By Dr. Jesse Kraft for the American Numismatic Society (ANS) ……
For most numismatic objects, the obverse and reverse are easy to recognize. Most of the time, the obverse of a coin carries the main elements of the piece, while the reverse may carry the seal of an issuing authority. The date of a modern coin is often on the obverse, while the denomination is generally on the reverse. If there is a bust of a historic individual, one would expect it to be on the obverse of a coin. Sometimes, these traits are legally defined, such as the Coinage Act of 1792 that declares one side of a coin to have “an impression emblematic of liberty,” the word LIBERTY, and the date; and an eagle and the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on the reverse of gold and silver coins, and the denomination on copper coinage (Fig. 1).
Sure, there are instances that defy the norm, but more often than not, the difference between one side and another of a numismatic object is obvious. Young coin collectors instinctively put Lincoln cents in their blue Whitman folders with the bust facing out, third-party graders encapsulate coins in a seemingly predefined way, and images of coins nearly always show the obverse on the left and the reverse on the right.
In the medallic arts, however, the obverse and reverse are sometimes a little more difficult to disambiguate. While the obverse and reverse of an award medal may be easy to distinguish–displaying the design of an event or association on the obverse and a blank space to engrave the recipient’s name on the reverse–a commemorative medal might contain grandiose designs or busts of individuals on both sides, making them indistinguishable from one another. This is especially true on art medals, where an artist has no set boundaries and is able to break from tradition. Without those clearly defined qualities that a coin has, the inherent sides of a medal can become blurred. Sometimes the front becomes the back, and the back becomes the front (Fig. 2).
The obverse and reverse of an art medal can even converge with one another and amalgamate in a way that completely negates the roles that obverse and reverse traditionally serve. Somebody holding a medal might have to turn it over and over again in order to “read” it, to understand not only what each side represents but what the medal as a whole is trying to communicate.
Several examples of this exist in the Society of Medalists (SOM) series, issued by the Medallic Art Co. (MACO) from 1930 through 1995. Each year, the SOM commissioned two artists to each produce an art medal. The result is a catalogue that traces the progression of medallic arts through the majority of the 20th century, often with sculptors producing their piece while at the top of their game. Artists often used their design in the Society of Medalists as an opportunity to converge the obverse and reverse of a medal, to allow the two to tell a story with one another, and force the design of one side to transpire only with the existence of the other – a seemingly very popular motif in the second half of the 1980s. The following medals blur these lines, converge the obverse and reverse, and create a singular work of art where the two sides are at play with one another—interacting rather than simply conversing (Figs. 3–7).
* * *
* * *