Obverse and reverse

[Bimat]

For me the side that tells me about the value of a coin is the obverse

In case of Euro coins,the side showing denomination is the reverse,you know ,The side which shows the highest authority(who issued the coin) is obverse.(as a3v1 said)

Aditya

[chrisild]

As I wrote, for me the side with etc. etc.  Who cares about laws and regulations.   And regarding the euro and cent circulation coins, I (as a consumer, not as a collector) care even less whether a piece is from Portugal or Finland, as long as it buys me what I want. Again, it's the value that counts ...

Seriously, I have always wondered why for some it is important to have some kind of authoritative decision about which side is what.

Christian

[translateltd]

Seriously, I have always wondered why for some it is important to have some kind of authoritative decision about which side is what.

Christian

You don't have to consider it important if you don't want, but others like to make the distinction.  Just like some folks like to collect things we can't see any interest in, I guess.

The distinction does exist, and not being interested in it isn't going to make it go away :-)

[Prosit]

Ultimately, I see nothing intrinsic to a coin that makes one side a front and the other a reverse. ...a rose by any other name....
So what I am willing to accept as the "official" front is the side that:

1. the designer says is the front
2. the issuing authority says is front

Assuming the above don't contradict each other...

In the absence of the above knowledge, anyone stating that one side or the other
is the front or reverse, in my opinion, is just an an opinion, and we all know what opinions are worth  .

I have an entire binder of tokens that according to the issuer, I have the reverse to the front.  I like the designs 

I do like to know the official front and reverse but not something I am going to be very concerned with if I don't know it.

Dale

[translateltd]

I have an entire binder of tokens that according to the issuer, I have the reverse to the front.  I like the designs 

The coins in my folders/flips usually have the reverse to the front anyway, as the 'heads' side, which tends to be static, is usually the less interesting.  I don't collect Euros so I don't need to decide which side to display.

Being generally ornery by nature, I have my NZ tokens arranged showing the obverse, since I like to be able to see who issued them!

[Galapagos]

Seriously, I have always wondered why for some it is important to have some kind of authoritative decision about which side is what.

Christian

Well, I've been looking at Numismaster's online database, to identify missing designers, so I send them a spreadsheet showing "Obverse Designer" and "Reverse Designer" - along with KM and country of course. You have to have some form of differentiation. It just threw me when I saw the database had labelled the plants on the Rwanda coins as being on the obverse, contrary to my expectations.

As you say, ultimately it isn't important. Pied wagtails in England go through their whole lives without knowing that they're known as "pied wagtails", and I'm sure it makes no difference to them. Though I once said to my sister, when visiting her, "I'm taking the dog for a walk", whereupon her dog leapt up, jumped for joy, and came bounding over to me. So some animals do know what they are called in English. 

[translateltd]

Indeed - call them "one side" and "the other side" if you wish, but there comes a time, particularly for cataloguers, when you need to determine which is "one side" and which is "the other" simply for convenience of describing details or making sure your descriptions of all coins in a series are consistent.

For a conundrum, have a look (either on Numismaster or in the printed catalogues) at the Sri Lankan 2 rupee series.  The "national arms" side should in theory be the obverse and the "denomination" side the reverse; however, Sri Lanka seems to keep the denomination side constant, and drops the national arms when it wishes to use one side for commemorative purposes.  The commemorative side no longer qualifies as the obverse, so does the "denomination" side keep swapping identity?   I was trying to sort this out in my rapid trawl-through recently, but don't think I succeeded.

[Prosit]

A previous post I did on one of my favorite tokens:

http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,741.0.html

Seems to me to show that in this instance the obverse and reverse changed from one issue to the next.

Dale

[andyg]

Here's one to test you all 

[asm]

Heads you win, Heads you loose. This one has no tail.
Amit

[translateltd]

Here's one to test you all 

I would apply some historical knowledge to this one and say the "tusks" side is the reverse. Why?  Because on comparable issues prior to 1963, the name of the King/Queen was on the other side, making it the obverse ...

[andyg]

I would apply some historical knowledge to this one and say the "tusks" side is the reverse. Why?  Because on comparable issues prior to 1963, the name of the King/Queen was on the other side, making it the obverse ...

Ok then, try this one....

[UK Decimal +]

The best interpretation that I have seen is as follows:-

Reverse.   The side of a coin or medal regarded as of lesser importance; in colloquial parlance, the "tails" side.

I take this as meaning that, for a series of coins, the obverse will be the 'fixed' side, whether it be a Monarch or even the common side of a Euro.   The reverse will be the one that varies, like the national side of a Euro coin.

In the example given above, this means that the side with the 'star' is the obverse as it is the 'fixed' side for that series.

Bill.

[andyg]

In the example given above, this means that the side with the 'star' is the obverse as it is the 'fixed' side for that series.

Both sides are 'fixed', both sides have the date of issue, the issuing authority and the value......

[a3v1]

I take this as meaning that, for a series of coins, the obverse will be the 'fixed' side, whether it be a Monarch or even the common side of a Euro. The reverse will be the one that varies, like the national side of a Euro coin.

@ Bill,
In this case, alas, I must object. Taking the common side of the Euro coins as the obverse would suggest that the EU is the issuing authority. Which, as we all know, is not the case. The Euro coins all are issued by the participating nations, so the national side in this case should be regarded the obverse.
Regards,
a3v1