Editing Obverse and reverse (section)

{{short description|Front and back sides of coins and other two-sided objects}}
{{Redirect|Obverse|the concept in logic|Obversion|the book publisher|Obverse Books}}
{{Redirect|Heads and tails|the chance game|Coin flipping|other uses|Heads and Tails (disambiguation){{!}}Heads and Tails}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2013}}
[[File:Antoninianus-Tranquillina-Gordian III-s2539.jpg|thumb|Roman imperial coin, struck {{circa|241}}, with the head of Tranquillina on the obverse, or front of the coin, and her marriage to Gordian{{nbsp}}III depicted on the reverse, or back side of the coin, in smaller scale; the coin exhibits the obverse{{snd}}"head", or front{{snd}}and reverse{{snd}}"tail", or back{{snd}}convention that still dominates much coinage today. Legend: SABINIA TRANQVILLINA AVG / CONCORDIA AVGG.]]
[[Image:Antoninianus Tacitus-s3315-light.jpg|thumb|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|alt=]]

The '''obverse''' and '''reverse''' are the two flat faces of [[coin]]s and some other two-sided objects, including [[Currency#Paper money|paper money]], [[flag terminology|flags]], [[seal (emblem)|seals]], [[medal]]s, [[drawing]]s, [[old master print]]s and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' means the front face of the object and ''reverse'' means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called ''heads'', because it often depicts the head of a prominent person, and the reverse ''tails''.

In [[numismatics]], the [[abbreviation]] ''obv.'' is used for ''obverse'',<ref name="Sear">David Sear. ''Greek Imperial Coins and Their Values.'' Spink Books, 1982. {{ISBN|9781912667352}} p. xxxv.</ref> while {{not a typo|℞}},<ref name="Sear"/> <s>)(</s><ref name="Edwards">Jonathan Edwards. ''Catalogue of the Greek and Roman Coins in the Numismatic Collection of Yale College, Volume 2.'' Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1880. p. 228.</ref> and ''rev.''<ref name="Berman">Allen G. Berman. ''Warman's Coins And Paper Money: Identification and Price Guide.'' Penguin, 2008. {{ISBN|9781440219153}}</ref> are used for ''reverse''. Vexillologists use the [[vexillological symbol|symbols]] "normal" {{IFIS|Normal}} for the obverse and "reverse" {{IFIS|Reverse}} for the reverse. The "two-sided" {{IFIS|Twosided}}, "mirror" {{IFIS|Mirror}}, and "equal" {{IFIS|Equal}} symbols are further used to describe the relationship between the obverse and reverse sides of a flag.

In fields of [[scholarly method|scholarship]] outside numismatics, the term ''front'' is more commonly used than ''obverse'', while usage of ''reverse'' is widespread.{{Citation_needed|reason=Please provide a source for this sentence.|date=June 2021}}

The equivalent terms used in [[codicology]], [[manuscript studies]], [[printmaking|print]] studies and [[publishing]] are [[recto and verso|"recto" and "verso"]].{{Citation_needed|reason=Please provide a source for this sentence.|date=June 2021}}