Why Does The U.S. Mint Call It A "Penny?"

I know a lot of people here get worked up when the Lincoln cent is called a "penny", and I don't understand why. But thats what the U.S. Mint calls them on their own web site. See for yourself:

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/circulatingCoins/index.cfm?action=CircPenny

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/circulatingCoins/index.cfm

 

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This is something that has bothered me for a while. Our smallest denomination coin is a "cent", not a "penny". A penny is England's equivalent coin.

What I remember reading about the Mint's change in nomenclature was the Mint decided to call the coin what it is commonly called instead of its correct name to reduce confusion among the masses. Kind of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em".

 

Everyone knows what you mean when you use either term, so it's no big deal. But cent is the correct terminology and people enjoy pointing it out to folks who aren't aware of it. I think it's part of human nature to enjoy showing-off. It would be wrong to use penny in writing a numismatic article, but penny is just fine for everyday use. Compare it to the world of science where practically everything has a technical name and a common name.

 

Kind of like how everyone calls the five cent coin a nickel or the ten cent coin (disme)a dime, both of which aren't the technical proper names.
Guy~

 

People get worked up about it because that's not the legal name for the coin. "Penny" is more of a pet name for the cent. That would be like calling a child "princess" as a pet name, when her real name is Susan. If people started going around calling your girl "Princess", you would get quite upset, wouldn't you? Since you have a close relationship with her, you would want people to refer to her by her proper name, not her pet name. Well, people who know and use the name "cent" usually have devoted a lot of time and effort in studying her So to hear people nonchalantly referring to her as "penny" is an atrocity...especially when that's her cousin's name!

But, realistically now, the mint article you refer to calls the cent a cent eight different times. yet, the term "penny" is only used five times, including the title. And one of those times, they point out that the coin is *commonly* called "penny" while the coin itself says "Cent". The way I prefer to look at it is the mint uses the words "cent" and "penny" interchangeably, pointing out that "Cent" is what is actually on the coin, to get people used to the term "cent" (since it is used more frequently in the article) as opposed to "penny".

But, then again, we're talking about the U.S. Mint here...you never know with those people.

 

I am guilty as charged regarding the nickel but the dime has been called a dime (or disme in the earliest years) since day one. In fact, the designation "ONE DIME" has been used since the Seated Liberty series began in 1837.

 

NICK66, go to your local bank and ask for $10 of "cents," the teller is going to look at you like you just immigrated to this country. And then, when you get them, if they're String rolls, notice, they say "PENNIES!" No wonder nobody knows what cents are. :headbang:

 

Does it say Penny on it anywhere? Yes, I call five cent pieces nickels and Cents pennies in common parlance because most people wouldn't understand it any other way.

It boils down to slang in the long run I suppose but one would think the U.S. Mint might use the word Cent. Oh wait, Government in action. Doesn't have to make "sense".

 

I can imagine some Doctor's forum on the Internet.

Probably just last night, a doctor reports the following:

"Ha! I had a patient in yesterday that called a boil a wart!!! Well, I sent him on a series of skin tests. Hopefully after a few hundred dollars, he will realize how STUPID he is...."

 

There is no official governing body on the English language. What determines what is and is not proper grammar boils down to conventional consensus. I can guarantee you that nobody in this country would have any confusion as to what you mean when you use the word "penny." By conventional usage, the term is correct. The word "penny" means what it does because of the way people use it, and in this country people use it as a word that means a coin worth 1/100 of a dollar. It is no more or less correct to call a coin worth 1/100 of a US dollar a "penny" than it is to call it a "cent," based on conventional usage.

Interestingly enough although in Britain a "penny" used to be worth 1/240 of a pound, since 1971 when the decimalized the currency, it is worth 1/100 of a pound. I suppose they could call it a "cent" there if they so desired and be just as accurate. However I doubt the conventional usage is any liklier to change there than it is here.

It's really a silly thing to get worked up about. If the vast majority of people insist on calling it a penny, guess what, that's what it is. Words mean what they do because of a consensus to use the words that way. Look up the word "penny" in a dictionary and I guarantee at least one of the definitions will be "a US coin worth 1/100 of a dollar, or 1 cent." Deal with it.

 

I have been around construction (commercial and residential) for the past 35 years. Probably the most misused term in construction is "cement". Cement (aka Portland Cement) is an ingredient of concrete. (The other ingredients are course aggregate (gravel), fine aggregate (sand), and water.) However, most people use the term "cement" when they mean "concrete".

Examples: "We are gonna pour cement this afternoon." "My cement driveway has cracked." "This house has a cement foundation." "This wall is made of cement block."

Does this common misusage of the word "cement" when talking about concrete make it right? No, it does not. I know what people mean when they use the word "cement" when they mean concrete but that does not make their poor word choice correct.

Sometimes, when a person who should know better calls concrete 'cement' I say, "Cement is an ingredient of concrete. You don't call bread "flour", do you?"

We all know what people mean when they use the word "penny" in the US. Our cent coin has been called a "penny" ever since it was first minted. But its official name is the 'Cent'.

Our first cent was the Large Cent. Its size and composition was similar to the English Penny so people started calling it a 'penny'. The name stuck. Even Sheldon titled his book on Large Cents "Penny Whimsy". But the correct term for our (now) smallest denomination coin is 'cent'.

Like the Nazis said, "Repeat a lie often enough and the people will believe it." Misuse a word often enough and people will believe it is correct.

Now excuse me while I go shovel snow off my concrete driveway and concrete sidewalks.

 

Hobo:
Thanks for the comments, now I just have to remember " concrete not cement" I have to repeat that three thousnad times and prehaps I will remember it.

Also, in the same vein. Your living room has a sofa. A couch is in a psychotherapist's office.

As for the mint? They hire the cheapest labor. And non-coin collectors write their ads. Another thought, they are also idiots.

 

And if I recall a "nickel" used to refer to a 3-cent piece until around, what, 1866? Just another interesting tidbit...

 

Two bits anyone!
Does it really matter a cent is called a penny or a 5 cent piece a nickel? everyone knows what is meant and that is all that matters?
Next time someone asks you if you have a nickel ask in reply 3 cent or 5 cent nickel or if a half dime will do!

 

Right on ! :thumb:

Much ado about nothing. Why get carried away ? Everyone knows what a penny is, and everyone know what a nickel is.

 

At one time, wasn't "penny" a measure of weight ? Hence the term 10 penny nail, which weighed 10 pennyweight.

 

The problem here is this is America. Not England, not Russia, not Africa nor the Artic. This is America and we do not speak English, we speak American. Actually we speak United Statian to be more accurate. Our language is made up of numerous terms, pharases and words from other languages and we occationally make up our own words. Even if we spell a word wrong and enough peope follow it is now the accepted spelling. And that is because this is AMERICA and we can say and do as we want. In our monitary system we also have 2bits, saw buck, fiver, ten spot, c-note, etc. I don't think any of these are in the Numismatic Dictionary yet almost everyone knows and uses them. I've had, collected, saved PENNIES for well over 60 years. Everyone I know says PENNIES. If anything, a cent will eventually be a PENNY regardless of the MINORITY that want to say CENTS. I AIN'T going to change my term for the PENNY now.
Here is something to think about: Songs that we have listened to for many years.
PENNIES from HEAVEN - Bing Crosby
PENNY LOVER - Lionel Richie
PENNY FOR A THOUGHT- Saul Williams
PENNY ON THE FLOOR - The Clarks
PENNY LANE - The Beatles ( of course they are English )
PENNY SERENADE - ???????
And in that famous song by the Beach Boys Giddy Up 409 they say "Well I save my PENNIES and I saved my dimes........."
So for your stuck on CENTS people, try replacing PENNIES in those songs with CENTS.
As I said, this is AMERICA.

 

I live in Texas, so I speak the strangest language anyone has ever heard.

Yep. Terms like "giddy up" !

 

for the same reason everyone calls the other thing a nickel

because almost all use the term. Get over it.

 

jplease note that it says DIME on the back of the coin. If it says it's a dime on the coin, then it's the correct technical term.