A penny is a coin (pl. pennies) or a type of currency (pl. pence) used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.
Etymology
Old English versions of the word penny are penig, pening, penning and pending; the word appears in German as Pfennig, in Dutch and Swedish (often shortened to peng) as penning, and in West Frisian as peinje or penje. In Swedish, the word pengar is also the most common for money. These words are thought by some to have common roots with the English word "pawn", German , and Dutch , words which mean "a ...