Imperial and US customary measurement systems in 1824, to take effect in 1826) and United States customary units which evolved from English Units from 1776 onwards. The earliest records of English units of measure involve the weight (and therefore the value) of Saxon coins. The penny introduced by Offa was about 20 grains (1.296 g). Edward the Elder increased the weight of the English penny to 26 grains (1.685 g), thereby aligning it with the penny of Charlemagne. By the time of the Norman Conquest (1066), it had decreased to 24 grains (1.555 g). This value was subsequently called the "pennyweight" and formed the basis of
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? about how many could perch at the same time on the head of a pin"". Dorothy L. Sayers argued that the question was "simply a debating exercise" and that the answer "usually adjudged correct" was stated as, "Angels are pure intelligences, not material, but limited, so that they have location in space, but not extension." Sayers compares the question to that of how many people's thoughts can be concentrated upon a particular pin at the same time. She concludes that infinitely many angels can be located on the head of a pin, since they do not occupy any space there: