Editing Coins of the pound sterling (section)

===Regal titles===
[[File:1937 George VI penny.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A 1937 George VI penny]]

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 {{sc2|OFFA REX}} "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 centre of the top edge and proceeded in a clockwise direction. A very lengthy legend would be continued on the reverse side of the coin. All monarchs used Latinised names, save Edward III and Edward VI,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.psdetecting.com/Inscriptions-EdwardVI-&-MaryI.html | title=Hammered Coin Inscriptions and Their Meanings, Edward VI & Mary I }}</ref> both Elizabeths, and Charles III (which would have been EDWARDUS, ELIZABETHA, and CAROLUS respectively).
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{| class="wikitable"
|+ Examples of coinage legends
! Latin text !! English text !! Notes
|-
|{{sc2|EDWARD DEI GRA REX ANGL [[Tironian notes|Z]] FRANC D HYB(E)}} || [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], by the grace of God King of England and France, [[Lord of Ireland]] ||
|-
|{{sc2|EDWARD DEI GRA REX ANGL DNS HYB Z ACQ}} || [[Edward III of England|Edward]], by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland and [[Duchy of Aquitaine|Aquitaine]] || Used after the [[Treaty of Brétigny]] (1360) when Edward III temporarily gave up [[English claims to the French throne|his claim to the French throne]].
|-
|{{sc2|EDWARD DEI G REX ANG Z FRA DNS HYB Z ACT}} || [[Edward III of England|Edward]], by the grace of God King of England and France, Lord of Ireland and Aquitaine. || Used after Anglo-French relations broke down and Edward III resumed his claim.
|-
|{{sc2|HENRICUS VII DEI GRATIA REX ANGLIÆ & FRANCIÆ}} || [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] by the Grace of God, King of England and France || France had been claimed by the English continuously since 1369.
|-
|{{sc2|HENRICUS VIII DEI GRATIA REX ANGLIÆ & FRANCIÆ}} || [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] by the Grace of God, King of England and France || The Arabic numeral 8 was also used instead of the Roman VIII.
|-
|{{sc2|HENRICUS VIII DEI GRATIA ANGLIÆ FRANCIÆ & HIBERNIÆ REX}} || [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] by the Grace of God, Of England, France and Ireland, King || Used after Henry VIII made Ireland a kingdom in 1541. The Arabic numeral 8 was also used instead of the Roman VIII.
|-
|{{sc2|PHILIPPUS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA REX & REGINA}} || [[Philip II of Spain|Philip]] and [[Mary I of England|Mary]] by the Grace of God, King and Queen || The names of the realms were omitted from the coin for reasons of space.
|-
|{{sc2|ELIZABETH DEI GRATIA ANGLIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REGINA}} || [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth]], by the Grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland, Queen ||
|-
|{{sc2|IACOBUS DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX}} || [[James I of England|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.
|-
|{{sc2|CAROLUS DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX}} || [[Charles I of England|Charles]], by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King ||
|-
|{{sc2|OLIVARIUS DEI GRATIA REIPUBLICÆ ANGLIÆ SCOTIÆ HIBERNIÆ & CETERORUM PROTECTOR}} || [[Oliver Cromwell|Oliver]], by the Grace of God, of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, Ireland etc., Protector || Cromwell ruled as a monarch but did not claim the title of king.
|-
|{{sc2|CAROLUS II DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX}} || [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King ||
|-
|{{sc2|IACOBUS II DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX}} || [[James II of England|James II]], by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King ||
|-
|{{sc2|GULIELMUS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX ET REGINA}} || [[William III of England|William]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary]] by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King and Queen || The spouses William and Mary ruled jointly.
|-
|{{sc2|GULIELMUS III DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX}} || [[William III of England|William III]] by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King || William continued to rule alone after his wife's death.
|-
|{{sc2|ANNA DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REGINA}} || [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne]] by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Queen ||
|-
|{{sc2|GEORGIUS DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX FIDEI DEFENSOR BRUNSVICENSIS ET LUNEBURGENSIS DUX SACRI ROMANI IMPERII ARCHITHESAURARIUS ET ELECTOR}} || [[George I of Great Britain|George]] by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, of [[Brunswick-Lüneburg|Brunswick and Lüneburg]] Duke, of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] Archtreasurer and [[Prince-elector|Elector]] || George I added the titles he already possessed as Elector of [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]]. He also added the title "[[Fidei defensor|Defender of the Faith]]", which had been borne by the English kings since [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]], but which had previously only rarely appeared on coins.
|-
|{{sc2|GEORGIUS II DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX FIDEI DEFENSOR BRUNSVICENSIS ET LUNEBURGENSIS DUX SACRI ROMANI IMPERII ARCHITHESAURARIUS ET ELECTOR}} || [[George II of Great Britain|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 ||
|-
|{{sc2|GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA MAGNÆ BRITANNIÆ FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REX FIDEI DEFENSOR BRUNSVICENSIS ET LUNEBURGENSIS DUX SACRI ROMANI IMPERII ARCHITHESAURARIUS ET ELECTOR}} || [[George III of the United Kingdom|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 ||
|-
|{{sc2|GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR}} || George III, by the Grace of God, of the Britains King, Defender of the Faith || The [[Acts of Union 1800|Acts of Union]] united Great Britain and Ireland into a single kingdom, represented on the coinage by the Latin genitive plural ''Britanniarum'' ("of the Britains", often abbreviated {{sc2|BRITT}}). At the same time, the claim to the throne of France was dropped and other titles were omitted from the coinage.
|-
|{{sc2|GEORGIUS IIII (IV) DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR}} || [[George IV of the United Kingdom|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.
|-
|{{sc2|GULIELMUS IIII DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR}} || [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]], by the Grace of God, of the Britains King, Defender of the Faith ||
|-
|{{sc2|VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR}} || [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Victoria]], by the Grace of God, of the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith ||
|-
|{{sc2|VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR INDIÆ IMPERATRIX}} || [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Victoria]], by the Grace of God, of the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith, [[Emperor of India|Empress of India]] || Queen Victoria was granted the title "Empress of India" in 1876.
|-
|{{sc2|EDWARDUS VII DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR INDIÆ IMPERATOR}} || [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Edward VII]], by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India || Edward VII's coins added {{sc2|OMNIUM}} ("all") after "Britains" to imply a rule over the British overseas colonies as well as the United Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
|-
|{{sc2|GEORGIUS V DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR INDIÆ IMPERATOR}} || [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]], by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India ||
|-
|{{sc2|EDWARDUS VIII DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR INDIÆ IMPERATOR}} || [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|Edward VIII]], by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India || Although Edward VIII abdicated, his coins never properly entered circulation but it can be assumed his coins had these words.
|-
|{{sc2|GEORGIUS VI DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR INDIÆ IMPERATOR}} || [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]], by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India ||
|-
|{{sc2|GEORGIUS VI DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR}} || [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]], by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith || The title "Emperor of India" was relinquished in 1948, after the independence of India and Pakistan.
|-
|{{sc2|ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39873/supplement/3023 | title=Page 3023 &#124; Supplement 39873, 26 May 1953 &#124; London Gazette &#124; the Gazette }}</ref> || [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]], by the Grace of God, of all the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith ||
|-
|{{sc2|ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39873/supplement/3023 | title=Page 3023 &#124; Supplement 39873, 26 May 1953 &#124; London Gazette &#124; the Gazette }}</ref> || [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|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.
|-
|{{sc2|CHARLES III DEI GRATIA REX FIDEI DEFENSOR}}<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63073983 | title=King Charles: New coins featuring monarch's portrait unveiled | work=BBC News | date=29 September 2022 }}</ref>|| [[Charles III]], by the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith || 
|}