Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
Former denomination of sterling coinage / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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. The penny was originally minted in silver, but from the late 18th century it was minted in copper, and then after 1860 in bronze.
United Kingdom | |
| Value | £0.00416 1d |
|---|---|
| Mass | (Bronze) 9.4 g |
| Diameter | (Bronze) 31 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Composition | |
| Years of minting | 1707–1970 |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | Profile of the monarch (Elizabeth II design shown) |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | Britannia (crowned letter I on earlier mintages) |
| Designer | Leonard Charles Wyon |
| Design date | 1936 |
The plural of "penny" is "pence" when referring to an amount of money, and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins.[1] Thus 8d is eight pence, but "eight pennies" means specifically eight individual penny coins.
Before Decimal Day in 1971, sterling used the Carolingian monetary system (£sd), under which the largest unit was a pound (£) divisible into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d).
The penny was withdrawn in 1971 due to decimalisation, and replaced (in effect) by the decimal half new penny, with +1⁄2p being worth 1.2d.