Pence

A penny is:

• a division of the British pound sterling or the Irish Pound (1971-2001), 100 pence = 1 pound
• a division of the British pound sterling or Irish Pound prior to February 15, 1971, and also the pre-decimalisation currencies of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings (240 pence) = 1 pound
• the common name for a one-cent piece in the United States and Canada (plural "pennies").

When dealing with British 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.

The plural of "penny" is "pence" when referring to a quantity of money and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins. Thus a coin worth five times as much as one penny is worth five pence, but it is not five pennies, since "five pennies" means five coins each of which is a penny. In the USA, "penny" is normally used only to refer to the coin; the quantity of money is a "cent". A coin worth five times as much as a penny (a nickel) is worth "five cents".

See also:

• 1943 Steel Penny
• History of the English penny coin, AD 785-1971
• United States coinage

Referenced By