The Classic Palm Coin Sleight
The Classic Palm will allow the magician to secretly hold a coin in their hand, while giving the appearance that the hand is empty. The Fingers are seen to move naturally and the hand can function quite normally, despite having a coin held in in position.
There is an area at the base of your palm that is able to grip and hold a coin in place when the hand muscles are flexed.
The classic palm sleight is performed as follows:
The coin that is to be palmed is usually resting on the fingertips, on the fore and middle finger of the hand (Fig:1) This position is quite flexible and will allow the coin to be easily maneuvered as you curl the two fingers into your palm or turn your hand palm downwards after curling the fingers to make a clenched fist. ( Fig:2)
At this point, the coin is then pressed into the palm of the hand. Try and keep the thumb and forefinger touching as this will prevent your thumb from sticking out, which would make it obvious that your are concealing a coin in the hand. (Fig: 3
1) Coin is balanced on fingers 2) Fingers curl into palm, causing the coin to fall into position in the center of the palm. 3) Coin is held in palm position, this is the name for when the muscles near the fleshy part of the thumb and other side of the palm squeeze grip the coin, holding it in position.4) Hand looks natural from above and can be held and moved around in a natural manner.
Over time, with practice the muscles being used to grip the coin should grow stronger and you should hopefully be able to hold the hand and move it around in a more natural fashion.Take care not to expose the coin being held on the other side of it.
The classic palm is one of the most commonly used and most useful coin sleights. The most important thing to remember is to keep your hand in a relaxed and natural looking position. Observe your hand in its natural position and copy this position when practicing palming a coin. This coin sleight can be practiced almost anywhere.
Remember to keep the coin in position at the base of the palm between thumb and forefinger and after a little practice you will be able to hold a coin comfortably and for long periods of time while maintaining the hand in a natural position.
Once this sleight has been mastered, you have accomplished a major step in the basics of coin magic. You can learn all about coin magic in Bobo's Modern Coin Magic which is highly recommended reading and is an excellent way to learn.