I like to give everyone their day in court, and I am encouraged when magical
creators respond to my reviews because it shows that they care about the quality of their
product and the perceptions of their reviewers and customers. That said, here is a
response by Walt Noon, the creator of the "PK Coin."
I purchased the effect from Hank Lee based upon an ad I read and saw in one of
his direct mail brochures. The picture and accompanying text implied that you could make a
half dollar coin levitate in your hand. Since I have seen many novelties which make make
things float in a magnetic field (like small photo cubes and tops), I thought this would
be a nice edition to my PK effects.
When it arrived, I was not impressed by the machining of the coin. It reminded
me of some of the Pat Mollo coins I had acquired years ago: they do the job, but they
hardly pass as ungimmicked coins in the hands of the spectator.
Additionally, no matter how long I played with the handling described in the
instructions, I could not achieve a levitation effect. All I got was a ghostly rollover of
the coin -- a nice effect in and of itself, but hardly a levitation off the palm as I was
led to believe I was purchasing. Maybe it's my magnet and inexperience in handling, or
maybe it's his coin.
Anyway, Walt read my review and sent me the following email as his rebuttal and
invited me to post it here. As a gentleman, I kindly provide you his comments:
"Wow! I just saw your review slamming my PK coin. Ouch! That hurt a
bit. I ordinarily would not argue with a review or even be concerned, but I just don't
understand how the coin could have not worked for your reviewer!?!
My guess is that the PK magnets used to operate the coin were not well-suited to the
coin. (Either of inferior power or placed improperly.) Or, the coin was not placed
properly in the hand (this is critical).
I just used a PK coin in a show two weeks ago and everyone went nuts. It was the second
strongest effect I did that night out of lots of effects. I used a coin in a prepared
table at The Magic Castle in audition and it operated so well that I was several inches
away from from the table when one side began to float up.
It's IMPORTANT to READ than manual and place the coin to flip in the fingertips, NOT
the palm as with other PK effects. This is another possible pitfall.
It's also important not to rush the effect. I may take 60 seconds to make it roll while
reminding everyone to CONCENTRATE. Then, as a side of the coin SLOWLY floats up the
excitement builds! If there are skeptics or clowns, I just allow the coin to settle down
in my hand again and say "come on, we ALL need to concentrate or this won't
work." It makes the effect completely interactive. Properly done, they FREAK when it
finally rolls. The kind of control described above comes only with practice, strong PK
magnets, and placement of the coin in the fingertips as mentioned.
As far as machining, I had the coins made by the largest and most respected coin magic
company in the biz. The same guys who have produced "Scotch and Soda" and other
famous effects for years. I routinely hand these coins out for inspection and have never
had a problem.
I'm guessing that the reviewer simply did not have things set up properly for a good
performance of the coin. Like many magic effects it takes a little practice and knowledge
to use effectively. Perhaps I should take another look at the manual and see if I didn't
explain things well enough.
Well, among many good reviews, it's my first bad one. I guess I shouldn't take it so
hard, but I DON'T ever sell something that I don't believe in and USE in my act with
success! It's important to me that everyone be happy with their purchase. Please feel free
to print my rebuttal, and I hope you'll consider my comments and give the PK coin another
whirl. It has been a truly successful effect for me for a long time.
Thanks,
Walt Noon
(walt@noonco.com)"