Penny (British decimal coin)
| United Kingdom | |
| Value | 0.01 pound sterling |
|---|---|
| Mass | 3.56 g |
| Diameter | 20.3 mm |
| Thickness | (Bronze) 1.52 mm (Steel) 1.65 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Composition | Bronze (1971–1991) Copper-plated steel (1992–) |
| Years of minting | 1971–present |
| Obverse | |
 |
|
| Design | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Designer | Jody Clark |
| Design date | 2015 |
| Reverse | |
 |
|
| Design | Segment of the Royal Shield |
| Designer | Matthew Dent |
| Design date | 2008 |
The British decimal one penny (1p) coin, usually simply known as a penny, is a unit of currency equaling one one-hundredth of a pound sterling. The penny’s symbol is p. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s introduction in 1971, the year British currency was decimalised. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used on the coin, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015. The second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008.
The correct plural form for multiple 1p coins is pennies (e.g. fifty pennies). The correct term for monetary amounts of pennies greater than 1p is pence (e.g. one pound and twenty pence).
One penny and two pence coins are legal tender only up to the sum of 20p; this means that it is permissible to refuse payment of sums greater than this amount in 1p and 2p coins in order to settle a debt.
The penny was originally minted from bronze, but since 1992 it has been minted in copper-plated steel due to the increasing price of metal. Soaring copper prices in the mid-2000s caused the value of the copper in the pre-1992 coins (which are 97% copper) to exceed the coins' face value. For example, in May 2006, the intrinsic metal value of a pre-1992 1p coin was about 1.5 pence. During 2008, the value of copper fell dramatically from these peaks.
As of 31 March 2014 there were an estimated 11,278 million 1p coins in circulation, with an estimated total face value of £112.787 million.
The penny is the lowest value coin in circulation in the United Kingdom. The purchasing power of previous lowest-value coins is:
The original reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, and used from 1971 to 2008, is a crowned portcullis with chains (an adaptation of the Badge of Henry VII which is now the Badge of the Palace of Westminster), with the numeral "1" written below the portcullis, and either NEW PENNY (1971–1981) or ONE PENNY (1982–2008) above the portcullis.
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