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The term obverse, and its Opposite , '''reverse''', describe the two Side s of units of Currency and many other kinds of two-sided objects, most often in reference to Coin s, but also to Flag s, Medal s, Drawing s, Old Master Print s and other works of art. The terms may respectively be interchanged with the more casual but less precise terms " Front " and " Back ," or (for coins only) "heads" and "tails." In many such areas other than coins, ''reverse'' is much more commonly used than ''obverse'', and ''front'' and ''reverse'' may also be used. The terms can also describe the front and back of a Flag (see Flag Terminology ). Recto and '''Verso''' are the equivalent terms for front and back used for the pages of Book s, especially Illuminated Manuscript s, and also often for Prints and Drawings . WHICH IS WHICH? as god-king, in this case wearing the attributes of Heracles 325BC]] In a Western Monarchy , it has been usual, following the tradition of the 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. However in Ancient Greek monarchical Coinage the situation is often reversed, and a larger image, often of a God or goddess, is called the obverse, whilst a smaller image of a king is called the reverse. In the many republics, such as Athens or Corinth , one side would have a Symbol of the state, sometimes a goddess, which remained constant through all the coins of that state, and is regarded as the obverse. The change happened in the coinage of Alexander The Great , which continued to be minted long after his death. After his conquest of Egypt he allowed himself to be depicted on the obverse 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 Pharoh s as divine. The various Hellenisic rulers who were his successors kept their busts on the obverse. , second reign, after 705. Christ is on the obverse, the Emperor on the reverse]] A movement back to the opposite situation occurred in Byzantine Coinage , where a head of Christ became the obverse, and a head or portrait (half or full-length) of the emperor the reverse. The introduction of this style in the gold coins of Justinian II from 695 provoked the Islamic Caliph Abd Al-Malik , who had previously copied Byzantine designs, replacing Christian symbols with Islamic equivalents, finally to develop a distinctive Islamic style, with just lettering on both sides of their coins. This was then used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period. The type of Justinian II was revived after the end of Iconoclasm , and with variations remained the norm until the end of the Empire. |
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