How to do the paper fold coin vanish

The paper fold is a classic coin vanish. You wrap a coin in a small piece of paper, folding it so the coin seems sealed inside, but one edge is secretly left open. The coin slides out into your fingers while everyone watches the paper, and when you tear the paper up, the coin is gone. All you need is a coin and a scrap of paper.

What does the audience see?

You place a coin in the middle of a small piece of paper and fold the paper around it, neatly, on all four sides. Your friend can feel the coin through the paper and even hear it tap on the table. Then you tear the packet in half, and in half again. The coin has vanished.

What do you need?

• A coin.
• A small piece of paper. Published versions call for anything from about 2 by 3 inches to about 115 by 90 mm, and one suggests stiff paper.

Some versions also suggest folding the paper once before you start, so the creases form easily when you perform.

How do you do the paper fold coin vanish?

1. Place the coin. Hold the paper upright facing your audience and put the coin in the centre, behind it, so the coin is out of their view. Hold it in place with your left thumb.
2. Fold the bottom up, but not all the way. Fold the bottom edge up and over the coin, stopping about a quarter of an inch (around 5 mm) short of the top edge. This is the secret: the top stays open.
3. Fold the sides back. Fold the right edge back behind the coin, then the left edge. The coin is now held in a little paper pocket that is closed on three sides.
4. Fold the top down. Bend the top flap back behind the packet. To the audience, it looks as if the coin is sealed in on every side. In fact, the top of the pocket is still open.
5. Prove the coin is there. Press the packet so the outline of the coin shows through the paper, or tap it on the table so they hear it.
6. Let it slide out. Turn the packet so the open edge points down, then let the coin slip quietly out into the fingers of your left hand and keep it hidden there. Hold the empty packet in your right hand, as if nothing has changed.
7. Destroy the evidence. Tear the packet in two, then into smaller pieces, and let them fall like confetti. The coin has gone.

How do you get rid of the coin naturally?

The moment the coin slides into your hand, give that hand a reason to move. One published version has you reach into your pocket for something else, leaving the coin behind. Another has you pick up a magic wand with the hand that holds the coin, then tap the packet before tearing it. Both work because the audience’s attention is on the paper, not on your other hand. Our guide to misdirection explains why this works.

Some versions end by burning the packet on a plate. Tearing is safer, easier at home and just as convincing, so that is the ending we suggest.

What are the common mistakes?

• Folding the bottom too far. If the bottom flap reaches the top edge, the pocket closes and the coin can’t escape. Leave a small gap.
• Letting the coin drop too soon. If the open edge points down before you are ready, the coin can fall out and clink. Keep the opening at the top until you mean to let it go.
• Looking at the hidden coin. Your eyes tell the audience where to look. Watch the paper, not the hand with the coin.
• Rushing. Fold slowly and neatly, as if you really are sealing the coin in. The care you take is what makes the vanish convincing.

Where does the paper fold come from?

We haven’t found a source that settles who first published the paper fold, so we won’t name one. What we can say is that it is a well-worn idea: the Conjuring Archive index lists 98 entries in its paper-fold category, from many different magicians.

What helps you take it further?

• Self Working Coin Magic by Karl Fulves. 92 tricks with common coins and paper money that need no special dexterity, with 251 illustrations. Its description says most call for nothing more than easy-to-find items such as a tabletop, a cup, a handkerchief or playing cards.
• Modern Magic by Professor Hoffmann. A free, complete 594-page PDF of the 1876 classic. Its coin chapters cover palming, passes and changes, and coin tricks without apparatus such as the flying money and the wandering sixpence.
• Vanishing Nickel by John Cornelius. A coin vanishes from your hand and reappears, with no sleight of hand, no sticky stuff and no lighting restrictions, according to its description. All gimmicks and online instructions are included.

For more coin vanishes, try the French drop, the coin vanish under a glass or the pencil vanish. For coins that look the part, browse our replica coins.

Frequently asked questions