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The English penny (plural "pence"), originally a coin of 1.3 to 1.5 grams (0.042 to 0.048 troy ounces; 0.046 to 0.053 ounces) pure silver, was introduced c. 785 by King Offa of Mercia. These coins were similar in size and weight to the continental deniers of the period and to the Anglo-Saxon sceats which had preceded it.
Penny is first attested in a 1394 Scots text, [n 1] a variant of Old English peni, a development of numerous variations including pennig, penning, and pending. [n 2] The etymology of the term "penny" is uncertain, although cognates are common across almost all Germanic languages [n 3] and suggest a base *pan-, *pann-, or *pand-with the individualizing suffix -ing.
The Great Bullion Famine and the Great Slump of the mid-15th century resulted in another reduction in the English penny to 12 grains sterling silver (0.719 g fine silver) and the introduction of a new half-angel gold coin of 40 grains (2.578 g), worth 1 ⁄ 6 th pound or 40 pence. [46]
The weight of the English penny was fixed at 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 troy grains (about 1.46 grams) by Offa of Mercia, an 8th-century contemporary of Charlemagne; 240 pennies weighed 5,400 grains or a tower pound (different from the troy pound of 5,760 grains). The silver penny was the only coin minted for 500 years, from c. 780 to 1280.
The Flemish groat approximately matched the English penny c 1420-1480 and was divided into 24 mites. The latter was thus extended to mean 1 / 24 penny or 1 / 6 farthing even if not minted in Tudor England. [2] [3] Quarter farthing 1 / 16 d: £0.00026: 1839–1868. [coins 1] Third farthing 1 / 12 d: £0.0003472 ...
The British decimal one penny (1p) coin is a unit of currency and denomination of sterling coinage worth 1 ⁄ 100 of one pound. Its obverse featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin's introduction on 15 February 1971, the day British currency was decimalised , until her death on 8 September 2022 .
History of the English penny (1066–1154) History of the English penny (1154–1485) History of the English penny (1485–1603) History of the English penny (1603–1707) History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066)
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