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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 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.
The penny is the lowest value coin (in real terms) ever to circulate in the United Kingdom. The penny was originally minted from bronze, but since 1992 has been minted in copper-plated steel due to increasing copper prices. There are an estimated 10.5 billion 1p coins in circulation as of 2016, with a total face value of around £105,000,000.
The penny, formally known as the cent, is a coin in the United States representing one-hundredth of a dollar.It has been the lowest face-value physical unit of U.S. currency since the abolition of the half-cent in 1857 (the abstract mill, which has never been minted, equal to a tenth of a cent, continues to see limited use in the fields of taxation and finance).
The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1 ⁄ 240 of one pound or 1 ⁄ 12 of one shilling.Its symbol was d, from the Roman denarius.It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling.
A United States one-cent coin, also known as a penny. The cent is a monetary unit of many national currencies that equals a hundredth (1 ⁄ 100) of the basic monetary unit. The word derives from the Latin centum, 'hundred'. The cent sign is commonly a simple minuscule (lower case) letter c.
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The penny is inscribed GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA [g] and the date, while the reverse shows a right-facing seated Britannia with a shield and trident, inscribed BRITANNIAR REX FID DEF. [h] The penny at this time weighed 18.8 grams and had a diameter of 34 millimetres, the same as Boulton's 1806–1807 pennies. [18]