Ickle Pickle Nickel
Type: Close-up
Skill Level: 
Retail Price: $5.95
Effect: The magician shows a disk and a nickel. The Nickel is covered
with the disk and removed to show that the has split apart to become a
miniature Nickel of less than 1/4" in diameter.
Performance Time: About a minute
Reset Time: Less than 1 minute
Angles: 
Quality: As with most Ickle-Pickle products the quality is good.
Both the miniature Nickel and the shell look good. The disk is covered
with a mylar sticker, which, sadly, are not always in perfect alignment
with the flexible magnet on which it is attached.
Dr. Mitch: This is a nice variation on the old Adam's Magical Block and very similar to Split-O. (Therefore, my review of Ickle Pickle Nickel and Split-O will also be very similar.) This trick does have some major drawbacks. For one thing, I keep losing the miniature coins. For another, it has to be preset and laying on your working surface before you start the trick. (In Adam's Magical Block, you can handle the penny before it turns to a dime...in this you cannot handle the Nickel.) If you do lose the miniature coin, substitute a penny or a dime and the trick works just as well. In favor of this trick though, the magnet used in the disk is more powerful than the magnet in Adam's Magical Block, which allows you to essentially "tap" the Nickel and effect the change. Still, I think I prefer the old Adam's Magical Block (for personal reasons).
Mike Maione: Like Dr. Mitch, I too prefer Adams Magical Block to the Ickle-Pickle Nickel. The miniature Nickel, although really cute, is a little too small and easily lost. But, as he says you can substitute it for a penny or a dime when you loose it (you will). Just rework your patter. I don't share Mitch's concern about handling it though. There are at least two ways to handle the Ickle Pickle Nickel without having to have it out on a table all set to go. First, hold the miniature under the shell holding them together between the the thumb and index finger. Carefully place it on the back of the spectator's hand or on your own palm. Or, and this works equally well for Split-O with five miniature coins, turn the shell upside down, put the miniature into the shell, place the disk on top like a cover and then turn the whole affair over. Now, simply slide the shell off the disk as you would a piece of cake from a spatula and onto the back of the subject's hand. The shell will drag the load and no one will be the wiser.
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