72 entries in Coin / Effect Themes / Head & Tail
Creators Title Comments & References Year Source Page AA Categories
Juggling knacks by confederacie, and how to know whether one cast crosse or pile by the ringing heads or tails divined repeatedly, stooge with verbal code and psychology
1584 191
A Florin being spun upon the Table, to tell blindfold whether it falls head or tail upwards coin gaffed
1876 159
The "Heads and Tails" Trick coins turn over in a stack of coins, double-faced coin
1876 182
Head or Tail showing whatever the spectator wants, double-sided coin & shell
1890 171
Kopf oder Wappen performer can tell whether coin lands heads or tails without looking, different sound
Nov. 1896
Der Zauberspiegel (Vol. 2 No. 3)
41
Eddie Joseph Heads or Tails spectator is always wrong, coin held on edge until spectator commits
1941 16
Dai Vernon Heads or Tails routine for "glass through table"
Variations 1941/49 35
Laurie Ireland A Close-up Trick for a Bar coin vanishes and reappears in "heads or tails" game
1942 23
Eddie Joseph To Make Coin Turn Over in Closed Hand
1942 46
Eddie Joseph The One Way Rattle coin shaken in match box, knowing which coin is up
1942 54
Eddie Joseph The Coin Toss six methods for controlled head or tail toss, seems risky
  • The First Method
  • The Second Method
  • The Third Method
  • The Fourth Method
  • The Fifth Method
  • The Sixth Method
1942 81
Eddie Joseph Matching the Coin coins brought out heads or tails to match spectator's actions or wishes, by feel
1942 85
Karrell Fox, Roy Kissell The Topsy Turvy Coins five coins alternated heads up/tails up arrange to all heads up
1952 81
, Walter B. Gibson Heads or Tails? Determine whether hidden coin is heads or tails after spectator has turned over the coins randomly, provides variation by Walter Gibson using pieces of colored cardboard
Variations 1956 61
Tony Corinda (2) Sound Reading Applied to Action - Not Writing coin dropped in which box, coin lands head or tails up
1958 39
Tom Ransom A SwyMove on a head/tail game with two coins, briefly explaining a controlled coin toss off a match box
Oct. 1960
Ibidem (Issue 22)
21
Ronald A. Wohl (Ravelli) Improbable head/tail proposition bet in which spectator throws two coin and performer one coin
Dec. 1961
Ibidem (Issue 24)
24
Al Thatcher Numismatrick! coins on table are turned over one is covered and heads/tails is divined
VariationsAlso published here Oct. 1962
The New Phoenix (Issue 373)
319
Ken Krenzel Koin-A-Kinesis performer predicts head or tails as often as desired
June 1969 261
Karl Fulves A Remarkable Bet heads and tails bet with three coins, presentation for Walter Penney's coin flipping paradox
Nov. 1970
Epilogue (Issue 10)
77
Jerry Mentzer Heads or Tails? penny grows to dollar-sized penny during heads & tails game
1975 6
Fred Robinson, Bob Hamilton Where There's Smoke
  • bar bet with a match box
  • matchbox and coin, divine if heads or tails, stooge
  • match in hand, matchbox balanced on back of the hand, box is tossed and match ignited
  • remove flame from lighter to light cigarette, gag
June 1978
Pabular (Vol. 4 No. 10)
588
Dick Turpin Turpin's Turnip heads tails game under a hat, eventually a turnip and a full glass of liquid appears, see also "The Modern Magic Manual"
Related to Sep. 1980
Pabular (Vol. 6 No. 9)
902
Steve Beam Polish Heads or Tails coin covered, performer can uncover coin and always win, using Pancake Coin
1981 26
Rhett Bryson Who Lost? coin vanishes with heads-or-tails game
1982 38
, Peter Kane An Ancient Coin Con Game stack of coins sits on table, betting on orientation of bottom coin
  • With Cards (deck shuffled face-up/face-down, betting on orientation of bottom card)
1982 15
Al Thatcher Numismatrick coins on table are turned over one is covered and heads/tails is divined
Related toAlso published here Nov. 1984
Intermagic (Vol. 11 No. 2)
85
Larry Jennings The Toss of a Coin controlling heads or tails
Summer 1985
The Collected Almanac (Vol. 3 No. 28, 29 & 30)
299
Karl Fulves Improbable "Penny Papers", probability question
1985 104
Rudolf Braunmüller Ein Nachtrag zu "Numismatrick" comment about using German coins for the effect
Related to Oct. 1985
Intermagic (Vol. 12 No. 1)
18
Larry Jennings Heads I Win, Tails You Lose under bill
1986 54
Karl Fulves Quarter Bet No. 1, quarter under half dollar changes into dime, heads or tail presentation
1989 1
Winner Coins beveled edge at coin
Also published here
  • "Protection - The Sealed Book" (Joseph E. Meyer, 1911)
1990
Cheat Sheet (Issue 4)
36
J. W. Sarles Spin Out five coins with a number on each side, they are spun and bottom sum never loses to top sum, gaffed coin
Related to 1991
Swindle Sheet (Issue 4)
42
Paul Douglas Heads You Win sucker game with throwing three coins
1991
Swindle Sheet (Issue 9)
103
J. W. Sarles Spin Out five coins with a number on each side, they are spun and bottom sum never loses to top sum, gaffed coin, suggestions
Related to 1991 1
Karl Fulves Heads I Win controlled coin toss from cup with two dice
Related to 1992
Swindle Sheet (Issue 10)
119
Karl Fulves Monk's Money Move featuring a switch with dice cup
Related to 1992
Swindle Sheet (Issue 10)
120
Karl Fulves At Knifepoint two coins tossed off a knife on a table
1992 4
Karl Fulves Me And My Buddy on a Howard Lyons coin toss game
1992 6
Bob Farmer How To Fake A Veneer Of Normalcy coin flip bet
Jan. 1993
Magic (Vol. 2 No. 5)
59
Bob Farmer Pocket Change bet about matching the flip of a coin
Related to Dec. 1993
Magic (Vol. 3 No. 4)
62
Bob Farmer Two Heads Are Better Than One coin flipping with three people, odd man out wins
Related to Dec. 1993
Magic (Vol. 3 No. 4)
62
Bob Farmer Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad three coins shaken and tossed by spectator, head/tail proposition bet
Related to Dec. 1993
Magic (Vol. 3 No. 4)
62
Bob Farmer None Out Of Three head/tail sucker game with three tossed coins
Related to Dec. 1993
Magic (Vol. 3 No. 4)
62
Bob Farmer Two Out Of Three Ain't Badder three coins shaken and tossed by spectator, head/tail proposition bet
Related to Dec. 1993
Magic (Vol. 3 No. 4)
63
Mel Stover Spinner coin with scratched edge, head & tail of spinning coin can be divined by sound
Apr. 1995
Magic (Vol. 4 No. 8)
86
Al Thatcher Thirty Pieces Of Silver coins on table are turned over one is covered and heads/tails is divined
Also published here Aug. 1995
Magic (Vol. 4 No. 12)
70
Norman Beck Pay Your Money And Take Your Choice verbal ploy
Aug. 1995
Magic (Vol. 4 No. 12)
71
Bob Farmer A Penny For Your Thoughts proposition bet with head/tails triplets
Related to Oct. 1995
Magic (Vol. 5 No. 2)
80
Paul Harris The Shape of Astonishment impression of coin in foil changes from heads to tails
1996 13
John Scarne Heads I Win one of two coins turns over on back of hand with wave of hand
Related to 1996
Underworld (Issue 4)
43
Bob Farmer The Third Scam... A Column To Honor Martin Gardner
  • Flim-Flam
more on the referenced proposition bet with head/tails triplets
  • Irwin Stern Calls Flim-Flam's Bluff
  • Debruijn Doublets
  • Hustler TH, Mark HH
  • Hustler XX, Mark YY
  • It's Triplets, Mr. Farmer
  • The Secret Formula
Related to Jan. 1996
Magic (Vol. 5 No. 5)
80
Martin Gardner The Biased Penny
  • Martin Gardner's Corner
bias in spinning a new penny on glass surface
Sep. 1996
Magic (Vol. 6 No. 1)
79
Karl Fulves Heads or - ? "Unsolved Mysteries"
new coin design, heads or tail percentage, posed as a problem
1999
The Fine Print (Issue 10)
331
Coin Toss controlling a heads-or-tails-toss
2000 5
John Scarne Heads Or - ? wobbling throw
2000
Charlatan (Issue 3)
38
Karl Fulves Headstrong ungaffed coin always comes up heads, then is shown as two-headed
2007
Prolix (Issue 3)
152
Dan Buck, Dave Buck Rigged Method to control a coin flip
2008 14
Robert E. Neale Counterfeit Bar bet with American penny (heads or tails), a bit of a gag with a strange ending
2008 293
Luis Piedrahita La sortunata coin tossed in the air, controlled
2010
El Manuscrito (Vol. 3 No. 11)
306
Tomas Blomberg Four Heads coin flipped four times, bet is that it shows head every time
2014 318
Tomas Blomberg Two-Upped con game with tossing of two coins
2014 319
Marc Kerstein Siri Knows Your Coin Tosses spectator tosses coin three times and performer's iPhone's Siri announces the result
2018 18
Paul Vigil ICON Redux "A Multi-Phase Mental Coin Routine"
  • Phase 1: Spinning is Everything (heads or tails predicted)
  • Phase 2: A Penny for your Thoughts (coin after elimination process predicted)
  • Phase 3: Heads Up (date on a chosen coin predicted)
  • Phase 4: Eye-Con (coin bends)
  • Phase 5: A Supplementary Continuation
  • Phase 6: Folie à Plusieurs
  • Afterthoughts
  • Further Thoughts (incorporating Yigal Mesika's "Electric Touch")
  • Notes
2019 1
Michael Powers Flipped Out three imaginary coins, chosen one predicted and also whether it is heads or tails up
Inspired by 2019 286
John Lovick Eliminate the Negative three imaginary coins, chosen one predicted and also whether it is heads or tails up
Inspired by May 2020
Elixir (Vol. 3 No. 1 Part 2 (Spring #2))
233
Jim Steinmeyer Close Quarters performed over phone, four coins on table, spectator turns coins over and eliminates coins, final outcome and orientation divined
2020 6
Ryan Schlutz Intuition Test card suit, card value, number and coin toss written on business card, torn up in sixteen pieces, number counted to from both ends of stack, it leads to pieces with card suit and value which the spectator also cut to, with variations without cards
Inspired by 2020 23
John Carey, Michael Powers Simplex Positive Negative three coins, chosen one predicted and also whether it is heads or tails up
Inspired by
  • "Positive Negative" (Max Maven, Video Minds videos)
2020 444
David Parr Proof Positive three imaginary coins, chosen one predicted with real coin in hand and also whether it is heads or tails up
Inspired byVariationsAlso published here
  • MAGIC, Oct. 2005
2022 437
Dave Buck Expertalk: David Buck on the Controlled Coin Toss
Also published here
  • MAGIC, July 2008
2022 762