This cache is part of the Linn Creek Trail: Marshalltown History series. Follow the bike trail to a series of caches highlighting prominent figures in Marshalltown history. Each cache will require you to leave the trail and search for a hidden cache. The caches in this series vary in difficulty and terrain.
Thomas Nelson Downs “King of Koins” (1867 – 1938)
T. Nelson Downs, Iowa's premier magician, was known worldwide as "The King of Koins." An outstanding showman, he was one of the greatest manipulative magicians the world has produced. Today his name is legendary in magic circles. A self-taught wonder, Downs launched a career that took him across the United States and Europe, even to Russia. On his travels, he performed for royalty, including King Edward VII of England, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, the sultan of Turkey and the czar of Russia.
Among his tricks: He could lay 15 half-dollars on a victim's shoulder while showing his hands empty. He could palm 60 coins at a time. "Pure sleight of hand has always been a great joy to me," he once said. He said he always chose tricks not necessarily for their difficulty but instead for their impact on an audience.
Thomas Nelson Downs was born March 16, 1867, in Marshalltown, the youngest of six children of schoolteachers Thomas L. and Cordelia Abbott Downs. In 1897 he established himself in vaudeville, concentrating on coin tricks alone - a specialty that few others had. And by 1898, he headlined in St. Louis, much to the chagrin of Harry Houdini, who did not yet have his name in lights. But the men became lifelong friends. Downs was popular among his peers.
Downs was always a generous performer, willing to share secrets with up-and-comers. He also put much of his knowledge into books. His first was "Modern Coin Manipulation," published in 1900 and issued in reprints today. He also wrote "The Art of Magic" and "Tricks With Coins."
Downs died in September 1938 at his home in Marshalltown. A number of well-known magicians attended his funeral. He is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown. Appropriately, his gravestone reads "King of Koins”.
Sections taken from data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans by Tom Longden
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