I was saddened to hear that Steve Dusheck had passed away recently. He was truly one of the great magical inventors, and gave so many fantastic gimmicks and effects to our Art. I know he was a giant inspiration to many magicians, and I count myself among them. Perhaps my favorite magic video of all-time was Steve's 1982 lecture tape, where he demo'd so many of his ingenious creations. We will all miss you, Steve.
Although it would be impossible to say which of his effects best represented him, (because he could apparently create strong visual magic with anything!), Steve was always known for his effects with the iconic brass "Dusheck" washer. It was first introduced in his classic, Wash Out. The brass washer continued to appear in Dusheck effects like Wash Off and this one -- Koing Kong.
Typical Dusheck: very visual and fast.
You show a half dollar. taking a small bull dog clip from your pocket, you slip the half dollar into the clip. "This is my economy money clip -- for people without much money". You hold the clip by the handles, and the half dollar is sticking out about half way, since the coin is bigger than the clip. Ask the spectator to put out her hand, and hold the clipped coin above her palm. Advise her to watch, because the magic happens fast -- and as she burns the clip and coin with her eyes, you squeeze the clip handles to release the coin. As it falls to her palm, it changes into a brass washer.
If you think the washer is a weird thing, you can also have the half dollar turn into two quarters. (Or if you have a half-dollar-size chinese coin with hole, it could turn into that.) I have combined my own Koing Kong gimmick with my Chinatown Half routine. If you know that trick, you can imagine the possibilities.
Over my 20 years of collecting and selling vintage magic, I have come across 3 or 4 Koing Kongs. In every case, they have been "broken" or otherwise unusable. This is because the clever gimmick includes two elements that tend to degrade or lose effectiveness over long periods of time.
This set was no exception. However, I have replaced and repaired both those elements, and the gimmick works like new. (In fact, it is slightly better than new, because one of those replaced elements is now available in a much more "invisible" form than back in the 1970's when Steve was making these.) The repaired elements are both secret and unseen by the audience -- all the visible props are original as issued. I only mention this so that collectors will know the prop has been carefully "restored". From a performance standpoint, it is as good as ever.
(Sorry for being a bit vague -- trying to describe the refurbishment without giving away the secret. I will include some extra of the repair parts -- though you should be good for many years before it may need additional refurbishing.)
This trick has been copied and a cheap version using a fake replica coin is out on the market -- the startling change of a half dollar is lost when the spectators can tell you changed for a fake coin when you put it into the clip. If you want to do this trick, you want to do it the right way -- with the original Dusheck props!
Item is previously owned, and refurbished/repaired as explained above. The gimmicked half and clip are original. The instructions are the original sheet, slightly bent, but otherwise clean and untorn.
A trick that is hard to find in working condition. Heck, it's hard to find in non-working condition. Here's your chance to have a great example for your collection and/or performances.
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