I'm a sucker for bizarre, strange, or unsual magic. As a kid I loved the hell out of the Indiana Jones movies or anything of the like that suggested high adventure with mysterious artifacts from a bygone era. So naturally anything with the words like "Artifact" in it's title catches my eye.
When I watched the video the only thing that I was thinking was: "Sure these look amazing, but I'm not going to retire my Schoolcrafts over these."
They may look beautiful, but I can't help but feel they look a bit like toy money. I'm wondering if that will be precieved by the spectator, or if they will even care. I'll come back to that thought in a bit. If the product line is successful, then this may mean that if I do switch from silvers to these, I may be in for a penny in for a pound, as I'll have to re-buy all of my shells and gimmicks because lets face it, these don't look like anything in my current arsenal.
I'm not a fan of the words "Stealth" and "Precision" etched into the coins. The choice to include these words on the coins is curious. These don't seem to me to be smart choices of words to put on a product that is intended for magicians use. Sure (we) magicians think these words are cool, but I feel it really stands out as suspicious in a spectators eye. For example, if I am performing a Three fly routine, the last thing I want on the coins that are flying from hand to hand is the words "stealth", and "precision"! Now if you wanted my two cents on this, I would have put the words stealth and precession in Latin. Best of both worlds, magicians get their inside joke, most people wouldn't catch it on a quick glance, and it still looks awesome on the coin since American currency does have bits of Latin on it anyways! Of course looking at this glass half full, it's not like the spectator will be spending a lot of time examining the coins with a fine tooth comb to begin with.
Since these coins don't resemble anything in circulation right now, I'm curious if that won't cause a disconnect from the audience at some level. I think anyone who uses these coins might run into the same problems as a lot of younger magicians have using custom decks. The audience will reject the product as genuine because it just looks different from things they are used to seeing. Silver Morgans may not have been in circulation since the turn of the century, but they have mint markings on them that prove their authenticity. Coin collectors know them, etc. So they have a sense of familiarity, however brief with the general public. These coins are complete fabrications, so no familiarity exists with them. Any coin collector or buff you have in your audience will also know this. This may cause more problems for the worker than it solves. Ultimately, it may come down to a strong character and presentation to pull it off. I'll be anxious to see how the audience reacts to me when I use them. I think some personal testimony is warranted for this product.
There is also the issue of the price tag. At 7 bucks a hit, I have to point out for the sake of consumer awareness, I can go buy a walking lib silver for that. Also it appears to be available in only one size, about that of a American half. What am I suppose to do if I prefer to use dollars? I suppose if they sell well, and lord knows they should, then they may make other sizes, but that doesn't help me much in the mean time. I can see this coin being useful during multiple coin production acts like Misers Dream. It's considerably less costly to buy a gross of these coins over trying to buy a gross of silver dollars, but then again they also make shiny silver like metal coins that are thinned down specifically for such an act. I don't know about how they match up with price though. I think they may be cheaper in the long run. So I guess it's six of one half dozen of the other. I suspect E is trying to create another market; A shrewed business move if you ask me.
The first immediate advantage that I see for this product is for performers from other countries. The country neutralness of this coin may make it an appealing choice over the Walking Libs, Morgans, JFK's, or other like coins that seem to be the standard in the community. Then again, this coin will look just as foreign in your hands as any American piece will, but at least doesn't look like any specific American coin in circulation at this time.
I'll admit it. I'm a skeptic. I'm probably overly critical, and my initial instinct is to be cautious (but open minded) about this product, and it's applications in my magic arsenal. Ultimate judgement will be set aside for until I can actually get my hands on a couple of these and try them out for myself. Once I get my hands on five of these coins you can expect a full, in depth review of this product.