Examine individual changes

'{{Redirect|Pence}} {{About|the coin||}} [[File:New 1p 2008.jpg|225px|thumb|right|A modern penny from the [[United Kingdom]], equivalent to {{frac|100}} of the [[pound sterling]].]] [[File:2005-Penny-Uncirculated-Obverse-cropped.png|thumb|225px|A one-cent coin from the [[United States]], known colloquially as a 'penny'.]] [[Image:Pennies.jpg|thumb|225px|right|A variety of the low-value coins, including an (historical) [[Two pence (Irish decimal coin)|Irish 2 pence]] piece and many [[Cent (United States coin)|United States pennies]]]] [[Image:Silver1930penny.jpg|thumb|225px|right|A silver copy of the rare and valuable 1930 [[Penny (Australian)|Australian penny]]]] [[File:Eric Bloodaxe Norse king of York 952 954.jpg|thumb|225px|right|Coin of [[Eric Bloodaxe]]. The legend reads "ERIC REX" (King Eric).]] A '''penny''' is a [[coin]] (pl. '''pennies''') or a type of [[currency]] (pl. '''pence''') used in several [[English language|English]]-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system. ==Etymology== Old [[English language|English]] versions of the word penny are ''penig'', ''pening'', ''penning'' and ''pending''; the word appears in [[German language|German]] as ''Pfennig,'' in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]] (often shortened to ''peng'') as ''penning,'' and in [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] as ''peinje'' or ''penje''. In Swedish, [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], and [[Danish language|Danish]], the most common words for ''money'' are ''pengar'', ''penger'' and ''penge'' respectively. These words are thought by some to have common roots with the English word "[[pawn (law)|pawn]]", German {{lang|de|''Pfand''}}, and Dutch {{lang|nl|''pand''}}, words which mean "a pledge or token".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/penny |title=Dictionary.reference.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |date= |accessdate=2011-12-22}}</ref> ==Origin and history of development== The silver penny of medieval Europe was modeled on similar small silver coins from antiquity: the [[Greek drachma]] and [[As (Roman coin)|Roman Denarius]]. There are also archeology exhibitions that show traces of pennies in Sweden and Norway. Researchers believe that this might be the result of [[Viking]] influence in northern Europe.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}} When Britain was under Roman rule, most of Britain used the coin-based monetary system that was used by the Roman Empire, but their system of coinage soon changed after the Romans left. As the invading [[Anglo-Saxon]]s began to settle and establish their own kingdoms, some started to make gold coins based on the old Roman designs or designs copied from the coins used in the Frankish kingdoms. Their monetary system had several serious flaws: first, gold was so valuable, that even the smallest coins were very valuable, thus, these gold coins would only be used in large transactions. Further, gold was very rare, and this rarity prevented such coins from being common enough to use for even large transactions. Between the years 641 and 670 AD, there seems to have been a movement by the Anglo-Saxons to use less pure gold in coins. This made the coins appear paler, decreased their value, and may have increased the number that could be made, but it still did not solve the problems of value and scarcity of coins made mostly of gold. ===Sceattas=== Around the year 680 a new type of small silver coin appeared which some have identified as "[[sceattas]]" or "[[sceat]]". {{citation needed|date=December 2011}} Others suggest that sceatta was a specific measurement of a precious metal. ===First pennies{{anchor|Silver penny}}=== Through the end of the 7th century, no Anglo-Saxon coins had been minted in any metal besides gold. In [[Northumbria]], pennies made of silver were being minted in the name of [[Bishop]] [[Eadberht of Northumbria|Eadbert]] (consecrated between 772 and 782, died between 787 and 789), some in the name of his brother [[Archbishop]] [[Ecgbert (archbishop of York)|Egbert]] (the [[shilling]] is one of the oldest of English coins, preceding the penny).<ref>Medieval European Coinage: Volume 1, the Early Middle Ages</ref> [[Pepin the Short]], in about 735, minted the novus [[denarius]]. The novus denarius was based on the denarius and the penny was based on the novus denarius.<ref name="1911encyclopedia.org">{{1911|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Penny|title=Penny|inline=1}}</ref> He declared that 240 pennies or [[pfennig]]s should be minted from one [[Carolingian]] pound, approximately {{convert|326|g}}, of [[silver]], so a single coin contained about {{convert|1.36|g}} of silver. (As of December 2011, this would cost about £0.98). Circa 790 Charlemagne instituted a major monetary reform, introducing a new silver penny with a smaller diameter but greater mass. Surviving examples of this penny have an average mass of 1.70 gram (although some experts estimate the ideal theoretical mass at 1.76 gram). The purity is variously given as 0.95 or 0.96.<ref>Cipolla, Carlo M. [http://books.google.com/books?id=Z3zCJ_sN6K0C&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=charlemagne+coin+reform+gram&source=bl&ots=JvY08nLMme&sig=v0NWelUCU9Bs7yJSbEmzWWkLtew&hl=en&ei=BAzATp7IMYj9iQLi9bynAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false "Before the industrial revolution: European society and economy, 1000-1700"] 1993 p.129</ref><ref>Frassetto, Michael, [http://books.google.com/books?id=yW-GfElbafQC&pg=PA131&lpg=PA131&dq=silver+Carolingian+penny+1.7+grams&source=bl&ots=VYkxc8Vw1E&sig=JTFppcX1Eopc8kDo8esd3MAg2ik&hl=en&ei=eArATr7gEqHliALk1aScAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=silver%20Carolingian%20penny%201.7%20grams&f=false "Encyclopedia of barbarian Europe: society in transformation"] 2003 p. 131</ref><ref>National Bank of Belgium museum Home » News » [http://www.nbbmuseum.be/2006/11/islam.htm Islam and the Carolingian penny]</ref> The penny was introduced into England by King [[Offa]], the king of [[Mercia]] (from 757 until his death in July 796), using as a model a coin first struck by Pepin the Short. King Offa minted a penny made of silver which weighed 22{{frac|2}} [[Grain (unit)|grains]] or 240 pennies weighing one Saxon pound (or [[Tower pound]]—equal to 5,400 grains—as it was afterwards called), hence the term [[pennyweight]]. <blockquote>The coinage of Offa's lifetime falls essentially into two phases, one of the light pennies of medium flan comparable to those of the reign of Pepin and the first decades of that of Charlemagne in [[France]], and another of heavier pennies struck on larger flans that date from Offa's last years and correspond in size to Charlemagne's novus denarius introduced in 793/4. But the sceat fabric survived in [[East Anglia]] under [[Beonna]] and until the mid 9th century in Northumbria, while the new-style coinages were not merely those of Offa, but were stuck also by king of East Anglia, [[Kent]], and [[Wessex]], by two archbishops of [[Canterbury]], and even in the name of Offa's queen, [[Cynethryth]].<ref>Medieval European Coinage: Volume 1, the Early Middle Ages, page 277</ref></blockquote> [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] in 1257 minted a gold penny which had the value of twenty silver pence. The weight and value of the silver penny steadily declined from 1300 onwards. The penny, with a few exceptions, was the only coin issued in England until the introduction of the [[gold florin]] by [[Edward III]] in December of 1343. In 1527 the Tower pound of 5,400 grains was abolished and replaced by the Troy pound of 5,760 grains. [[Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin)|Halfpence]] and [[Farthing (British coin)|farthings]] became a regular part of the coinage at that time, money which was created by cutting pennies to halves and quarters for trade purposes, a practice said to have originated in the reign of [[Æthelred II]]. The last coinage of silver pence for general circulation was in the reign of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]. Since then silver pence have only been coined for issue as royal alms on [[Maundy Thursday]]s. ===First use of copper=== Pennies were made of copper in the [[United States of America]] as early as 1793 ([[Chain Cent]]).<ref>{{Cite document |url=http://www.usmint.gov/historianscorner/index.cfm?action=timeline |title=The United States Mint Historian's Corner |publisher=The United States Mint |postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> The penny that was brought to the [[Cape Colony]] (in what is now South Africa) was a large coin—41&nbsp;mm in diameter, 5&nbsp;mm thick and {{convert|2|oz|abbr=on}}. On it was [[Britannia]] with a [[trident]] in her hand. The English called this coin the [[History of the British penny (1714–1901)|Cartwheel penny]] due to its large size and raised rim,<ref>{{cite web|author=Severn Internet Services - www.severninternet.co.uk |url=http://www.bmagic.org.uk/objects/1969N780 |title=Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery Information Centre |publisher=BMAGiC |date= |accessdate=2011-12-22}}</ref> but the [[Cape Town|Capetonians]] (what citizens of Cape Town, South Africa call themselves) referred to it as the [[Devil]]'s Penny as they assumed that only the Devil used a trident.<ref name=samint>{{cite web |title=South African History of Coins |url=http://www.samint.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=66}}</ref> The coins were very unpopular due to their large weight and size.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.currencyhelp.net/british-cartwheel-penny.html |title=Currencyhelp.net |publisher=Currencyhelp.net |date= |accessdate=2011-12-22}}</ref> <blockquote>The first copper coins that Matthew Boulton minted for the British Government have become known as 'cartwheels', because of their large size and raised rims. His [[Soho Mint]] (created at his Soho Manufactury in 1788, in Handsworth, West Midlands, England) struck {{convert|500|short ton}} of these penny and two-penny pieces in 1797, and further issued copper coins for the Government in 1799, 1806, and 1807. All together the Mint produced over £600,000 worth of official English copper coinage, as well as separate copper coins for Ireland and the [[Isle of Man]].</blockquote> On 6 June 1825, [[Sir Charles Somerset]] issued a [[proclamation]] that only [[pound sterling|British Sterling]] would be [[legal tender]] in the Cape (South Africa colony). The new British coins (which were introduced in England in 1816), among them being the shilling, six-pence of silver, the penny, half-penny, and quarter-penny in copper, were introduced to the Cape. Later two-shilling, four-penny, and three-penny coins were added to the coinage. The size and [[denomination (currency)|denomination]] of the 1816 British coins, with the exception of the four-penny coins, were used in South Africa until 1960.<ref name=samint/> ===Use of bronze=== In 1860 in Britain bronze pennies were introduced in place of copper ones, though they were not entirely made of bronze; instead it was an alloy containing 95 parts of copper, 4 of tin, and 1 of zinc. The weight was also reduced: 1&nbsp;lb of bronze was coined into 48 pennies, versus 1&nbsp;lb of copper which was coined into 24 pennies.<ref name="1911encyclopedia.org"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treasurerealm.com/coinpapers/books/Montagu-Copper-Tin-and-Bronze-Coinage-of-England-1893/Victoria.html |title=TreasureRealm |publisher=TreasureRealm |date= |accessdate=2011-12-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kenelks.co.uk/coins/recoinage/recoinage.htm |title=Kenelks.co.uk |publisher=Kenelks.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2011-12-22}}</ref> ==Value== [[File:U.S pennies.jpg|thumb|[[Penny (United States coin)|U.S. pennies]]]] The '''penny''' is among the lowest denomination of coins in circulation. * {{frac|100}} of the British [[pound sterling]] (''see [[British one penny coin]]''), the [[Manx pound]], the former [[Irish pound]], the [[Gibraltar pound]], the [[Jersey Pound]], the [[Guernsey Pound]], the [[Saint Helena pound]], the [[Falkland Islands pound]], or a coin with that value: see [[History of the English penny]]. * {{frac|240}} of the British [[pound sterling]] or [[Irish pound]] before [[decimalisation]] on 15 February 1971, of the [[Pound Scots]] prior to 1707, and also the pre-[[decimalisation]] currencies of [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]] and [[South Africa]] ({{frac|12}} of the [[shilling]]), or a coin of that value. * A common colloquial name for the one-cent coin currently used in the [[United States]] and formerly used in [[Canada]]<ref> http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2012/05/04/mb-canada-last-penny-mint.html</ref>, worth {{frac|1|100}} of the [[dollar]]: see [[Penny (U.S. coin)]], [[Penny (Canadian coin)]]. In addition, variants of the word ''penny'', with which they share a common [[root (linguistics)|root]], are or were the names of certain units of currency in non-English-speaking countries: * A [[fening]] is {{frac|100}} of a [[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark]] * A [[Pfennig]] was {{frac|100}} of a [[German Mark]] and is sometimes still used by Germans as the name for the 1c coin of the [[Euro]] * A [[penni]] was {{frac|100}} of a [[Finnish markka]] In the United States and Canada, "penny" is normally used to refer to a "[[cent (currency)|cent]]." Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, the plural of "penny" is "pence" when referring to a quantity of money and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins.<ref>{{cite web |title=Penny |publisher=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/penny?view=uk}}</ref> Thus a coin worth five times as much as one penny is worth five pence, but "five pennies" means five coins, each of which is a penny. When dealing with British or Irish (pound) money, amounts of the decimal "new pence" less than £1 may be suffixed with "p", as in 2p, 5p, 26p, 72p. Pre-1971 amounts of less than 1/- (one shilling) were denoted with a "d" which derived from the term "[[denarius]]", as in 2d, 6d, 10d. Irish pound decimal coinage only used "p" to designate units (possibly as this sufficed for both the English word "pence", and Irish form "pingin"). {{Coin image box 2 singles |image_left=Image:Aethelred_obv2.jpg |image_right=Image:Aethelred_rev2.jpg |caption_left=[[Obverse and reverse|'''O:''']] Draped bust of Aethelred left. +ÆĐELRED REX ANGLOR |caption_right=[[Obverse and reverse|'''R:''']] Long cross. +EADǷOLD MO CÆNT |width_left=150 |width_right=150 |position=left |margin=4 |footer=[[Anglo-Saxon]] silver "Long Cross" penny of [[Aethelred II]], moneyer Eadwold, Canterbury, ''c.'' 997–1003. The cross made cutting the coin into half-pennies or [[Farthing (British coin)|farthings]] (quarter-pennies) easier. (Note spelling ''Eadƿold'' in inscription, using Anglo-Saxon letter [[wynn]] in place of modern ''w''.)}} ==Criticism== Handling and counting penny coins makes [[transaction costs]] that may be higher than a penny. It has been claimed that for [[micropayment]]s the mental arithmetic costs more than the penny. Australia and New Zealand now use 5¢ and 10¢, respectively, as their lowest denomination<ref>{{cite |http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=canada&articleID=2897480 |accessdate=2009-05-07}} {{Dead link|date=May 2009}}</ref>, with Canada set to follow suit as per the most recent Federal budget.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1153779--federal-budget-2012-pennies-to-be-withdrawn-from-circulation | ___location=Toronto | work=The Star | first=Joanna | last=Smith | title=Federal budget 2012: pennies to be withdrawn from circulation | date=2012-03-30}}</ref> Changes in the price of metal [[commodity]], combined with the continual debasement of paper currencies, causes the metal value of pennies to exceed their face value.<ref>{{cite |publisher=New York Times |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/01/us/around-the-nation-treasurer-says-zinc-penny-may-save-50-million-a-year.html |title=Around the Nation; Treasurer Says Zinc Penny May Save $50 Million a Year |date=1 April 1981 |accessdate=2009-05-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite |publisher=[[USA Today]] |first=Barbara |last=Hagenbaugh |url=http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-05-09-penny-usat_x.htm |title=Coins cost more to make than face value |date=10 May 2006 |accessdate=2009-05-07 }}</ref> Several nations have stopped minting equivalent value coins, and efforts have been made to end the routine use of pennies in several countries, including Canada and the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Mark |title=Ban The Penny |date=5 July 2002 |url=http://www.forbes.com/2002/07/05/0705penny.html |accessdate=2009-05-07 |work=Forbes}}</ref> In the UK, since 1992, one- and two-penny coins have been made from copper-plated steel (making them magnetic) instead of bronze. ==Idioms== To ''"spend a penny"'' in British idiom means to urinate. The etymology of the phrase is literal; some public toilets used to be coin-operated, with a pre-decimal penny being the charge levied. The first recorded charge of a penny for use of a toilet was at the [[The Great Exhibition]] of 1851. Eventually, around the same time as the introduction of [[Decimal Day|decimal coinage]], [[British Rail]] gradually introduced better public toilets with the name ''Superloo'' and the much higher charge of 6d (2{{frac|2}}p).<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/railways/ BBC Nation on Film - Rise and Fall of LNER] Mod Cons - Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding: "Spend a 6d in the superloo"</ref> Finding a penny is sometimes considered lucky and gives rise to the saying, "Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck." This may be a corruption of "See a pin and pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck" and similar verses, as quoted in The Frank C. Brown collection of [[North Carolina]] folklore and other places<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/mothergooseschim00philiala#page/26/mode/2up|title=Mother Goose's chimes, rhymes & melodies|date=1861?|publisher=H.B. Ashmead|accessdate=2009-11-14}}</ref>. It is also believed that one may get rid of bad luck by dropping a penny on the ground. The bad luck will go with the coin and be acquired by the next person to pick it up. ==List of pennies== * [[Penny (Australian)|Australian penny]] * [[Penny (British decimal coin)|British penny]] ** [[Penny (British pre-decimal coin)|British penny (pre-decimal)]] * [[Penny (Canadian coin)|Canadian penny]] * [[Penny (Irish decimal coin)|Irish penny]] ** [[Penny (Irish pre-decimal coin)|Irish penny (pre-decimal)]] * [[Penny (United States coin)|U.S. penny]] ==See also== * [[Coins of the pound sterling]] * [[Efforts to eliminate the penny in the United States]] * [[History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066)]] * [[Legal Tender Modernization Act]] * [[One cent (disambiguation)]] * [[Nail (fastener)#United States penny sizes|Penny sizes of nails]] * [[Pennyweight]] * [[Pfennig]] * [[Elongated coin|Smashed penny]] * [[Prutah]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.kokogiak.com/megapenny/default.asp The MegaPenny Project] - A visualisation of what exponential numbers of pennies would look like. * [http://www.ukcoinpics.co.uk/pen1.html Silver Pennies] - Pictures of English silver pennies from Anglo-Saxon times to the present. * [http://www.ukcoinpics.co.uk/pen2.html Copper Pennies] - Pictures of English copper pennies from 1797 to 1860. * [http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=4649 US Lincoln Penny] on the [[Mars|Planet Mars]] - [[Curiosity Rover]] (September 10, 2012). [[Category:Pennies| ]] [[Category:Coins]] [[Category:Luck]] <!--Interwiki--> [[be:Пені]] [[be-x-old:Пэні]] [[ca:Penic]] [[cs:Pence]] [[de:Penny (Münze)]] [[es:Penique]] [[eo:Penco]] [[fr:Penny]] [[fy:Penny]] [[ga:Pingin]] [[ko:페니]] [[it:Penny]] [[he:פני]] [[lt:Pensas]] [[hu:Penny]] [[nl:Penny (munt)]] [[ja:ペニー]] [[pl:Pens]] [[pt:Penny]] [[ru:Пенни]] [[nso:Penny]] [[simple:Penny]] [[sk:Penny]] [[fi:Penni]] [[sv:Penny]] [[ta:பென்னி]] [[th:เพนนี]] [[tr:Peni]] [[uk:Пенні]] [[vi:Penny]] [[yi:פעני]] [[zh:便士]]'