Obverse and reverse

"Obverse" redirects here. For the concept in logic, seeObversion.For the book publisher, seeObverse Books.

Roman imperial coin, struckc. 241,with the head of Tranquillina on the obverse, or front of the coin, and her marriage to GordianIII depicted on the reverse, or back side of the coin, in smaller scale; the coin exhibits the obverse – "head", or front – and reverse – "tail", or back – convention that still dominates much coinage today. Legend: SABINIA TRANQVILLINA AVG / CONCORDIA AVGG.

A Roman imperial coin of Marcus Claudius Tacitus, who ruled briefly from 275 to 276, follows the convention of obverse and reverse coin traditions. Legend: IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG / VICTORIA GOTTHI

Theobverseandreverseare the two flat faces ofcoinsand some other two-sided objects, includingpaper money,flags,seals,medals,drawings,old master printsand other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage,obversemeans the front face of the object andreversemeans the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly calledheads,because it often depicts the head of a prominent person, and the reversetails.

Innumismatics,theabbreviationobv.is used forobverse,while ℞,)(andrev.are used forreverse.

In fields ofscholarshipoutside numismatics, the termfrontis more commonly used thanobverse,while usage ofreverseis widespread.

The equivalent terms used incodicology,manuscriptstudies,printstudies andpublishingare"recto" and "verso".

Identification

On a Tetradrachma of Athens, struckc. 490 BC,the head ofAthena,(left),is regarded as the obverse because of its larger scale and because it is a portrait head; the entire owl is depicted in a smaller scale on the reverse. Legend: ΑΘΕ[ΝΑΙ]Ο[Ν], ie of Athenians.

Generally, the side of a coin with the larger-scale image will be called the obverse (especially if the image is a single head) and, if that does not serve to distinguish them, the side that is more typical of a wide range of coins from that location will be called the obverse. Following this principle, in the most famous ofancient Greek coins,thetetradrachmof Athens, the obverse is the head ofAthenaand the reverse is her owl. Similar versions of these two images, both symbols of the state, were used on the Athenian coins for more than two centuries.

In the many republics of ancient Greece,such as Athens orCorinth,one side of their coins would have a symbol of the state, usually their patron goddess or her symbol, which remained constant through all of the coins minted by that state, which is regarded as the obverse of those coins. The opposite side may have varied from time to time. In ancient Greek monarchical coinage, the situation continued whereby a larger image of adeity,is called the obverse, but a smaller image of a monarch appears on the other side which is called the reverse.

Obverse of the tetradrachm ofAlexander the Great,intended to be seen as a deity, wearing the attributes of the hero,Heracles/Hercules.325BC.

In aWesternmonarchy,it has been customary, following the tradition of theHellenistic monarchsand then theRoman emperors,for the currency to bear the head of the monarch on one side, which is almost always regarded as the obverse. This change happened in the coinage ofAlexander the Great,which continued to be minted long after his death. After his conquest ofancient Egypt,he allowed himself to be depicted on the obverse of coins as agod-king,at least partly because he thought this would help secure the allegiance of the Egyptians, who had regarded their previous monarchs, thepharaohs,as divine. The various Hellenistic rulers who were his successors followed his tradition and kept their images on the obverse of coins.

SolidusofJustinian IIafter 705. Christ is on the obverse (left), the emperor on the reverse. Legend: D[OMI]N[US] IHS[US] CH[RI]S[TOS] REX RAGNANTIUM / D[OMI]N[US] IUSTINIANUS MULTUS A[ΝΝΙ].

A movement back to the earlier tradition of a deity being placed on the obverse occurred inByzantine coinage,where a head of Christ became the obverse and a head or portrait (half or full-length) of the emperor became considered the reverse. The introduction of this style in the gold coins ofJustinian IIfrom the year 695 provoked the IslamicCaliph,Abd al-Malik,who previously had copied Byzantine designs, replacing Christian symbols withIslamicequivalents, finally to develop a distinctiveIslamic style,with just lettering on both sides of their coins. This script alone style then was used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period. The type of Justinian II was revived after the end of theByzantine Iconoclasm,and with variations remained the norm until the end of the Empire. Without images, therefore, it is not always easy to tell which side will be regarded as the obverse without some knowledge.

SilverrupeeusingMughalconventions, but minted by theBritish East India CompanyMadras Presidencybetween 1817 and 1835. On rupees, the side that carries the name of the ruler is considered the obverse.

After 695 Islamic coins avoided all images of persons and usually contained script alone. The side expressing theSix Kalimas(the Islamic profession of faith) is usually defined as the obverse.

Aconventionexists typically to display the obverse to the left (or above) and the reverse to the right (or below) in photographs and museum displays, but this is not invariably observed.

Modern coins

Theformofcurrencyfollows its function, which is to serve as a readily acceptedmedium of exchangeofvalue.Normally, this function rests on astateas guarantor of the value: either astrustworthyguarantor of the kind and amount ofmetalin acoin,or aspowerfulguarantor of the continuing acceptance oftoken coins.

Traditionally, most states have beenmonarchieswhere the person of themonarchand the state were equivalent for most purposes. For this reason, theobverseside of a modern piece of currency is the one that evokes that reaction by invoking the strength of the state, and that side almost always depicts asymbolof the state, whether it be the monarch or otherwise.

If not provided for on the obverse, the reverse side usually contains information relating to a coin's role as a medium of exchange (such as the value of the coin). Additional space typically reflects the issuing country's culture or government, or evokes some aspect of the state's territory.

Specific currencies

Coins of the Eurozone

National side (obverse) of a Lithuanian €2 coin

Regarding theeuro,some confusion regarding the obverse and reverse of theeuro coinsexists. Officially, as agreed by the informal Economic and Finance Ministers Council of Verona in April 1996, and despite the fact that a number of countries have a different design for each coin, the distinctive national side for the circulation coins is theobverseand the common European side (which includes the coin value) is thereverse.This rule does not apply to the collector coins as they do not have a common side.

A number of the designs used for obverse national sides ofeuro coinswere taken from the reverse of the nations' former pre-euro coins. Several countries (such asSpainandBelgium) continue to use portraits of the reigning monarch, while theRepublic of Irelandcontinues to use the State Arms, as on its earlier issues.

Coins of Japan

¥500 coin, the obverse showing aPaulowniaplant, the reverse showing the value "500", and the year 2006 ( bình thành thập bát niên,heiseijuu-hachi nen)

In Japan, from 1897 to the end ofWorld War II,the following informal conventions existed:

• theChrysanthemum Throne(or Chrysanthemum Crest), representing the imperial family, appeared on all coins, and this side was regarded as the obverse;
• the other side, on which the date appeared, was regarded as the reverse.

The Chrysanthemum Crest was no longer used after the war, and so (equally informally):

• the side on which the date appears continues to be regarded as the reverse;
• the side without the date is regarded as the obverse.

Coins of the United Kingdom

A left-facing portrait ofEdward VIIIon the obverse of UK and Empire coins would have broken tradition.

Following ancient tradition, the obverse of coins of the United Kingdom (and predecessor kingdoms going back to theMiddle Ages) almost always feature the head of the monarch.

By tradition, each British monarch faces in the opposite direction of his or her predecessor; this is said to date from 1661, withCharles IIturning his back onOliver Cromwell.Hence,George VIfaced left andElizabeth IIfaced right. The only break in this tradition almost occurred in 1936 whenEdward VIII,believing his left side to be superior to his right (to show the parting in his hair), insisted on his image facing left, as his father's image had. No official legislation prevented his wishes being granted, so left-facing obverses were prepared for minting. Very few examples were struck before heabdicatedlater that year, and none bearing this portrait were ever issued officially. When George VI acceded to the throne, his image was placed to face left, implying that, had any coins been minted with Edward's portrait the obverses would have depicted Edward facing right and maintained the tradition.

Current UK coinage features the following abbreviated Latin inscription:D[EI] G[RATIA] REX F[IDEI] D[EFENSOR]('By the Grace of GodKing,Defender of the Faith'). Earlier issues, before 1954, includedBRIT[ANNIARUM] OMN[IUM]('of all the Britains' – that is, Britain and its dominions) and, before 1949,IND[IAE] IMP[ERATOR]('Emperor of India').

Coins of the United States

The United States specifies what appears on the obverse and reverse of its currency. The specifications mentioned here imply the use of all upper-case letters, although they appear here in upper and lower case letters for thelegibilityof the article.

US dollar coin,with the obverse side showingSusan B. Anthony,the words "Liberty" and "In God We Trust",and the year 1979; the reverse side shows the words" one dollar "," United States of America ", and"E Pluribus Unum",and retains the imagery of theApollo 11mission insignia, previously used on theEisenhower dollar.

TheUnited States governmentlong adhered to including all of the following:

• Obverse:
  • "Liberty"
  • "In God We Trust"
  • The four digits of a year, that of minting or issue
• Reverse:
  • "United States of America"
  • "E Pluribus Unum"
  • Words (not digits) expressing the name or assigned value of the item, e.g., "quarter dollar", "one dime", "five cents"

The ten-year series ofStatehood quarters,whose issue began in 1999, was seen as calling for more space and more flexibility in the design of the reverse. A law specific to this series and the corresponding time period permits the following:

• Obverse:
  • as before:
    • "Liberty"
    • "In God We Trust"
  • instead of on the reverse:
    • "United States of America"
    • The words expressing the assigned value of the coin, "quarter dollar"
• Reverse:
  • as before:
    • "E Pluribus Unum"
  • instead of on the obverse:
    • The four digits of the year of issue

See also

• Coin collecting
• Coin flipping
• Coin orientation
• Fair coin
• Medallic orientation
• List of people on coins
• Recto and versoof paper or page