On 26 Feb 2004 15:56:41 -0800, in sci.stat.edu [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Dennis
Roberts) wrote:

>A key "may be" in the minting process ... I heard once at a conference 
>where a demo was done .. lining up coins on edge and pounding the table ... 
>that the p is not 50/50 for H and T to land face up ... that there is a 
>slight bevel to the edge (not noticeable by eye) that makes ejecting from a 
>mold easier

The bias for "tipping" coins like that is very noticeable.  I do an
experiment on that in my intro stats course most years.  As long as
the table is flat, and you don't hit it too hard, the probability of H
is around 0.4 with Canadian pennies.  (This year's data was 130 H in
345 tips.)  

Duncan Murdoch
.
.
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