Making SENSE of CENTS!

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Author: Bill O'Rourke

In the United States, we do not mint pennies. What's that? You might ask! That's right, although they have commonly been called pennies for generations, they are really a denomination called a CENT.

Look at the coins, They have the words ONE CENT on them. CENTS and HALF CENTS were first struck for circulation in 1793 under the authority of the United States Government. Those ONE CENT coins were larger than todays modern cents (larger than a current quarter dollar) and the weight of a CENT was, by law to be exactly twice the weight of a HALF CENT.
LARGE CENTS were produced from 1793 to 1814 and from 1816 to 1857. There were none produced that are dated 1815 due to a copper shortage at the time.

SMALL CENTS were produced for circulation starting in 1857 in the form of what is known as a FLYING EAGLE CENT. Some specially produced FLYING EAGLE CENTS dated 1856 also made it into circulation but they were not really supposed to. From 1859 to 1909, different versions of the INDIAN HEAD CENT were produced. In 1909, INDIAN HEAD CENTS were produced as well as the new LINCOLN HEAD CENTS. The LINCOLN CENT was modified from the WHEAT EARS type reverse to the LINCOLN MEMORIAL type reverse in 1959 and is still being produced today. The CENT is the equivalent of 1/100th of a dollar.

So, whats a PENNY? Although the dictionary includes as a secondary definition that the "PENNY" is a cent of The United States or Canada, The Primary definition is that a PENNY is a coin of Britain equal to 1/12th of a Shilling or 1/240th of a pound. Since 1971, The United Kingdom began to produce a penny that is the equivalent of 1/100th of a pound. Those coins are called NEW PENCE!

Feel free to ask your questions about CENTS or PENNIES.