As the sides of coins are called, not everyone knows

Not everyone knows the history of the coin,few know how it acquired its name. And if you ask about how the sides of coins are called, you will answer without hesitation: an eagle, a tailspit. The very word "coin" has a divine origin - it was an epithet to the name of the wife of Jupiter - Juno (Juno Moneta). In her honor in ancient Rome on the Capitol Hill built a temple, next to which in the III century BC began to mint money. These round metal products and began to call coins.

It is unlikely that in those days thought about howare called sides of coins. It is worth noting that Juno was not only the patroness of women, a defender of marriage and a mentor, but also a goddess of exchange. Coins were minted from a mixture of silver and gold. This alloy was called electrum. And only when the weight of metal and its quality began to be certified by the state through a stamp, the coin acquired the status of universal means of payment.

The "exchange" (or canon) coin was made if less valuable metals were used for its production - a mixture of low-grade silver, nickel, and copper.

Two sides of the coin

Many people do not know how they are calledsides of coins. The people are still rooted definitions of "eagle" and "tails". And there is some conviction that the more successful party is the eagle. In fact, any encyclopaedia, dictionary or reference book of the coin collector will give you a different definition of the sides of the coin, referring again to mythology, in particular to the two-faced god Janus.

It should be noted that the primacy of this or thatThe sides of the coin are very controversial, since the signs of this are not quite obvious, as are the implicit differences in the significance of the two faces of the god Janus. On this account there are still disputes. Nevertheless, history places its accents, and today the name of the main side of the coin (the same applies to the coin) is the obverse. Facial it becomes in the case when it is represented by a sign like a seal, which guarantees the authenticity of the coin. This may be the emblem, the emblem of the state. For example, modern Russian coins (on their obverse) depict a two-headed eagle - the emblem of the Bank of Russia. The reverse side of the coin is the reverse. The flat sides of the coin were never the same, nor was there any image on either 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. Along the edge of the coin, the inscription about the state belonging to the state or indicating the title and name of the ruler was rounded. The obverse of today's coin of Russia is that side of it with an image of the emblem and the inscription "The Bank of Russia". On the reverse of the Russian currency, its denomination is stamped. The only difference between the jubilee Russian coin is that its reverse contains its target image.

Third side

We must not forget that the coin has one moreside, the third is the cylindrical surface of its edge. In the old days, this surface was cut down, reducing the value of the coin (committing a kind of embezzlement). With the development of technology on this narrow side - the third side of the coin, which is called the "core", began to be imaged. On the edge of valuable coins the inscription was pressed, and on the edge of less valuable coins an elementary pattern was applied.

In the modern world, unique coins are issuedwith precious stones, fragments of meteorites falling to the earth, with folding sun clocks and "rising" Egyptian pyramids, with calendars, glowing light 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 coins are called, but also that there are more than two of them, and each of them plays a role.