thumb.

The fake coin is placed in the palm of your free hand that doesn't have the magnet attached. With your viewers looking at the coin, wave the other hand slowly over the coin. The whole time, your hand and arm must be placed so no one can see the magnet or its elastic band underneath your hand; you do have the advantage that no one should be looking at your arms. The first two or three times you wave the hand, keep the area with the magnet away from the coin, waving the top part of the hand over it instead or waving it high enough above the coin so the magnet's force can't reach it. The last time you wave, slowly move the bridge of your thumb in range, and the magnet will catch the coin. Once the magnet has the coin, you can slip the string off your finger. The magnet will retract back to your belt or inside the sleeve, taking the coin with it.