Dear friends,
Below is a review of various Copper Silver Brass coin gimmick sets which I have collected and used over the past 10 years. The review is based on my personal opinion in terms of their craftsmanship, appearance and handling.
My Personal CSB Set (Custom)
Tango Magic (www.tangomagic.com), Roy Kueppers (www.roykuepper.com)
L to R: Custom Tango Walking Liberty CSB set, Custom Roy Kueppers Morgan Dollar CSB Set
Currently, these are the 2 sets of CSB coins which I am using in my act. I had them custom made for me using the Ton Onosaka Chinese Coins, as I felt the black tone and large Chinese characters on the coin provides a nice contrast between the other 2 coins.
In addition, I specifically requested to have a recess installed in the interior of the gaff, by slightly hollowing the out the shell. This allows me to add an additional gimmick into the interior of the shell to perform many of my table routines featured on my Ultimate CSB Magic DVD.
Here is a look at the side of the gaff coin. With regular usage, the edge of the shell will tarnish, and the gold portion of the Chinese coin will also not shine quite as much. The edge of the dollar size copper gaff coin has been re-milled and by using some bleach, I have managed to tarnish it as well, to remove some shine.
The Shell Test
For many of my routines, I use an expanded shell over the CSB gaff. Here is a look at the gaff with an expanded shell over it.
Before
After
A look at the edges. Not too bad :)
Todd Lassen (www.toddlassen.com)
Top Left: Todd Lassen Morgan Dollar CSB. Top Right: Todd Lassen Walking Liberty CSB (2011). Bottom Left: Todd Lassen Walking Liberty CSB (2010)
Above is my collection of Todd Lassen's Copper Silver Brass gaffs. These are by far the best in terms of craftsmanship when it comes to CSB sets. The insert of the gaff has an infinity edge feature which is not seen in any other maker. The only reason I do not use them for performance is that the brass coin tends to tarnish too much with the weather here and do not appear very nice during performance. I have used the dollar size CSB before I acquired a custom set. For the half dollar CSB gaff, I personally feel that the gaff shell is a little too light for me when performing certain moves. However, they are without a doubt some of the most beautiful gaff coins to behold.
The reason I bought 2 sets of Walking Liberty CSB is that the 2011 version featured a re-milled Chinese coin. This is a very minor detail as the edge of the gaff Chinese shell has milled edges as well. Here is a photo comparison of the 2 Chinese coins on their edges:
Here is a look at the underside of the CSB Gaffs. As you can see it does not have the recess in the interior of the shell. It is still possible for me to add in the little gimmick into the gaff but the added recess just makes everything so much easier. Todd Lassen has a "Lassen" hallmark inside all of his CSB gaff shell
The Shell Test
I had Todd Lassen make me an expanded shell to fit over both of my CSB gaffs. Here is a look at how they nest up.
Before
After. Awesome!
Jamie Schoolcraft (www.coingaffs.com)
Jamie Schoolcraft makes a beautiful set of CSB with the East African Dime and Lama coin. This set has a brilliant contrast as well during performance. I don't use it as much because I feel the Lama coin appears considerably smaller than the Mexican centavo. Also, when I do my table top routines, the dark copper coin does not show up as well as the Chinese coin with gold edges. Nevertheless it is a beautiful set of coins.
Here is a look at the underside of the gaff coin. It is done with the recess inside the shell. A very nice touch on the gaff is the Teflon coating within the shell, which cuts down the sound when the insert is nested into the shell.
The Shell Test
Before.
After. Very nice :)
Johnson Magic Products (www.johnsonmagicproducts.com)
Top Left: Johnson Walking Liberty CSB. Top Right: Johnson Walking Liberty CSB. Bottom: Johnson Kennedy Half CSB.
If you like to purchase a well made set of CSB gaff which is reasonably priced, Johnson is where you should get them from. My first set of CSB gaff which I purchased over 10 years ago is a Johnson's set. Johnson is a commercial coin gaff maker and therefore are able to offer a great price as they make them in quantity. The 2 silver gaff sets you see above are from a series of custom run by the company. One set is done with a Johnson Chinese coin and Mexican centavo, the other is done with an East African Dime and Lama coin. All the sets above have the exact same fine craftsmanship in them. One note is that the black portion on the Chinese coin tends to chip off over time; it could easily be touched up with a sharpie marker.
Here is a look at the underside of the gaff coin. As you can see they do not have a recess inside the shell.
Above are 2 sets of Connie Hayden's 2 Copper 1 Silver gaff sets made by Johnson. The one on the left is a 1964 Kennedy set, and the one one the right is a Walking Liberty set. Both sets are extremely well made and a pleasure to use.
Here is an interior look of the gaff and insert for the 2C1S gaffs.
Tango Magic (www.tangomagic.com)
Tango Magic is probably one of the largest manufacturers of Gaff coins today. I had the pleasure to meet Mr.Tango at the IBM Annual Convention, and we have been doing great business since then. The prices on these gaffs are very reasonable and their craftsmanship is also excellent for their price range. Tango's Gaffs are also the coin gaffs which I am selling in my shop.
The picture above shows the Tango's 2 Copper 1 Silver set and Copper Silver Brass set. I like the contrast on the coins with the Tango set as you can see from the picture. The Chinese coin also have a nice coating therefore it's black portion would no chip off so easily.
Here is a look at the edges of the CSB gaff. Over time as the coins are being used, the gold edges of the shell coin should tarnish and blend in well with the edges.
Here is a look at the underside of the gaffs. As you can see they are all made with the recessed interior. This is an important feature for some of the routines which I perform and explain in my Ultimate CSB Magic DVD.
The Shell Test
Here is a look at a complete nest of the coins with a Tango's Expanded Shell coin.
Before.
After. It is still a pretty good fit. :)
