Hi, And very hard to put into words - Is it a coin's country of origin, a simple "attribute" or some other reason that determines what is 'top of coin' or 'right side up' when it is flipped top to bottom or side to side? Seems all US coins ( don't know about comms. ) stay 'top of coin' when flipped top to bottom. But if you flipped it side to side - the reverse would be upside down. The US isn't the only country that does this is it? Seems another of my World Coins was the same way. Mike
I can't personally speak for world coins, but here's a quote from Glossary of Numismatic Terms So according to this it would seem besides the U.S most countries now are using the medal alignment for business strike coins. Also U.S commemorative coins use the medal rotation too.
I rather think the question the OP is asking is what determines which side is the obverse ? Well nornmally the obv is the side with the monarchs bust on it. And if the coin has no bust, then the obv is the side with the monarch's name, or the issuing authority, on it. It's really just that simple. As for medal or coin roation, that depends on the country and the era for the coin. Many changed their practice depending on the date. There really is no rule of thumb for it.
The reverse is the side that receives the strike of the hammer die. Conventionally, the side with the most important design, ie the bust of the reigning monarch, has been on the obverse. But this need not always be the case. On this coin, what would traditionally appear to be the reverse is technically the obverse: Leucas, Akarnania AR stater - 20mm 4th century BC Pegasus r., Λ below Athena facing r. wearing helmet with neck-guard; to l., caduceus. SNG Guk 2282
And sometimes you may think the dated side is the obverse, but as this photo shows, the undated side is the obverse (photo courtesy Coin Page): http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-3675.html Clinker
That's not always true, but it can be. Even with our modern coinage, the reverse was often the hammer die. Same was true with older coinage as well.
Wish I had stayed tuned in last night... Thanks to all, Especially raider34 - His original answer is more what I was looking for: Quote: Alignment refers to the relative positioning of the obverse and reverse designs of a coin or medal. Historically, until the last few centuries, most coins were issued with the sides rotated 180 degrees (ie. the reverse is upside down to the obverse). This is known as Coin Alignment or Coin Rotation and continues to be observed by some coin issuing nations such as the United States of America. However, most countries in recent times now align obverse and reverse at 0 (or 360) degrees. This is known as Medal Alignment or Medal Rotation. See also the entry for upset error coins. The rest of you went off on some tangent about obverse and reverse - but hey, that's ok - nice to see everyone jumping in. And once again, I learn something. Does anyone know of other countries that use "Coin Alignment or Rotation" All I got, Mike
No problem, but like Green said, disregard the last bit of info about U.S Commems having the medal rotation, I was confusing them with medals .
