Skip to main content
5 of 5
Adjusted color on diagram, just to make it look nicer.

The following seems like a counterexample to the conjecture as originally stated, allowing different size coins. It doesn't seem like the big coin, with diameter $1-\epsilon$, can move right, up, or down. (I apologize for the poor drawing.) (I haven't done "formal" algebra to verify this, but just looking at it, it seems to be so.)

square with big coin and four small coins

Edit by OP: Here's another look at your idea.

enter image description here

Zach Teitler
  • 6.2k
  • 3
  • 33
  • 63