Penny Pubblico Deposited
(plural, Pennies and Pence). An English coin, the twelfth part of a Shil- ling. It succeeded the Denarius or Denier of the Anglo-Saxons since the eighth century and from this circumstance probably retained the abbreviation D or d.
Off a, King of Mercia (757-796) is the first king to whom any silver Pennies can be attributed with certainty; and from this time this coin remained the basis until the introduction of the Groat and half Groat by Edward III. The type is almost uniformly with a portrait on one side and a long or short cross with pellets in the angles on the reverse.
In 1257 Henry III struck a gold Penny, which was first valued at twenty silver Pennies and later at twenty-four; it weighed forty-five and one quarter grains. This piece, says Ruding, was properly a Ryal, and the first of the sort coined in Europe: the petit Ryal of Philip le Bel being much in imitation of it, and he was the first King of France who coined Ry- als. See Jaku.
The silver Pennies struck for Ireland frequently have the bust of the King in a triangle ; those for Scotland were called Sterlings (q.v.).
Thirds of Pennies are mentioned in the laws of Aelfred (872-901), and the half Pennies of Edward the Confessor may be actually thirds of Pennies, as they weigh from seven to nine grains.
The earliest specimen of an English cop- per Penny is one dated 1601, which was evidently intended for a pattern. The ob- verse has a bust portrait of Elizabeth with the words tiik.plkixik.op. On the re- verse is the royal monogram crowned, with the date and the inscription a.pknny. The half Penny is not, dated; it has the royal monogram on one side and a rose crowned on the other.
Montagu's work cites the long series of copper Pennies and half Pence which sub- sequently appeared, and the reader is re- ferred to this book.
For many of the British colonies and possessions Pennies and half Pence were also struck, and for Southern Nigeria Pen- nies in nickel and one tenth Pennies in aluminium were issued, both perforated. See Pfennig.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)