Monogram

two or more letters combined into a single character or device. It is usually a combination of the initials of a name used as a device for a seal, trade-mark, engraving on a piece of plate or a letterhead. The Romans stamped their coins not infrequently with a monogram. The monkish copiers of manuscripts were expert in devising and executing monograms as decorative head-pieces, etc. The correspondence of medieval diplomats was held lacking in taste unless decorated with monograms. The cutting of monograms, seals, and signet rings was almost an art in itself.