Description

An 1919 Penny, the Penny and in particular the pre-decimal penny (1d) was a coin worth 1/240 of a British pound sterling, or one twelfth of a shilling. Its symbol was the d, from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling. The penny was originally minted in silver, but from the late 18th century it was minted in copper, and then after 1860 in bronze.

The plural of “penny” is “pennies” or “pence” when referring to an amount of money, and “pennies” when referring to a number of coins. Thus 7d is seven pence, but “seven pennies” means specifically seven individual penny coins.

Before Decimal Day in 1971 twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound, hence 240 pence in one pound. Values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, e.g. 44 pence would be three shillings and eightpence or 3/8, pronounced “three and eight” or “three and eightpence”. Values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence, e.g. eight pence would be 8d, and conventionally written out as one word, “fourpence”, “sixpence”, etc. This version of the penny was made obsolete in 1971 by decimalisation, and was replaced by the decimal penny, worth 2.4 old pence. 1919 Penny.