The Perfect Coin Pail

I have been a huge fan of the miser's dream for a long time. Particularly the original ending with the vanish of all the coins. Unfortunately that has fallen out of vogue today and the concentration is entirely on the large quantity of coins produced. Perhaps a correlation can be found between the North American consumerism mentality and the desire to produce endless quantities of money. Or perhaps it can be attributed to the lack of plot or climax with most Miser's Dream routines. In any case, it should come as no surprise that to perform a usual Miser's dream you require some sort of receptacle. Many gaudy coin ladders and unusual contraptions that highlight the coins' sounds and shine have been built but it is hard to compete with the good old fashioned champagne bucket.

I have had the good fortune of handling some of the finest and poorest quality buckets made for the Miser's Dream. At first glance Mr. Sum's bucket appears to be very basic from a production stand point. On the other hand it does appear to be a very real champagne bucket. Unlike the many buckets with unusual handles and far to shallow or deep bottoms on the market today. The coin droppers in the handles are notorious for looking like pieces of metal garbage. Mr. Sum has produced a bucket similar to a favorite bucket of mine. It is similar to the Bertram Coin Pail once produced by Ross Bertram. It has rings on either side but lacks the ability to use them as per the Bertram pail, having the bucket rest on your fingers and your thumb in a ring. The Bertram pail also allowed invisible coin steals.

The Perfect Coin Pail is built to last. This thing could get kicked down a flight of stairs and not get the least bit dented. A very commercial prop for any performer. It produces a nice sound, one that you'd expect dropping a coin in a bucket (too many coin pails today ring like a chime and sound artificial). There is not strange designs or engraving. It is a plain, quality, well made bucket. No frills and no gimmicks built into it.

For the sleight of hand purist and the professional performer I would highly recommend this bucket. While the price tag is slightly higher than some similar buckets at 70 USD without shipping it certainly exemplifies an ordinary champagne bucket with a nice sound, a great feel and remarkable durability. The durability issue being the usual downside coin pails available today.

It is available from JC Sum's website for $70 USD plus shipping.

Following are a few thoughts on the Miser's dream:

In today's standard Miser's dream routines the audience is left wondering where did all those coins come from. It's a mere puzzle despite jazzing it up with endless presentation. The audience still follows the same mindset; "Magician produces a pile of coins, I don't know where they come from, I'm fooled. He tells jokes, I laugh, and feel stupid... What's he going to do with all those coins. If he can really pull money out of the air why is he at my birthday party."
With the Houdin climax of the coins vanishing the spectator gets a fun journey. "Where are all those coins coming from, I'm fooled. Why doesn't he just do this all day. Oh my... where did all the coins go?" While still a puzzle it has a climax to an otherwise monotonous trick.

Update: JC SUM WEEK

JC Sum is one hell of a guy! He's also a brilliant mind and fantastic illusionist. When I mentioned to him that people voting on the site said they'd like to see more books reviewed he immediately sent over a copy of every book on his site all the way from Singapore and he sent his Perfect Coin Pail. I just received the package this weekend and I am very excited.

I was planning a JC Sum week but with this much stuff it is going to be longer than a week! Right now I think it is going to take a minimum of two weeks, and likely longer to review all this stuff!

JC and I have also agreed to a holding a little contest! More details will follow soon, the prize will be a copy of his book The Event Illusionist valued at 85 dollars!

Here is a list of all the books to be reviewed:

Illusionary Departures
The Event Illusionist
Urban Illusions
Beyond the Stage
Equilateral