Bending coins has become a staple for mentalists who want to show that they’re not just mind-readers but can control certain aspects of the physical world too.

However, unless a certain amount of trust has been developed with an audience concerning your other-worldly abilities, bending a coin is nothing more than a magic trick begging the question ‘where did the other coin go that you obviously switched for the bent one?’

If bending a coin is going to be one of just a handful of ‘mental’ effects you do for a group of people, you haven’t really got much time to get them to believe in your abilities. Unless you have the aura of Uri Geller, people are going to be sceptical.

I know that much has been written on the subject of ‘just do the bend, don’t worry about the technique, they will believe’ but unfortunately although that holds true sometimes, that is not always the case. Some audiences are tricky.

So this routine was developed for when the heat is on and you are being watched like a hawk by non-believers. It has a humorous story, turning the simple bend of a coin into a routine, instead of just taking a coin and bending it.

Also, because the story is about money itself, you have a reason to take money from people. It also includes a convincer to make sure that everyone knows you are bending the exact coin they gave you. And the non-bent coin is in full view until it is bent which to me is important.

This manuscript is all about the routine and patter. It does not claim to have invented a new way of bending coins, and like most of these ‘bends’ it uses a switch. However the whole routine gives complete cover and reasoning behind every move with an engaging story and as such the value lies in the plot and handling and not the method.

A second (similar yet good to know) method is now included for doing ‘the business’.

Some of the story is true. I did actually have an uncle Percy who was caught forging five pound notes in his basement. This routine is for him.