Coins of The Pound Sterling - Titles

Titles

From a very early date, British coins have been inscribed with the name of the ruler of the kingdom in which they were produced, and a longer or shorter title, always in Latin; among the earliest distinctive English coins are the silver pennies of Offa of Mercia, which were inscribed with the legend "King Offa". As the legends became longer, words in the inscriptions were often abbreviated so that they could fit on the coin; identical legends have often been abbreviated in different ways depending upon the size and decoration of the coin. Inscriptions which go around the edge of the coin generally have started at the center of the top edge and proceeded in a clockwise direction. A very lengthy legend would be continued on the reverse side of the coin.

More recent legends include the following, in unabbreviated form:

• "Henry VII by the Grace of God, King of England and France". France had been claimed by the English continuously since 1369.

• "Henry VIII by the Grace of God, King of England and France". The Arabic numeral 8 was also used instead of the Roman VIII.

• "Henry VIII by the Grace of God, Of England, France and Ireland, King". Henry VIII made Ireland a kingdom in 1541. The Arabic numeral 8 was also used instead of the Roman VIII.

• "Philip and Mary by the Grace of God, King and Queen". The names of the realms were omitted from the coin for reasons of space.

• "Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland, Queen".

• "James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King". James, King of Scotland, by succeeding to the English throne united the two kingdoms in his person; he dubbed the combination of the two kingdoms "Great Britain" (the name of the whole island) though they remained legislatively distinct for more than a century afterwards.

• "Charles, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King".

• "Oliver, by the Grace of God, of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland etc., Protector". Cromwell ruled as a monarch but did not claim the title of king.

• "Charles II, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King".

• "James II, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King".

• "William and Mary by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King and Queen". The spouses William and Mary ruled jointly.

• "William III by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King". William continued to rule alone after his wife's death.

• "Anne by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Queen".

• "George by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, of Brunswick and Lüneburg Duke, of the Holy Roman Empire Archtreasurer and Elector." George I added the titles he already possessed as Elector of Hanover. He also added the title "Defender of the Faith", which had been borne by the English kings since Henry VIII, but which had previously only rarely appeared on coins.

• "George II by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, of Brunswick and Lüneburg Duke, of the Holy Roman Empire Archtreasurer and Elector."

• "George III by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, of Brunswick and Lüneburg Duke, of the Holy Roman Empire Archtreasurer and Elector."

• "George III, by the Grace of God, of the Britons King, Defender of the Faith." By the Acts of Union 1800, Ireland was united with Great Britain into a single kingdom, which is represented on the coinage by the genitive of the Latin Britanniarum "Britains" (often abbreviated ), signifying "The United Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland". At the same time the United Kingdom abandoned the traditional claim to the throne of France, which had become a Republic, and the other titles were dropped from the coinage.

• "George IV, by the Grace of God, of the Britains King, Defender of the Faith." The Roman numeral "4" is represented by both IIII and IV in different issues.

• "William IV, by the Grace of God, of the Britains King, Defender of the Faith."

• "Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith."

• "Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India." Queen Victoria was granted the title "Empress of India" in 1876.

• "Edward VII, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India." Edward VII's coins added "all" after "Britains" to imply a rule over the British overseas colonies as well as the United Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

• "George V, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India."

• "George VI, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India."

• "George VI, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith." The title "Emperor of India" was abandoned in 1948, after the independence of India and Pakistan.

• "Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith."

• "Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith." The "of all the Britains" was dropped from the coinage in 1954, and current coins do not name any realm.