Which Side of a Coin is the Obverse When Theres no Portrait?
It’s easy to tell obverse from reverse on coins that have a portrait. But how do you know which side is which without the telltale “head”? Before the invention of the modern coin press, the obverse was always the side of the coin struck with the anvil die, which was almost always the portrait. (The anvil die was the one on the “table”, so to speak, contrasted with the “hammer die” which was the side that the striking hammer actually hit.) Most modern coin presses don’t have “anvil” and “hammer” dies anymore, plus many coins are minted without any portrait on them at all in nations around the world. So how do you know which side is the obverse? This article has some tips. Comments are closed for this post. See All Posts
