Highly recommended.

Review by Bill Wells that appeared in the February 2023 issue of the Linking Ring Magazine.

Some of you may have been fortunate enough to see Dr. Michael Rubinstein perform this routine on Penn and Teller’s TV show Fool Us. Rubinstein presented the routine as a tribute to his dear friend, David Roth, and actually used some of David’s props. Rubinstein explains that the routine was a tribute to Roth, a story that may carry special meaning for magicians. I feel certain that the routine would have impressed Roth, because it captured the Roth’s favored premise of using special props and coins to create magic theater.

The theme of Rubinstein’s routine is simple. Magicians performing a coin vanish are often confronted with the spectator expounding, “The coin is in the other hand.” Unfortunately, they are usually correct, a fact that causes some magicians to dislike coin magic because the coin is always in the other hand. The routine Rubinstein created uses a rubber hand under which coins from a purse mysteriously appear after being vanished. The coins are always under the other hand!

Roth used the concept of two different props playing against each other in a number of classic routines. Rubinstein has loosely structured The Other Hand after Roth’s Sleeve and Mirror routine, in which vanished coins appear in an empty sleeve. He has also gone to special lengths to locate and assemble the special props needed to perform a more practical close-up version of the routine he did on Fool Us.

The props set consists of a wood and leather chest in which a silicone rubber hand is kept, along with a purse holding the coins used in the routine. The props are all of excellent quality. The wooden chest is banded with leather and could contain other props as well as those used for The Other Hand. The purse is a TCC purse. TCC is known for offering high-quality magic props usually introduced as Kickstarter projects. The set’s most expensive component is the silicone rubber hand, which is beautifully made. The props come with special care instructions and a script of the patter for the routine.

Finally, there is the link to a video tutorial that is one hour and forty-two minutes long. The tutorial is the equivalent of a master class in coin magic. It includes not only footage of Rubinstein performing the close-up version, for which the set is intended, but also the version performed on Fool Us (which played bigger for television and had special set-up requirements). The tutorial shows and fully explains how the two versions are performed, and provides detailed instructions for Rubinstein’s coin moves. These coin moves include his Variation Retention Pass, Stealth Palm, R.O.P.S., Click Pass, R.O.P.S. Double Click Pass, and Tap Load. Rubinstein does a superb job of teaching these moves, which can also be found in his comprehensive coin tome Rubinstein Coin Magic. In the tutorial, he explains the use of sleeving, the J.W. Grip, the Spellbound Addition, and the Large Coin Kicker ending for the routine.

All in all, The Other Hand set is a first-class offering of exceptional quality. The props and routine are a fitting tribute to the memory of David Roth. Rubinstein only produced sixty sets of The Other Hand and, at the time of writing this review in December, over half of them have been sold. If you are interested in owning this unique piece of magic, you should not delay making your decision. Highly recommended.