The coin toss at Sunday's Super Bowl will focus all eyes on a gleaming piece of silver marketed by a Provo company.
And whether it comes up heads or tails, Jacobson & Jardine wins and leaves a lasting impression of Super Bowl XXVI.The firm produces official Super Bowl commemorative coins. One of its coins will be flipped at midfield Sunday in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome at Minneapolis, Minn., to determine whether the Washington Redskins kick off to the Buffalo Bills or vice versa.
Company president Mike Jacobson said people who call the firm's toll-free telephone number are surprised when they find out the firm's location.
"You're doing Super Bowl coins in Provo, Utah?" Jacobson said people ask. Most callers expect to talk to someone in Los Angeles or Chicago.
Even people in Utah Valley don't know much about Jacobson & Jardine.
The company began producing coins for the National Football League four years ago with Super Bowl XXIII when it marketed a single coin. Independent sales representatives nationwide now distribute a variety of coins for the Super Bowl and other major sporting events. The firm contracts out for minting.
This year Jacobson and partner Ross Jardine wanted to do something different. They combined commemorative coins and trading cards. Super Bowl XXVI coins struck of cupronickel are protectively sealed into cards.
"We wanted to start a new tradition this year," Jacobson said. "It's been the hit of the trade show (in Minneapolis)." The coin cards sell for $9.95.
Coins are also available without cards and in poster sets.
A pure silver coin goes for $49.95. And for $100, a silver coin comes framed with a cover of the Super Bowl XXVI game program.
Each coin is slightly larger than a silver dollar, measuring two inches in diameter. The Minneapolis skyline with the Metrodome in the foreground is imprinted on the front of each coin. The Super Bowl XXVI logo is stamped on the back with the date of Sunday's game.
"We own the dies for all the Super Bowl coins," Jacobson said.
Jacobson and Jardine recently put together a commemorative set featuring coins from each of the first 25 Super Bowl games. Each two-ounce silver coin is imprinted with a past Super Bowl great such as Vince Lombardi, Joe Namath or Terry Bradshaw. Price tag: $2,500. One of the sets is on permanent display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Not bad for a business that Jacobson says has survived "by the seat of our pants. Fortunately, it's starting to work out."
Jacobson & Jardine also owns the rights to mint coins for the America's Cup. "We're doing a legal tender coin for the America's Cup," Jacobson said.
The company also produces coins for the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500. It also takes on custom minting projects.