This article contains a list of flags for which the reverse (back ) is different from the obverse (front ). It includes current as well as historic flags of both nations and national subdivisions such as provinces, states, territories, cities and other administrations (including a few that are not recognized by the United Nations or whose sovereignty is in dispute). When the flag is that of a nation, the Subdivision column is blank ( — ).
The list below does not include flags for which the reverse side is congruent (identical ) nor is it a mirror image of the obverse side (horizontally flipped ). Flag sides are usually mirror copy to satisfy manufacturing constraints. Identical flags are much less common and contain an element for which a simple mirror image would be problematic, such as text (e.g. The Flag of Saudi Arabia includes the shahada, an Islamic creed) or a geographic feature (e.g. The Flag of the United Nations included an Azimuthal equidistant projection of the earth). Flags having a truly different designs on both their sides (two-sided ) differ from the norm. The only UN-recognized nation whose present-day flag officially contains a unique image on each side is Paraguay.
Not all impression of two-sided flags are de facto two-sided because of practical manufacturing constraints or, judging from how often it was disregarded in practice, some formal concern of heraldic nature. As such it may very well be prescribed legally from the very beginning and ever ignored in practice by institutions of every type.
Many of those flags are reconstructions based on various degree of evidence.
We have very little information on ancient Moldavian and Wallachian flags. For Moldavia the most important symbol has always been the wild ox head, which is still to be found on the flag of the new Moldavian republic. In early times the red prevailed on other colours: on standards, the wild ox head appeared on the recto, while the verso represented St. George killing the dragon. It seems that this standard was adopted by Bogdan I and maintained by Stephan the Great and successors. In the following century (XIX) the blue was added. According to an 1813 document, under prince Scarlat Calimachi the princely standard was red, yellow and blue on the recto (without any symbol), while on the verso was St George riding a horse on a blue field. Another document, dated 1814, again reports a red standard. Michael II Sutu (1819-21) had a blue flag with the wild ox head on the recto and red with St George the verso. The two Moldavian flags above from the XV-XVI c. are in Bucharest museum.
Names in italics indicate non-sovereign (dependent) territories, disputed states and/or former countries.
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A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging. Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin vexillum, meaning "flag" or "banner".
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A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours and symbols, which may also be used separately from the flag as a symbol of the nation. The design of a national flag is sometimes altered after the occurrence of important historical events. The burning or destruction of a national flag is a greatly symbolic act.
The Great Seal is a principal national symbol of the United States. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The obverse of the Great Seal depicts the national coat of arms of the United States while the reverse features an unfinished pyramid topped by an Eye of Providence. The year of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776, is noted in Roman numerals at the base of the pyramid. The seal contains three Latin phrases: E Pluribus Unum, Annuit cœptis, and Novus ordo seclorum.
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The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or simply the Soviet flag, was a red banner with two communist symbols displayed in the canton: a gold hammer and sickle topped off by a gold five-point star. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from several sources, but emerged during the Russian Revolution. It has also come to serve as the standard symbol representing communism as a whole, recognized as such in international circles, even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
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) is different from the obverse (front 
). It includes current as well as historic flags of both nations and national subdivisions such as provinces, states, territories, cities and other administrations (including a few that are not recognized by the United Nations or whose sovereignty is in dispute). When the flag is that of a nation, the Subdivision column is blank ( — ). 
) nor is it a mirror image of the obverse side (horizontally flipped 
). Flag sides are usually mirror copy to satisfy manufacturing constraints. Identical flags are much less common and contain an element for which a simple mirror image would be problematic, such as text (e.g. The Flag of Saudi Arabia includes the shahada, an Islamic creed) or a geographic feature (e.g. The Flag of the United Nations included an Azimuthal equidistant projection of the earth). Flags having a truly different designs on both their sides (two-sided 
) differ from the norm. The only UN-recognized nation whose present-day flag officially contains a unique image on each side is Paraguay. 
