MELBOURNE, Fla. — The Super Bowl is almost here and to kick it off, you need a coin toss.

What You Need To Know

  • Super Bowl games begin with a coin toss

  • For 30 years, Highland Mint has been making the specially-made coins used to start the game

  • A limited edition of 10,000 coins are made. The first 100 will go to the NFL, then the rest will be available for purchase by fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles

“The game doesn’t start without us, so we are really proud of that moment, and we’ll be in front of 50 million people,” says Vince Bohbot, Highland Mint Executive Vice President.

It’s the end of the line at the Highland Mint. Workers are hurriedly bundling up something special for their customers.

For nearly 30 years, the Melbourne-based mint has been has been flipping out and turning out the coin used to start the game at the Super Bowl.

Leading the charge is Garrett Snyder, a legacy employee with a father that has worked there for decades. Garrett has done all the jobs in his 13 years, from framer, to shipping and now, head of assembly.

He knows each coin must be perfect.

“We have people go through them and hand select each one to make sure there are no imperfections on the coin before we send them out to our customers,” Garrett said.

The coins are washed and dried to a shine using high heat and spin. A special laser etches the design on the mold used to stamp all the coins.

Garrett has been around the mint since he was two years old. He says there is no better place he’d rather be, especially around Super Bowl time.

It’s a family affair.

“I’ve pretty much grown up around this place. I love this place,” he said. “I was in here as a little kid. During Super Bowl, numbering coins, I used to get paid in Pokémon cards.”

A limited edition of 10,000 coins are made. The first 100 will go to the NFL, then the rest will be available for purchase by fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

But there’s one special coin. It’s stamped with serial number 0001.

That is the coin that’s going to be flipped at the start of the Super Bowl. Garrett isn’t pulling for either team to come out victorious.

He and his team are winners, no matter what.

“Both of these teams, Kansas City and Philadelphia, their followings are huge, so either or, I’m happy,” he said. 

Happy to showcase their creations on the biggest stage in the world, from little Melbourne, Fla.

The Super Bowl coin toss is literally tied. O​f the 56 games so far, heads have come up 28 times, and tails, you guessed it — 28 times.