Penny Napoleonic Wars prompted the use of base metals in 1797. Despite the decimalization of currencies in the United States and, later, throughout the British Commonwealth, the name remains in informal use. No penny is currently formally subdivided, although farthings (¼ d.), halfpennies, and half cents have previously been minted and the mill (1/10¢) remains in use as a unit of account in some contexts. "Penny" is first attested in a 1394 Scots text, a variant of Old English ', a development of numerous variations including ', ', and '. The etymology of the term "penny" is uncertain, although cognates are
Penny (Canadian coin) Penny (Canadian coin) In Canada, a penny is a coin worth one cent, or of a dollar. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the "one-cent piece", but in practice the terms "penny" and "cent" predominate. Originally, "penny" referred to a two-cent coin. When the two-cent coin was discontinued, "penny" took over as the new one-cent coin's name. "Penny" was likely readily adopted because the previous coinage in Canada (up to 1858) was the British monetary system, where Canada used British pounds, shillings, and pence as coinage alongside U.S. decimal coins and Spanish