Not everyone knows the history of the coin, few know how it got its name. And if you ask about what the sides of the coins are called, they will answer you without hesitation: heads, tails. The very word "coin" has a divine origin - it was an epithet for the name of the wife of Jupiter - Juno (Juno Moneta). In her honor, a temple was erected on Capitol Hill in Ancient Rome , next to which money was minted in the 3rd century BC. These round metal products began to be called coins.
It is unlikely that in those days they thought about how the sides of the coins are called. It is worth noting that Juno was not only the patroness of women, the protector of marriage and the mentor, but also the goddess of exchange.
Coins were minted from a mixture of silver and gold. This alloy was called "electrum". And only when the weight of the metal and its quality began to be verified by the state through a stamp, the coin acquired the status of a universal means of payment.
A “bargaining" (or can) coin became if less valuable metals were used to make it - a mixture of low-grade silver, nickel, and copper.
Two sides of a coin
Many people do not know what the sides of the coins are called. To this day, the definitions of “heads” and “tails” are rooted in the people. Moreover, there is some conviction that the eagle is the more successful side. In fact, any encyclopedia, dictionary or reference book of numismatists will provide you with a different definition of the sides of the coin, again referring to mythology, in particular to the two-faced god Janus.
It should be noted that the paramount importance of one or another side of the coin is very controversial, since the signs of this are not entirely obvious, as are the implicit differences in the significance of the two faces of the god Janus. Disputes are still going on in this regard. Nevertheless, history places its emphasis, and today the name of the main side of the coin (the same applies to the coin) is obverse. It becomes a face if it displays a sign like a seal, which guarantees the authenticity of the coin. It can be a coat of arms, an emblem of the state. For example, modern Russian coins (on their obverse) depict a double-headed eagle - the emblem of the Bank of Russia. The flip side of the coin is reverse. The flat sides of the coin were never the same, nor was it observed that any image was missing on one side. On the front side, according to a long tradition, the image of the ruler was applied. At the present time, as a rule, an image is applied that is characteristic of a particular state. Around the edge of the coin, a circular inscription began to be applied on the nationality or indicating the title and name of the ruler. The obverse of today's coin of Russia is its side on which is depicted the coat of arms and the inscription "Bank of Russia". The reverse of the Russian banknote is marked with its face value. The difference between the jubilee Russian coin is only in that its reverse contains its target image.
The third side
We must not forget that the coin has one more side, the third is the cylindrical surface of its edge. In antiquity, this surface was sawn off, reducing the value of a coin (making a kind of theft). With the development of technology, images began to be applied to this narrow facet - the third side of the coin, which is called the "edge". An inscription was pressed on the edge of valuable coins, and an elementary pattern was applied on the edge of less valuable coins .
In the modern world, unique coins are produced with precious stones, with fragments of meteorites falling to the ground, with hinged sundials and “rising” Egyptian pyramids, with calendars, luminous bulbs (when you click on a coin) and even in the form of men's jewelry - cufflinks, watches. Now we know not only how the sides of the coins are called, but also that there are more than two of them, and each of them plays a role.