The term penny comes from penig , an Old English word that can be translated as “coin.” The concept refers, precisely, to a currency of Great Britain .
In ancient times , the penny was equivalent to one- twelfth of a shilling . Shillings were used until 1970 and were then replaced by pounds sterling .
Currently a penny is equivalent to one hundredth of a pound . In other words: a pound can be divided into a hundred pence . The notion is used to refer to both the fraction of a pound and the currency that represents said value ( 0.01 pounds ).
Suppose a certain product has a price of 4 pounds . That figure could be expressed as 400 pence . Therefore, saying that something is worth £4 is the same as stating that it is worth 400p .
To refer to an amount less than one pound, the suffix p is used. 1p is 1p, 3p is 3p, 50p is 50p, etc.
As for the currency, today it is minted with copper and tempered steel . Until 1992 , however, it was made from bronze , combining copper, zinc and tin. The decision to change materials was linked to the increase in the price of metals.
The penny, which has smooth edges, weighs 3.56 grams. Its thickness is 1.65 millimeters, while its diameter reaches 20.3 mm.
It is worth mentioning that the Royal Mint is the mint in charge of producing pennies. The circulation of these coins is legal in the United Kingdom , in Crown dependencies such as the Isle of Man and in British overseas territories such as Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands .
Outside the monetary sphere, and even in the United Kingdom, the term penny is used as a proper name to refer to a series of dolls created in 1990 in Spain, by the company Jesmar. The Penique dolls were launched on the market a year later and today they represent one of those relics that many people treasure since their childhood.
Although it is usually mentioned as a " doll ", Penique can be a boy or a girl; The problem is related to our language, since we associate the term "doll" with other types of products, whether smaller or stuffed and with animal shapes.
Penique's face is especially chubby, which gives him a very friendly appearance . His nose is small, his lips are very thick and his smile is marked by the inevitable lines that form his prominent cheeks. To all this we must add his characteristic freckles, his eyelashes and his eyebrows, which border his eyes without sclera, that is, without white part.
The oldest model of Penique was about 70 centimeters tall and had a soft body. They were advertised as products to emotionally support their future owners; However, its popularity occurred in part due to its large size and flexibility.
Jesmar did not take long to create new Penique models due to the resounding success it had in the market. For example, he launched one 20 centimeters lower and with the body articulated thanks to a wire skeleton. A Penny was also marketed whose feet could be adjusted to those of the child to "dance with him." In 1993, Pequenique, the smallest of all, went on sale: it was 35 centimeters tall.
The Peniques' clothing was very varied: when looking at the collectors' catalogs we found an endless number of models, characterized by the liveliness of colors typical of the late eighties and early nineties. There are sporty, formal Pennies, dressed as sailors, with onesies, hats and dresses, among many other options.