Decus Et Tutamen? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 3 / Views: 4,667
Cud Wild Valued Member United States 302 Posts	Posted 03/17/2011 09:46 am I found a 1 pound coin from 1983 with Queen Elizabeth. On the rim it says Decus Et Tutamen. Whats that mean? * Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. * Report this Post to the Staff

scurry64 Pillar of the Community United States 900 Posts	Posted 03/17/2011 10:47 am "An ornament and a safeguard" Report this Post to the Staff
Peter THOMAS Pillar of the Community Australia 2830 Posts	Posted 03/17/2011 6:17 pm it's a traditional description of the sovereign, in Latin. The same appeared on the Crown coins of 1820, and I don't-know-how-much-earlier. Peter in Oz Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16898 Posts	Posted 03/17/2011 9:05 pm I've moved this thread to the British coin section for you. "Decus et tutamen" first appeared on English coins abck at the beginning of machine-struck or "milled" coinage, but only on silver coins - gold coins such as the sovereign had milled edges. It appeared on the edge of the silver crowns (a large silver-dolar-sized coin) until the end of the reign of Queen Victoria. If you're wondering what "ornament and a safeguard" refers to, it's referring to itself. An edge inscription on a coin is both "ornamental" (or decorative), and a "safeguard" against clipping and counterfeiting. Given the preponderance of fake £1 coins in Britain these days, the "safeguard" aspect is somewhat redundant. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
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