A coin's die rotation is the orientation of the obverse vs. the reverse. Typical coins in Canada use the "medal" arrangement where if you hold a coin with your fingers at the top and bottom and then rotate the coin between your fingers to see the other side, it will be oriented properly. Coins from the United States use the "coinage" arrangement whereby the same action would result in the other side being upside down.

Another way of thinking of this is to hold a coin up to a mirror with the side facing you oriented straight up and down. If the image in the mirror is upside down, it is "coinage" alignment. If it appears right-side up, then it is the normal, Canadian "medal" alignment.

For the purposes of this cataloguing system, die rotation will be determined by orienting the reverse side normally, then flipping the coin along its vertical axis to see the obverse side. The angle of rotation is then measured with 0° being perfect medal alignment (ie. the obverse is perfectly oriented with no rotation). The angle increases in a clockwise direction until returning to perfect orientation.

Die rotations of 345°-360° and 0°-15° are very common on Camel Toe toonies and need not be called out when assigning a BWJM Number.

When assigning a BWJM Number for a coin with rotated dies, use "RD" followed by the three-digit rotation angle, using a leading zero if necessary. (Eg: "RD045" or "RD270")

Examples