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From when I was a child, I remember antagonizing my brother. We’d get in a huge fight and ultimately flip a coin to see who was right. Now my own kids are doing the exact same thing. And I started thinking, “Is this a universal practice?”
After digging around online, I came to a lot of dead ends. Surprisingly there wasn’t a lot of info about the origins of coin flipping. This is what I was able to found out:
Romans, Brits and American Pioneers
Looks like several generations and civilizations have a variation on the coin toss. England’s version was called ‘Cross and Pile’. While the Romans had one called ‘Ship or Head’ because their coin had a ship on one side and the head of the emperor on the other. And in the 1800’s, prospectors in California played a game called ‘Indian or Wheat’ based on the coin of the time. It was thought they played the coin toss to pass the days.
Football to Lotteries
Now coin tosses are used all the time. Football games are started with one to decide which team kicks off first. In New Zealand the lottery winners are decided by one. And even in UK politics if two candidates are tied after 3 recounts, they can decide the victor with a coin toss.
So while the history behind this old game is shrouded in mystery, it seems apparent that it’s been enjoyed for hundreds of years. And will continue to be played as children naturally gravitate towards it. And it makes me wonder, what did they play before there were coins? Luckily, we have plenty now. Come on in to West Seattle Coins today and get a free appraisal on your coins!
