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 NameReverseObverseDetails
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1902 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1902 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1902 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 1,331,131
United Kingdom Shilling 1902 United Kingdom / Shilling 1902 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1902 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 7,905,604
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1903 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1903 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1903 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 274,840
United Kingdom Shilling 1903 United Kingdom / Shilling 1903 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1903 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 2,061,823
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1904 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1904 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1904 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 709,652
United Kingdom Shilling 1904 United Kingdom / Shilling 1904 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1904 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 2,040,161
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1905 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1905 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1905 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 166,000
United Kingdom Shilling 1905 United Kingdom / Shilling 1905 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1905 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 488,390
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1906 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1906 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1906 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 2,886,206
United Kingdom Shilling 1906 United Kingdom / Shilling 1906 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1906 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 10,791,025
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1907 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1907 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1907 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 3,693,930
United Kingdom Shilling 1907 United Kingdom / Shilling 1907 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1907 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 14,083,418
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1908 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1908 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1908 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 1,758,889
United Kingdom Shilling 1908 United Kingdom / Shilling 1908 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1908 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 3,806,969
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1909 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1909 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1909 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 3,051,592
United Kingdom Shilling 1909 United Kingdom / Shilling 1909 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1909 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 5,664,982
United Kingdom Halfcrown 1910 United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1910 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Halfcrown 1910 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 2,557,685
United Kingdom Shilling 1910 United Kingdom / Shilling 1910 - reverse photo United Kingdom / Shilling 1910 - obverse photo Material: 0.925 Silver
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 26,547,236
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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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