Penny (British pre-decimal coin)

For the historic penny of England, see Penny (English coin). For the British penny in current usage, see Penny (British decimal coin). For silver pennies produced after 1820, see Maundy money.

One Old Penny United Kingdom Value 1 Penny Mass  9.4 g Diameter  31 mm Edge Plain Composition Bronze Years of minting 1860–1970 Catalog number - Obverse Design Queen Elizabeth II Designer Mary Gillick Design date 1953 Reverse Design Britannia This article is part of the History of the English penny series. The Anglo-Saxons (c. 600 – 1066) Early Normans and the Anarchy (1066–1154) Plantagenets (1154–1485) Tudors (1485–1603) Stuarts and Commonwealth (1603–1707) Hanoverians (1714–1901) 20th Century (1901–1970) Decimal Day, 1971 Post-decimalisation (1971–present) v · d · e

The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day.

Twelve pence made one shilling; the penny was therefore  ¹⁄₂₄₀ of a pound. To express an amount, penny was abbreviated to "d", e.g. 1d, from the Roman denarius.

History

Main articles: History of the British penny (1714–1901) and History of the British penny (1901–1970)

The coin's predecessor, the English silver penny, weighed 24 grains of sterling silver in 1279. Over the centuries that weight had declined to 12 grains and lower.

British silver pennies were minted until about 1750, then occasionally until about 1820; thereafter, they were only minted for Maundy money.

From 1797, pennies for general circulation were minted in copper and were extremely heavy.

Miscellaneous

Pre-decimal penny coins continue to be used to adjust the timing of the pendulum of the clock in the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster, commonly known as "Big Ben".

In the United States, other than the known uses in numismatics, British Pennies are also used in coin magic, because they are at contrast with the just slightly smaller US half dollar (the half dollar is 30.61 mm in diameter compared to the 31 mm in British Pennies), with their copper sheen compared to the silver in half dollars. Indeed, many routines involve a copper-silver transposition, in which a British Penny and a half dollar change places.

See also: British coinage

Pennies by period

• The Anglo-Saxons (c. 600–1066)
• The Early Normans and the Anarchy (1066–1154)
• The Plantagenets (1154–1485)
• The Tudors (1485–1603)
• The Stuarts and the Commonwealth (1603–1714)
• The Hanoverians (1714–1901)
• The Twentieth Century Penny (1901–1970)
• Decimal Day, 1971
• Post-decimalisation (1971–present)

Media

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  Comparison between Elizabeth II's and Victoria's pennies. The dark toning of the Victoria penny is normal for older circulated coins

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  A 1936 George V penny

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  A 1937 George VI penny. Note the change in design of the reverse with the addition of the lighthouse and with the shield square and not angled

References

• Coincraft's Standard Catalogue English & UK Coins 1066 to Date, Richard Lobel, Coincraft. ISBN 0-9526228-8-2