Besides United States of America, what words are found on every U.S. coin?

If you look closely at the change in your pocket, you'll notice two inscriptions that have been a constant presence on American coinage since its earliest days. The first, LIBERTY, is a direct reflection of the nation's core values and was mandated by the very first Coinage Act of 1792. This law required that an "impression emblematic of liberty" appear on every coin, a tradition that has continued uninterrupted.

The second inscription is the Latin phrase E PLURIBUS UNUM, which translates to "Out of many, one." This phrase was adopted from the Great Seal of the United States and symbolizes the union of the original thirteen colonies into a single, unified nation. It served as the de facto motto of the country for centuries and has appeared on U.S. coins since the late 1700s.

Many people might think "In God We Trust" is also on every coin, but that phrase wasn't widely adopted until the Civil War era. It only became mandatory on all U.S. currency in 1955. Because it is absent from all early American coins, only LIBERTY and E PLURIBUS UNUM hold the distinction of being the truly universal inscriptions.