Forcing a Coin Toss

epepke · 15th December 2003, 01:14 AM

I'm finding it a lot harder to force a coin toss with the new state quarters, as both the head and tails are flatter and harder to feel. Anybody have suggestions, other than making sure I have an older quarter?

rustypouch · 15th December 2003, 08:41 AM

Two headed quarter?

Brown · 15th December 2003, 08:46 AM

"Heads I win, tails you lose."

(Works with people under five years of age and with some intoxicated people.)

Brown · 15th December 2003, 08:48 AM

Seriously, I believe I spotted a two-headed quarter recently that included the "smaller" Washington portrait of the state quarters.

T'ai Chi · 15th December 2003, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by epepke
I'm finding it a lot harder to force a coin toss with the new state quarters, as both the head and tails are flatter and harder to feel. Anybody have suggestions, other than making sure I have an older quarter?

Hmm, if you can find a coin that was lightly filed with a metal file on one side, that would do the trick.

epepke · 15th December 2003, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rustypouch
Two headed quarter?

Too cheesy. If it weren't so good to do with someone else's quarter, I could always just keep a regular quarter.

rustypouch · 15th December 2003, 03:00 PM

I agree completely. I've never forced a coin toss before, and it was the first thing that came to mind.

I think it would be like doing a trick with a special deck. When the audience asks to see you have to shout NO! and run away.

epepke · 16th December 2003, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rustypouch
I agree completely. I've never forced a coin toss before, and it was the first thing that came to mind.

I think it would be like doing a trick with a special deck. When the audience asks to see you have to shout NO! and run away.

Fing is, forcing a coin toss is one of the few tricks that require zero misdirection. The audience can be watching intently the entire time and not see it happening. They can call it in the air, and it looks exactly the same. That alone makes it cool.

Too bad those golden dollars didn't make it. They were great.

T'ai Chi · 16th December 2003, 09:54 AM

I was reading a coin price guide yesterday at Borders, and they have a section on the new state quarters, where they show many of these quarters and highlight the raised parts with red!

Some of these quarters have raised spots that have easily memorizable high spot patterns.

scribble · 17th December 2003, 01:35 PM

Isn't this why it's traditional to call your toss in the air? One guy throws, the other guy says heads/tails - and it lands on the ground, not in someone's hand.

Or am I misinformed on coin-tossing etiquette?

epepke · 18th December 2003, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by scribble
Isn't this why it's traditional to call your toss in the air? One guy throws, the other guy says heads/tails - and it lands on the ground, not in someone's hand.

Or am I misinformed on coin-tossing etiquette?

I can't say too much about this without giving away the trick. However, if you notice the coin tosses on sports game, the coin tosser tosses it, catches it, and slaps it on the back of the other hand. They don't let it fall on the ground.

T'ai Chi · 18th December 2003, 01:52 AM

If the coin toss is where the coin hits the ground, then wouldn't it make sense to always call the side with the less material on it? (like the number 6 comes up most frequently on dice tosses)

Brown · 18th December 2003, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by T'ai Chi
If the coin toss is where the coin hits the ground, then wouldn't it make sense to always call the side with the less material on it? (like the number 6 comes up most frequently on dice tosses)

In casinos that offer dice games, the dice are frequently inspected to be sure that no number is more likely to come up on any die than any other number.

T'ai Chi · 18th December 2003, 11:28 AM

That's certainly true with casino dice, but not regular dice people by at say grocery stores.

scribble · 21st December 2003, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by epepke

I can't say too much about this without giving away the trick. However, if you notice the coin tosses on sports game, the coin tosser tosses it, catches it, and slaps it on the back of the other hand. They don't let it fall on the ground.

Well, that makes 'the trick' an obvious one. I don't watch much sports, but the one coin toss I can recall seeing, it went ot the ground. Much safer.

Randy with a "Y" · 30th December 2003, 11:56 AM

Might I suggest that you use your own quarter that you are familiar with? There's no reason you can't use the "Bobo Switch" or similar subterfuge.

The only problem you might run into is that somebody might give you a coin that doesn't look enough like yours to pass the test.

Heck! I wonder if a large portion of the population would even notice if they gave you a State Quarter or not. Money is so ubiquitous that most people don't even give it a second thought!

epepke · 6th January 2004, 09:09 PM

Thanks for all the responses. I've decided that what I'm going to do is, when I receive a coin, if it's a state quarter, do a little spiel about state quarters while I memorize the feel of the faces.

15th December 2003, 01:14 AM	#1
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136	Forcing a Coin Toss I'm finding it a lot harder to force a coin toss with the new state quarters, as both the head and tails are flatter and harder to feel. Anybody have suggestions, other than making sure I have an older quarter?
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136

15th December 2003, 08:46 AM	#3
Brown Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Twin Cities, Canada Posts: 9,025	"Heads I win, tails you lose." (Works with people under five years of age and with some intoxicated people.)
	__________________ Klaatu: I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it. Mr. Harley: I'm afraid my people haven't. I am very sorry. I wish it were otherwise. -- The Day The Earth Stood Still, screenplay by Edmund H. North "Don't you get me wrong. I only want to know." -- Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, lyrics by Tim Rice

15th December 2003, 08:48 AM	#4
Brown Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Twin Cities, Canada Posts: 9,025	Seriously, I believe I spotted a two-headed quarter recently that included the "smaller" Washington portrait of the state quarters.
	__________________ Klaatu: I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it. Mr. Harley: I'm afraid my people haven't. I am very sorry. I wish it were otherwise. -- The Day The Earth Stood Still, screenplay by Edmund H. North "Don't you get me wrong. I only want to know." -- Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, lyrics by Tim Rice

15th December 2003, 12:30 PM	#5
T'ai Chi Penultimate Amazing Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 11,233	Re: Forcing a Coin Toss Quote: Originally posted by epepke I'm finding it a lot harder to force a coin toss with the new state quarters, as both the head and tails are flatter and harder to feel. Anybody have suggestions, other than making sure I have an older quarter? Hmm, if you can find a coin that was lightly filed with a metal file on one side, that would do the trick.
	__________________ http://www.statisticool.com

15th December 2003, 01:55 PM	#6
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136	Quote: Originally posted by rustypouch Two headed quarter? Too cheesy. If it weren't so good to do with someone else's quarter, I could always just keep a regular quarter.
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136

15th December 2003, 08:41 AM	#2
rustypouch Master Poster Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Calgary... Posts: 2,585	Two headed quarter?

15th December 2003, 03:00 PM	#7
rustypouch Master Poster Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Calgary... Posts: 2,585	I agree completely. I've never forced a coin toss before, and it was the first thing that came to mind. I think it would be like doing a trick with a special deck. When the audience asks to see you have to shout NO! and run away.

16th December 2003, 08:16 AM	#8
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136	Quote: Originally posted by rustypouch I agree completely. I've never forced a coin toss before, and it was the first thing that came to mind. I think it would be like doing a trick with a special deck. When the audience asks to see you have to shout NO! and run away. Fing is, forcing a coin toss is one of the few tricks that require zero misdirection. The audience can be watching intently the entire time and not see it happening. They can call it in the air, and it looks exactly the same. That alone makes it cool. Too bad those golden dollars didn't make it. They were great.
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136

16th December 2003, 09:54 AM	#9
T'ai Chi Penultimate Amazing Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 11,233	I was reading a coin price guide yesterday at Borders, and they have a section on the new state quarters, where they show many of these quarters and highlight the raised parts with red! Some of these quarters have raised spots that have easily memorizable high spot patterns.
	__________________ http://www.statisticool.com

17th December 2003, 01:35 PM	#10
scribble Master Poster Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 2,696	Isn't this why it's traditional to call your toss in the air? One guy throws, the other guy says heads/tails - and it lands on the ground, not in someone's hand. Or am I misinformed on coin-tossing etiquette?
scribble Master Poster Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 2,696	__________________ "Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson "I was thinking about painting my house, but I was worried about how well the latex paint we bought would bond to the existing siding. So I got on the Interweb and searched for latex bondage."

18th December 2003, 01:43 AM	#11
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136	Quote: Originally posted by scribble Isn't this why it's traditional to call your toss in the air? One guy throws, the other guy says heads/tails - and it lands on the ground, not in someone's hand. Or am I misinformed on coin-tossing etiquette? I can't say too much about this without giving away the trick. However, if you notice the coin tosses on sports game, the coin tosser tosses it, catches it, and slaps it on the back of the other hand. They don't let it fall on the ground.
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136

18th December 2003, 01:52 AM	#12
T'ai Chi Penultimate Amazing Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 11,233	If the coin toss is where the coin hits the ground, then wouldn't it make sense to always call the side with the less material on it? (like the number 6 comes up most frequently on dice tosses)
	__________________ http://www.statisticool.com

18th December 2003, 01:56 AM	#13
Brown Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Twin Cities, Canada Posts: 9,025	Quote: Originally posted by T'ai Chi If the coin toss is where the coin hits the ground, then wouldn't it make sense to always call the side with the less material on it? (like the number 6 comes up most frequently on dice tosses) In casinos that offer dice games, the dice are frequently inspected to be sure that no number is more likely to come up on any die than any other number.
	__________________ Klaatu: I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it. Mr. Harley: I'm afraid my people haven't. I am very sorry. I wish it were otherwise. -- The Day The Earth Stood Still, screenplay by Edmund H. North "Don't you get me wrong. I only want to know." -- Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, lyrics by Tim Rice

18th December 2003, 11:28 AM	#14
T'ai Chi Penultimate Amazing Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 11,233	That's certainly true with casino dice, but not regular dice people by at say grocery stores.
	__________________ http://www.statisticool.com

21st December 2003, 02:02 AM	#15
scribble Master Poster Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 2,696	Quote: Originally posted by epepke I can't say too much about this without giving away the trick. However, if you notice the coin tosses on sports game, the coin tosser tosses it, catches it, and slaps it on the back of the other hand. They don't let it fall on the ground. Well, that makes 'the trick' an obvious one. I don't watch much sports, but the one coin toss I can recall seeing, it went ot the ground. Much safer.
scribble Master Poster Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 2,696	__________________ "Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson "I was thinking about painting my house, but I was worried about how well the latex paint we bought would bond to the existing siding. So I got on the Interweb and searched for latex bondage."

30th December 2003, 11:56 AM	#16
Randy with a "Y" New Blood Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 12	Might I suggest that you use your own quarter that you are familiar with? There's no reason you can't use the "Bobo Switch" or similar subterfuge. The only problem you might run into is that somebody might give you a coin that doesn't look enough like yours to pass the test. Heck! I wonder if a large portion of the population would even notice if they gave you a State Quarter or not. Money is so ubiquitous that most people don't even give it a second thought!

6th January 2004, 09:09 PM	#17
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136	Thanks for all the responses. I've decided that what I'm going to do is, when I receive a coin, if it's a state quarter, do a little spiel about state quarters while I memorize the feel of the faces.
epepke Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,136