Although beautifully simple and practically automatic, this amusing deceit still has enough interest to hold any audience. Built about a topical theme the patter makes the effect run smoothly.

Withdrawing ten new and crisp dollar bills from his wallet, the magus remarks that he has just come from the bank. When the teller cashed the check he reminded the performer of the counterfeit money now in circulation. The performer continues that because of late improvements in ink and printing it has become almost impossible in many cases for the Treasury Department to detect the real from the spurious.

Actually, however, it is really very easy to distinguish bogus currency by a method used by Persian money changers for century upon century past. This method was discovered by an old Persian sage and it was proved effective even with the crude monies of ancient times.

At this point one of the spectators takes any one of the bills, and supposing this to be a counterfeit, copies the bill’s number and keeps it to himself. The bill now is returned to its fellows and lost in a thorough (though casual) mixing.

Saying that it is easy to detect the fake by the ancient Persian method the performer gives the spectator half the bills retaining the others. They are all face (picture) side down. (In these U.S. currency of $1 value is printed in black ink on its face and green on its back.) The magician now requests the spectator “Do exactly as I do.” Taking the first bill he turns it face up and places it on the bottom of his five which are held in a stack. The spectator does the same. The magician now takes the second bill, turns it face up, and again puts it on the bottom. The spectator does likewise. Admonishing the spectator to keep his bills in a stack and follow his movements exactly the magician takes bill number 3, turns it face up, and puts it once more on the bottom.

Now the whole stack is turned over. Next the magician reaches under his stack, withdraws the bottom bill, and turning it face down puts it on top of the stack. Last of all he peels off two bills from the top and places them on the bottom, not turning them over. The spectator, of course, does the same.

The performer tells the spectator to hold his bills tightly and meanwhile patters about the cleverness of the Persians. He states that if he (the performer) has the counterfeit bill the strange procedure has sought it out and placed it in an unmistakable position.

Spreading his bills, the performer shows them to be all in good order and exactly alike. Obviously the magician does not have the bad bill.

Now the spectator fans his stack of bills and there is seen, in the center, one bill face up and staring the spectator in the face. All of the other bills are face down ! A checkup of this face up bill’s number with that put down at the start proves the bill to be the same and therefore the counterfeit (?).

Aside from a few subtle moves in the working, not difficult at all, the entire trick is almost self working.

In the original mixing, the returned bill is brought to the top and held there. In counting off five bills for the spectator to hold, the “counterfeit” is brought to the bottom of the spectator’s stack. Also, in the second step, where you turn over number two bill to face up position and place it on the bottom, you actually turn over two bills as one (a sort of double lift) and place them on the bottom. I won’t say that this move is easy, because it isn’t, but I have never had trouble with it since practicing to get the “feel” of the bills.

With new and crisp bills the feat becomes more easy though it can be done with borrowed currency. The patter, however, allows of new bills being used without suspicion directed towards that fact. The manoeuvres given, with the “double lift” turning plus the placement of the “counterfeit” bill takes care of everything. It makes an excellent press stunt.