The term penny comes from penig, an old English word that can be translated as "currency" . The concept refers precisely to a currency from Britain .
In the antiquity , the penny was equivalent to the twelfth part of a shilling . Shillings were used until 1970 and then they were replaced by pounds sterling .
Currently a penny is equivalent to the hundredth of a pound . In other words: a pound can be divided into one hundred pence . The notion is used to allude so much to the fraction pound as to the currency which represents that value (0.01 pounds ).
Assume that a certain product has a price from 4 lbs . That figure could be expressed as 400 pence . Therefore, say something is worth 4 lbs It is the same as indicating that its value is 400 pence .
To refer to a quantity less than one pound, the suffix is used p . 1 p It's 1 penny, 3p it's 3 pence, 50p there are 50 pence, etc.
As for the currency, today it is minted with copper and tempered steel . Until 1992 , however, it was manufactured with bronze , combining copper, zinc and tin. The decision to change the materials was linked to the increase in the price of metals.
The penny, which has smooth edges, weighs 3.56 grams. Its thickness is 1.65 millimeters, while its diameter reaches 20.3 mm.
It is worth mentioning that the Royal mint It is the mint responsible for the production of pennies. The circulation of these currencies is legal in the United Kingdom , in dependencies of the Crown as the Isle of Man and in British overseas territory as Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands .
