Penny is the name of various coins that are used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries. The U.S. penny is a cent. For many years, there were 240 British pence (pennies) in a pound. But in 1971, the United Kingdom switched to a decimal money system in which 100 pence equal a pound. The penny was stamped with a cross until about 1500, during the reign of Henry VII. The coin could easily be broken into four equal parts and was used in halves as a halfpenny << HAY puh nee >> and in fourths as a farthing. The old penny was abbreviated d, but today’s penny is abbreviated p. See also Denarius.
