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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ewomack, post: 2841059, member: 15588&quot;]Hm. The all-knowing, all seeing, beyond omniscient Wikipedia has this to say about the word &quot;Penny&quot; -</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;A <b>penny</b> is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin" rel="nofollow">coin</a> (pl. <b>pennies</b>) or a unit of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency" rel="nofollow">currency</a> (pl. <b>pence</b>) in various countries. Borrowed from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_Renaissance#Currency" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_Renaissance#Currency" rel="nofollow">Carolingian</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_denier" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_denier" rel="nofollow">denarius</a> (whence its former abbreviation <b>d.</b>), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is the formal name of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28British_decimal_coin%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28British_decimal_coin%29" rel="nofollow">British penny</a> (abbr. <b>p</b>) and the informal name of one <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28United_States_coin%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28United_States_coin%29" rel="nofollow">American</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cent_%28currency%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cent_%28currency%29" rel="nofollow">cent</a> (abbr. <b>¢</b>) as well as the informal Irish designation of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_cent_euro_coin" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_cent_euro_coin" rel="nofollow">1 cent euro coin</a> (abbr. <b>c</b>). It is the informal name of the cent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_of_account" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_of_account" rel="nofollow">unit of account</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada" rel="nofollow">Canada</a>, although <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28Canadian_coin%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28Canadian_coin%29" rel="nofollow">one cent coins</a> are no longer minted there.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#cite_note-1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#cite_note-1" rel="nofollow">[1]</a> The name is also used in reference to various historical currencies also derived from the Carolingian system, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_France" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_France" rel="nofollow">French</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denier_%28coin%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denier_%28coin%29" rel="nofollow">denier</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Germany" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Germany" rel="nofollow">German</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfennig" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfennig" rel="nofollow">pfennig</a>. It may also be informally used to refer to any similar smallest-denomination coin, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_cent" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_cent" rel="nofollow">euro cent</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRC" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRC" rel="nofollow">Chinese</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_fen" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_fen" rel="nofollow">fen</a>.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>and onwards:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;<i>Penny</i> is first attested in a 1394 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language" rel="nofollow">Scots</a> text,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#cite_note-3" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#cite_note-3" rel="nofollow">[n 1]</a> a variant of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English" rel="nofollow">Old English</a> <i>peni</i>, a development of numerous variations including <i>pennig</i>, <i>penning</i>, and <i>pending</i>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#cite_note-5" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#cite_note-5" rel="nofollow">[n 2]</a> The etymology of the term &quot;penny&quot; is uncertain, although cognates are common across almost all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languages" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languages" rel="nofollow">Germanic languages</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#cite_note-6" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#cite_note-6" rel="nofollow">[n 3]</a> and suggest a base *<i>pan-</i>, *<i>pann-</i>, or *<i>pand-</i> with the individualizing suffix <i>-ing</i>.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>and more:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Mint" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Mint" rel="nofollow">U.S. Mint</a>&#039;s official name for the coin is &quot;<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cent" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cent" rel="nofollow">cent</a>&quot;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28United_States_coin%29#cite_note-Specifications-1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28United_States_coin%29#cite_note-Specifications-1" rel="nofollow">[1]</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury" rel="nofollow">U.S. Treasury&#039;s</a> official name is &quot;one cent piece&quot;.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28United_States_coin%29#cite_note-Treasury-2" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28United_States_coin%29#cite_note-Treasury-2" rel="nofollow">[2]</a> The colloquial term <i>penny</i> derives from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28British_pre-decimal_coin%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28British_pre-decimal_coin%29" rel="nofollow">British coin of the same name</a>, the pre-decimal version of which had a similar place in the British system. In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English" rel="nofollow">American English</a>, <i>pennies</i> is the plural form. (The plural form <i>pence</i>—standard in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English" rel="nofollow">British English</a>—is not used in American English, except in reference to British currency.)&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>That last paragraph&#039;s first sentence is interesting given the Mint&#039;s overt use of &quot;penny&quot; in the literature cited. Ultimately, or at least on Wikipedia, the word seems a little buried in the nebulous past. If the word can mean &quot;the smallest denomination in a currency system&quot; then calling the US Cent a &quot;penny&quot; seems fine. And calling it a &quot;Cent,&quot; derived from Latin &quot;Centum&quot; or 100, seems perfectly accurate as well, referring to the fractional 1/100. So overall, is there really a problem, especially informally, referring to a Cent as either a &quot;penny&quot; or a &quot;cent?&quot; Is there anything definitive on the difference? I don&#039;t know, I&#039;m asking.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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