Heads or tails

The question heads or tails is asked when tossing a coin and dates from the late 1600s when English coins of the day generally bore the head of a monarch. Tail is merely the reverse side of the coin, non-descript because the reverse side of the coin could feature any design or symbol, which changed frequently. The spinning of coins to provide an even or fifty/fifty chance is very ancient and was known to the Romans as caput aut navia, which meant ‘head or ship’ because Roman coins usually bore the head of a ruler or emperor on one side and a ship on the other.