Information about legend: EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX

EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX (1902 - 1910)
LegendEDWARDVS VII DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Full textEDWARDVS VII DEI GRATIA BRITTANNIARUM OMNIUM REX
Translation

Translated from Latin: Edward the Seventh, by the Grace of God, King of all the Britains.

This legend was displayed on some British coinage (silver and half crowns only) between 1902 and 1910 during the reign of King Edward VII. It is not the full text - the rest of the legend, FID: DEF: IND: IMP: (Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India) is on the reverse of the coin.

By long-standing tradition, the legends of ruling British monarchs are rendered in Latin. On coinage, these are abbreviated because of the limited space available. Below, you can find a list of the individual coins that had it on their obverse.

The "BRITT OMN" part is sometimes translated as "of all the Britons" (people), similar to how earlier monarchs were styled kings "of the English"; however, this can only be said of a title like "BRIT REX" - King of the British - which implies "all the British".

In 1868, a book by C. W. Dilke popularised the phrase "Greater Britain" to mean Britain and all its colonies. This may have led to the proposal of the title "King of all Britains", in the last years of the 19th century, by the Earl of Rosebery. The Oxford English Dictionary provides two quotes:

1897 Earl of Rosebery in Daily News 5 July 4/5 : "`Regina Britanniarum' - the Queen of the Britains... She is sovereign, not of one or two, but of numberless Britains, all self-supporting."
1901 Westminster Gazette 11 Dec. 2/2: "Lord Rosebery has succeeded with his cry of "All the Britains", as the three letters "Omn" on the new coins are to testify... Our King henceforth is to be King of All the Britains."

This style may have been influenced by the Russian style of "Czar of all the Russias". It appeared on coins abbreviated as Britt. Omn.: the double T in Britt is a mark of plural, a common abbreviation on Roman coins.

EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX - (18) Coins
CountryCoin NameMintageEffigy
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1902 1,331,131 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1902 7,905,604 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1903 274,840 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1903 2,061,823 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1904 709,652 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1904 2,040,161 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1905 166,000 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1905 488,390 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1906 2,886,206 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1906 10,791,025 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1907 3,693,930 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1907 14,083,418 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1908 1,758,889 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1908 3,806,969 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1909 3,051,592 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1909 5,664,982 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1910 2,557,685 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
United Kingdom Shilling 1910 26,547,236 King Edward VII - Portrait by George William de Saulles (Bare Head)
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Royal Mint
Royal Mint
Legend: Details
Year From1902
Year To1910
PersonKing Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Legend: Photos
ImageDetails
: Photo 1902 Matt Proof Halfcrown
Copyright: JNCoins
Notes: Silver coin.
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