Last updated on July 10th, 2020 at 04:00 pm

Last Updated on July 10, 2020 Posted by Colonial Acres Coins

Have you ever tossed a Canadian coin? Are you completely assured that there is a 50 percent chance it lands on heads and a 50 percent chance it lands on tails? If the answer is ‘yes’, we have some evidence that can change your mind. A famous mathematician has provided us with an explanation, so, if you are interested in learning more about this, keep on reading.

It’s All About Physics Rather Than Probability

Persi Diaconis, a professor of mathematics and statistics at Stanford University has done research and discovered that most games of chance involving coins are not as even as one may think. This means that he has come to a conclusion that a coin toss is not a 50/50 percent probability of either outcome, but rather 51/49, biased toward that side which was up when the coin was thrown into the air. Although some people think that dropping a coin on the floor is fairer, this is not actually the case. When a coin hits the ground, it spins around its edge first, but it falls on the side that is heavier.

‘Tails’ Over ‘Heads’

Tossing a coin is not about probability at all. The factors that affect the result are the coin, physics and how the ‘tosser’ is actually throwing it. To be more precise, it is of great importance the way the coin is made. This means that if the ‘heads’ side weighs more, it will probably fall on that side and leave the other side up more often. Persi Diaconis has even trained himself to flip a coin 10 times and make it come up heads every time. As he says- it is not magic at all; the result of tossing a coin can easily be predicted if you know where to look.

Super Bowl Coins Are Much Larger

When you think about whether sports that involve coin tosses to decide a team’s possession are fair, remember that coins used for the Super Bowl are much larger than regular ones. This makes it harder to predict the side on which the coin will fall. Historically, the winning side of the coin flip is split almost evenly between heads and tails.

The History Of The Coin Toss and The Super Bowl

A game official conducted the coin toss for the first 11 Super Bowls. The first celebrity to perform the toss was Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Red Grange. This happened in 1978 at Super Bowl XII in New Orleans, when the Dallas Cowboys called heads and won the toss. They went on to beat the Denver Broncos 27-10. The person who gave the Super Bowl its name and who may have been responsible for the coin toss becoming a great event is Lamar Hunt. He participated in the coin toss ceremony before Super Bowl XXXIV. In December 2006, a month after his death, Norma Hunt, his wife, took part in the coin toss alongside Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.

For Coins That Should Be Collected Rather Than Tossed, Visit Colonial Acres

If you would like to have a Canadian coin in your possession that will remind you of a certain event, be it is a sports or historical one, Colonial Acres is at your disposal. Here you are able to choose from a great variety of coins and enrich your collection. Colonial Acres has been in business for nearly 30 years and is home to an expert team of professional numismatists that will go out of our way to provide the most valuable specimens for your collection, as well as tons of knowledge and professional advice on rare and mysterious pieces. Head down to Colonial Acres today and ensure your collection is at its best.