Definition of "exergue" [ex•ergue]

• A space on the reverse of a coin or medal, usually below the central design and often giving the date and place of engraving. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "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."