Some paper money looked pretty neat also - especially the "Educational Series" of 1896:
I always thought the winged Mercury dime was a beautiful coin and liked the reverse, but it’s funny I never looked at the reverse that closely. Interesting story about the reverse at the link you provided. Thanks.
The beautiful, classical inspired coins of the late 1800s and early 1900s were just perfection. Then it all went into the toilet with the obverse of the Roosevelt dime, putting the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the Wheat Sheaf penny, and removing silver from coins. The cupronickel-nickel clang sound is still harsh to my ears compared the the beautiful sound of a pocket full of real silver.
It doesn’t matter much anymore. With the currency debased 15X sincerely my childhood, coins are pointless now and hardly worth keeping. I keep a roll of quarters in the car console for meters and the occasional newspaper, but that is it. 90% or more of my spending is via plastic or Apple Pay now.
The non-front side of a coin (et. al) is referred to as the obverse.
Some paper money looked pretty neat also - especially the "Educational Series" of 1896: