Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A space on the reverse of a coin or medal, usually below the central design and often giving the date and place of engraving.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In numismatics, that part of the reverse of a coin or medal which is below the main device (“type”), and distinctly separated from it, generally by a line. The exergue is either left plain or is tilled by an inscription, symbol, or numeral, which is then described as being “in the exergue,” or (as commonly abbreviated) “in ex.” See cut under
numismatics .
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Numis.) The small space beneath the base line of a subject engraved on a coin or medal. It usually contains the date, place, engraver's name, etc., or other subsidiary matter.
Etymologies
- French : Greek ex-, ex- + Greek ergon, work. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Toward the edge of the field are disposed the titles of his various works, as though radiating from the head, and in the exergue is his signature, framed by a half-garland over which extends a mace.”
“Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. 75. 33. exergues: the exergue is a term in numismatics to signify the space under the principal figure on the reverse of a coin, usually containing the date or place of coining.”
“Just enough of the exergue beneath the E C in FIVE CENTS to confirm that no mintmark is present.”
Unusual Items: 1913 Buffalo Nickel Struck on a Dime Planchet : Coin Collecting News
“Squeezed in at the lower left were the British Isles, and in the exergue beyond was the inscription she had been cleaning.”
“Round her is inscribed NIL INTENTATUM NOSTRI LIQUERE: and on the exergue, AUSPICIIS GEORGII III.”
Narrative of the Voyages Round The World, Performed by Captain James Cook
“The one antiquated, rude, corroded, and begrimed in its long conflict with time, and the other bright and vivid, its field and exergue unmarred, its emblems and legends clear and sharp.”
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No. 6, December 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy
“A description of the medal, beginning with the obverse: 1st, the whole legend; 2d, the description of the emblems and devices; 3d, the legend of the exergue; 4th, the names of the designer and of the engraver.”
The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876
“The legend of the exergue of this medal, as originally proposed by the”
The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876
“At the suggestion of Mr. Jefferson, Minister of the United States of America, the exergue of the medal formerly composed for”
The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876
“On the reverse, Victory treading under her feet broken arms, with the legend and the exergue, and”
The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘exergue’.
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phrontistery - e
from phrontistery.info
eagre, earing, earwig, easement, eau-de-nil, ebberman, ebeneous, ?boulement, ebriection, ?brillade, ebrious, ebullioscope and 616 more...
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250 Spelling Words
A selected sampling of words for intermediate and advanced spellers.
orecchiette, rhabdomancy, guayabera, orthoepy, opisthenar, maguey, proem, ciabatta, cioppino, banns, concinnity, asthenia and 237 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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fancy essay words
hiatus, ontology, exegesis, hermeneutics, dialectics, demiurge, ascertain, contention, eschatological, synecdoche, centripetal, centrifugal and 96 more...
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It's a date!
date, date palm, dating, save the date, it's a date, radiocarbon dating, uranium-thorium d..., rubidium-strontiu..., date night, date of birth, dateline, double date and 65 more...
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It Has a Name??
Yes. Yes it does.
aglet, armsaye, scroop, rowel, ferrule, rasceta, chanking, philtrum, frenulum, keeper, agelast, punt and 285 more...
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epeolatrist's list
epeolatry, syzygy, sphallolalia, lucubration, lugubrious, cacology, mellifluous, tmesis, synecdoche, anathema, eschatological, razbliuto and 349 more...
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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What David Foster Wallace circled in ...
ablative, ablaut, abulia, acephalous, ACTH, adit, adumbrate, agrapha, ailanthus, aleatory, alfresco, algolagnia and 474 more...
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Minty Fresh
Terms used in coin collecting.
die, hallmarking, high relief, obverse, reverse, alloy, pantograph, planchet, proof, strike, riddle, bag marks and 93 more...
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What David Foster Wallace Circled in ...
http://www.slate.com/id/2250784/
ablative absolute, ablaut, abulia, acephalous, ACTH, adit, adumbrate, agrapha, aleatory, ailanthus, alfresco, algolagnia and 482 more...
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bloodworm's list
These are words that I enjoy because they are unique, rare, long, or just cool.
circumlocution, hysteresis, schadenfreude, quixotic, loquacious, ennui, sesquipedalian, defenestrate, obfuscate, syzygy, ubiquitous, superfluous and 231 more...
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working words
erg, ergative, ergometer, energy, ergonomics, exergue, synergism, synergid, liturgy, exoergic, exergonic, urge and 30 more...
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teleologos
words of completeness: words of design relating to purpose
claw, raceme, belemnite, fugue, daedal, convert, etiology, semiotics, sgraffito, intent, outtent, stringcourse and 20 more...
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Word List 2
I don't want to have a list that's too large. So i'll make two
coccyx, memorandum, crepuscule, oodles, ambiance, starchy, condemnation, triskaidekaphobia, wreak, grotto, emanate, annul and 38 more...
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space
plenum, exergue, ramage, berth, lacuna, swath, hollow, gap, expanse, between, margin, spandrel and 88 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for exergue.

fbharjo place for date?? Mar 22, 2012
sionnach Circled in David Foster Wallace's dictionary:
DFW Mar 12, 2010
reesetee A space on a coin, usually on the reverse below the central part of the design; frequently the location where the date is shown. (Thank you, frindley.) Apr 18, 2008