E Pluribus Unum included in the Seal of the United States being one of the nation's mottos at the time of the seal's creation

E pluribus unum (pronounced /i plrbs unm/; Latin e plurbs un) Latin for "Out of many one" is a dictum on the Seal of the United States along with Annuit cptis and Novus ordo seclorum and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782.1 The phrase is similar to a Latin translation of a variation of Heraclitus' 10th fragment "Out of all things one one out of all things." A variant of the phrase was used in Moretum a poem attributed to Virgil but with the actual author unknown. In the poem text color est e pluribus unus describes the blending of colors into one. St Augustine used a variant of the phrase ex pluribus unum in his Confessions. At the time of the American Revolution the exact phrase appeared prominently on the title page of a popular periodical The Gentleman's Magazine234 which collected articles from many sources into one "magazine". The motto was suggested in 1776 to the committee responsible for the developing the seal by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere.

Never codified by law E pluribus unum was considered a de facto motto of the United States until 1956 when the United States Congress passed an act (H.J. Resolution 396) adopting In God We Trust as the official motto.5 The first coins with this motto were dated 1786 and struck under the authorization of the State of New Jersey by Thomas Goadsby and Albion Cox in Rahway New Jersey.6 The motto had no New Jersey linkage but was likely an available die that had been created by Walter Mould the previous year for a failed federal coinage proposal.7 Walter Mould was also authorized by New Jersey to strike state coppers with this motto and did so beginning in early 1787 in Morristown New Jersey.

While Annuit cptis and Novus ordo seclorum appear on the reverse side of the great seal E pluribus unum appears on the obverse side of the seal (Designed by Charles Thomson) the image of which is used as the national emblem of the United States and appears on official documents such as passports. It also appears on the seal of the President and in the seals of the Vice President of the United States of the United States Congress of the United States House of Representatives of the United States Senate and on the seal of the United States Supreme Court.

E pluribus unum written in capital letters is included on most U.S. currency with some exceptions to the letter spacing (such as the reverse of the dime). It is also embossed on the edge of the dollar coin. (See United States coinage and paper bills in circulation).

Originally suggesting that out of many colonies or states emerge a single nation in recent years it has come to suggest that out of many peoples races religions and ancestries has emerged a single people and nation illustrating the concept of the melting pot.8 Contents 1 Usage on coins 2 E pluribus unum 13 letters 3 Other usages 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Usage on coins

According to the U.S. Treasury the motto E pluribus unum was first used on U.S. coinage in 1795 when the reverse of the half-eagle ($5 gold) coin presented the main features of the Great Seal of the United States. E pluribus unum is inscribed on the Great Seal's scroll. The motto was added to certain silver coins in 1798 and soon appeared on all of the coins made out of precious metals (gold and silver). In 1834 it was dropped from most of the gold coins to mark the change in the standard fineness of the coins. In 1837 it was dropped from the silver coins marking the era of the Revised Mint Code. An Act of February 12 1873 made the inscription a requirement of law upon the coins of the United States. E pluribus unum appears on all coins currently being manufactured including the Presidential dollars that started being produced in 2007 where it is inscribed on the edge along with "In God We Trust" and the year and mint mark. After the Revolution Rahway New Jersey became the home of the first national mint to create a coin bearing the inscription E pluribus unum.

In a quality control error in early 2007 the Philadelphia Mint issued some one-dollar coins without E pluribus unum or "In God We Trust" on the rim; these coins have already become collectibles.

The 2009 2010 and the new 2011 penny features a new design on the back which displays the phrase "E Pluribus unum" in larger letters than in previous years.9 E pluribus unum 13 letters This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (June 2011) This section contains information which may be of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article's subject matter. Please help improve this article by clarifying or removing superfluous information. (June 2011)

Symbolically the phrase E pluribus unum has 13 letters (as does Annuit coeptis). This example of gematria (isopsephy) then represents the 13 colonies becoming the United States. The back of the US 2010 penny features E pluribus unum and a shield with 13 vertical stripes. The Great Seal also features 13 leaves on the Olive branches 13 olives 13 arrows and 13 stars. The back of the US dollar includes these 13 letters among 13 symbolic references to the number 13.10 Other usages E pluribus unum included in the Stadium main entrance. The motto E pluribus unum is also used by the Portuguese football team Sport Lisboa e Benfica since February 28 1908. This motto is also used by the Scoutspataljon since 1918. That is a professional infantry battalion of the Estonian Defence Forces. See also Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Unity in diversity References "E Pluribus Unum - Origin and Meaning of the Motto Carried by the American Eagle". Greatseal.com. 2010-07-04. http://www.greatseal.com/mottoes/unum.html. Retrieved 2011-05-08.  "The Gentleman's Magazine". Encyclopedia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/229387/The-Gentlemans-Magazine.  The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle. 1783. http://books.google.ca/booksidVEgDAAAAMAAJ&pgPR4&lpgPR4&dq%22The+Gentleman's+Magazine%22+%22e+pluribus%22&sourcebl&otsmrsV1SRFuJ&sigdDakia6CteWUb34DygMmr0dtNQ&hlen&eiwBf-S7GuBsH68AaimN3BDQ&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum5&ved0CCkQ6AEwBDgK#vonepage&q%22The%20Gentleman's%20Magazine%22%20%22e%20pluribus%22&ffalse.  "The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle". 1747. http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/ilej/image1.plitempage&seq4&size1&idgm.1747.x.x.17.x.x.u102.  "Congressional Record". Nonbeliever.org. http://www.nonbeliever.org/images/CR102-13917.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-08.  Q. David Bowers. Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins. (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing 2009) p. 129 Walter Breen. Complete Encyclopedia of US and Colonial Coins. (New York: FCI Press; Doubleday 1998) p. 78 "E Pluribus Unum". TIME magazine. June 7 1976. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0917194773900.html. Retrieved 2008-10-09.  "e pluribus unum". www.treasury.gov. http://www.treasury.gov/about/budget-performance/strategic-plan/Pages/dlinks.aspx. Retrieved 2011-04-29.  The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill by David Ovason (Harper Collins 2004) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: E pluribus unum Symbols of the United States Origin and Meaning of the Motto v d eUnited States currency and coinage Topics Federal Reserve System  Federal Reserve Note  U.S. dollar  U.S. Mint  Bureau of Engraving and Printing   Mutilated currency Current coinage Penny (1)  Nickel (5)  Dime (10)  Quarter (25)  Half dollar (50)  Dollar ($1) Bullion coinage America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins  American Buffalo  American Gold Eagle  American Platinum Eagle  American Silver Eagle Paper money $1  $2  $5  $10  $20  $50  $100  Larger denominations See also Bicentennial coinage  Commemoratives  Early Commemoratives  Modern Commemoratives   Confederate dollar  Fake denominations  Obsolete denominations  Mill  Coin production  In God We Trust  E pluribus unum  Nicknames