Editing Obverse and reverse (section)

==Identification==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2017}}
[[Image:Tetradrachma från Aten (omkr 490 fKr, ur Nordisk familjebok).png|thumb|On a Tetradrachma of Athens, struck {{circa|lk=no|490 BC}}, the head of [[Athena]], ''(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 of [[Ancient Greek coinage|ancient Greek coins]], the [[tetradrachm]] of Athens, the obverse is the head of [[Athena]] and 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ancient-greece.org/|title=Ancient Greece|first=Thomas|last=Sakoulas|website=www.ancient-greece.org|access-date=2018-10-03|archive-date=2018-09-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901032542/https://www.ancient-greece.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> such as Athens or [[Corinth]], 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 a [[deity]], is called the obverse, but a smaller image of a monarch appears on the other side which is called the reverse.

[[Image:Tetradrachme.wmt.jpg|thumb|upright|Obverse of the tetradrachm of [[Alexander the Great]], intended to be seen as a deity, wearing the attributes of the hero, [[Heracles]]/[[Hercules]]. 325{{nbsp}}BC.]]
In a [[Western world|Western]] [[monarchy]], it has been customary, following the tradition of the [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenistic monarchs]] and then the [[Roman emperor]]s, 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 of [[Alexander the Great]], which continued to be minted long after his death. After his conquest of [[ancient Egypt]], he allowed himself to be depicted on the obverse of coins as a [[god-king]], at least partly because he thought this would help secure the allegiance of the Egyptians, who had regarded their previous monarchs, the [[pharaoh]]s, as divine.  The various Hellenistic rulers who were his successors followed his tradition and kept their images on the obverse of coins.

[[Image:Solidus-Justinian II-Christ b-sb1413.jpg|thumb|left|''Solidus'' of [[Justinian II]] after 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 in [[Byzantine 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 of [[Justinian II]] from the year 695 provoked the Islamic [[Caliph]], [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]], who previously had copied Byzantine designs, replacing Christian symbols with [[Islam]]ic equivalents, finally to develop a distinctive ''Islamic 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 the [[Iconoclasm#Byzantine era|Byzantine 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.

[[Image:Silver Rupee Madras Presidency.JPG|thumb|Silver [[rupee]] using [[Mughal era|Mughal]] conventions, but minted by the [[British East India Company]] [[Madras Presidency]] between 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 the [[Six Kalimas]] (the Islamic profession of faith) is usually defined as the obverse.

A [[Convention (norm)|convention]] exists 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.