Penny UK (Great Britain) Europe Coins: World Coins & Paper Money

After decimalization, its value is one one-hundredth of the British pound sterling. the former Irish pound, the Gibraltar pound, the Falkland Islands pound. Before decimalization, it was worth one two hundred and fortieth of a pound sterling or Irish pound. England and Ireland decimalized on February 15, 1971. The Scots led the way in 1707. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (1/12 of the shilling) also used the same pre-decimalization system.

 

The penny is also the name of the one cent coin in the US and Canada, which has always been worth 1/100 dollar. In the United States and Canada, "penny" is normally used to refer to the coin; the quantity of money is a "cent." Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, the plural of "penny" is "pence" when referring to a quantity of money and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins. The advent of the American and Canadian penny is relatively recent whereas the British penny as a unit of currency dates back well over a thousand years, and for most of that period the silver penny was the principal denomination in circulation.