Penny

or PENyY, in commerce, an ancient English coin, which had formerly considerable course; but till lately had dwindied into an imaginary money, or money of account. Camden derives the word from the Latin pecunia, money.. The ancient English penny, penig, or pening, was the first silver coin struck in Eng- Jand; nay, the only one current among our Saxon ancestors; as is agreed by Camden, Spelman, Dr. Hicks, .. ‘Fhe penny was equal in weight to our threepence: five of them made one shilling, or scilling Saxon; 30 a mark or mancuse,. equal to our 7s. 6d. Till the time of king Edward I. the penny was struck with a cro , so deeply indented in it, that it might be easily broke, and parted, on occasion, into two parts, thence called halfpennies; or into four, thence called four things, or farthings. But that prince coined it without indenture; in lieu of which he first struck round halfpence and farthings. He also reduced the weight of the penny to a standard; ordering that it should weigh 32 grains of wheat, taken out of the middle of the ear. This penny was called the penny sterling.—Twenty of these pence were to weigh an ounce; whence the penny became a weight as well as acoin. See STERLING and Penny-_ WEIGHT. The modern penny, containing the twelfth part of a shilling, or the 240th part of a pound, is a copper coin of rather variable weight, but not much le than an ounce.