The British decimal Penny (1p) coin was issued on 15 February1971, the day the British currency was decimalised; see Decimal Day. In practice it had been available from banks in bags of £1 for some weeks previously. The coin was initially minted from bronze, but since 1992 it has been minted in copper_plated steel. As this is less dense than bronze, post-1992 coins have been slightly thicker. The coin weighs 3.56 grams and has a diameter of 20.32 millimetres.
The reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, is a crowned portcullis with chains, the emblem of Parliament with the numeral "1" below the portcullis, and either NEW PENNY (1971–1981) or ONE PENNY (1982–present) above the portcullis.
During the history of the coin, three different obverses have been used so far – between 1971 and 1984 the head of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin was used, between 1985 and 1997 the head by Raphael Maklouf was used, and since 1998 one by Ian Rank_Broadley has been used. In all cases, the inscription used is ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. date.
The plural of "penny" is "pence" when referring to a quantity of money and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins.
Thus a coin worth five times as much as one penny is worth five pence, but it is not five pennies, since "five pennies" means five coins each of which is a penny.
A coin worth five times as much as a penny is worth "five cents".
While for the sixpence and larger silver coins an older bust of the king was used from 1743 onwards, the small silver coins continued to use a young portrait of him throughout his reign.
Pennies were minted in 1831, 1834, and 1837 (there is a report of a single example dated 1836, but this is regarded as semi-mythical).
Victorian penny, 1898The penny of Queen Victoria (1837–1901) is one of the most intricate denominations of British coinage, with most of the varieties emerging after the switch from copper to bronze coinage in 1860.
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