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 Replies: 21 / Views: 2,523 |
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Valued Member
United States
85 Posts |
Sadly, I've walked into a dozen banks and asked for a box of Cents and got odd looks. The tellers had no idea what I was asking for and had to go ask their vault managers if they knew what a cent was and if they carried any. I'm at the point where I just walk into the banks now and ask for a box of pennies. Even the box they come in is labeled pennies.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8904 Posts |
Quote:
Even the box they come in is labeled pennies. I personally think "cent" is more appropriate, but if the Mint (and the rest of the American population too!) wants to call them "pennies", I guess I have to as well...  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
On most coin forums people have that argument. Yet if you go to any store, school, library, bowling alley or anywhere in the USA, people of all ages say PENNY, not cents. Not long ago there was a post somewhere about all the songs that used the word PENNY. Imagine singing Cents From Heaven for instance. Put a cent in your hand and ask anyone you see what it is. Bet about 99% will say PENNY. I know people on coin forums try to say we all should say CENT, but it's way to late. In the USA it is accepted as a PENNY. It is just who we in this country are. People that can and do say whatever we want. Quote:
I think it would help if the boxes some people get at the bank didn't say "pennies" on the box
Just one of the many places that is used. Edited by just carl
03/20/2011 4:15 pm
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Moderator
 Australia
16851 Posts |
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The Brits refer to these copper discs as pennies... possibly the American terminology of cent was merely another act of rebellion... Partly. The adoption of a decimal currency system was definitely an "act of rebellion" in the sense of throwing out the old colonial money and making new money that was more relevant to local usage (based on the Spanish-colonial dollar rather than the pound) and more in keeping with the Rationalist spirit of the age. But it didn't happen formally until the Coinage Act in 1792, long after the rebellion was over. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
Technically, the U.S. Mint has never created a Penny...only one-cent coins.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
It is things like this that has made our language the American Language and not really English as so many say. In our schools we teach so called English but when we see a program on TV from England, many of us can hardly understand them. And many from there say the same about us. And too many from our far South say things that Northerners don't understand. BUT it's all American so whatever we decide to call our coins, it's what they are and will probably always be.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4421 Posts |
A cent by any other name is still a cent, and pennies are non-cents.  Yet, I prefer to think of them all as coppers ... be they large or small. There, I've offered my two pennies or tuppence.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
A rose by any other name....
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
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The Brits refer to these copper discs as pennies... possibly the American terminology of cent was merely another act of rebellion... Close, but no cigar. The British refer to a single coin as a penny, and more than one as pence. It's easy to keep track of the difference and call the coins by their correct names. Pence say "penny" on one side, while cents say "cent". You only have to be as smart as a near-worthless piece of metal. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
958 Posts |
when you get a bill and the person says that will be " three dollars and fifty Two Cents " they dont say " three dollars and fifty pennies" i think the term penny came from the old british pound standard (pre 1971) one penny = 1/100 of a pound |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:when you get a bill and the person says that will be " three dollars and fifty Two Cents " they dont say " three dollars and fifty pennies" Your right there on that one. BUT if you give them a FIN, and you get your change, almost anyone with you that is into coins would say, can I see those PENNIES. AND also, in your change you would get from that FIN, a TWO BIT piece and a single BUCK. It's all just American. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1704 Posts |
Years ago I met a guy who when in a bar would bet the man next to him a beer if he had a penny in his pocket. The man would pull out a cent and he would say "That's not a penny" to which the man would say yes it is and he would have the man read what was on the back. The man would then bet him that he didn't have a penny in his pocket and he would pull out a British large penny and show the guy where it said One Penny on it. About half of the time the men he bet would pay up with the beer even though it was all in fun for conversation.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1358 Posts |
I say go ahead and call them pennies.. If you look up "penny" in any dictionary, its going to say "one-cent piece," meaning the two terms are synonymous..
Why don't people like saying penny? because its British? Then let's get rid of all the other words in our Vocabulary with English origins..
Is it because the coin says "cent" on it? Then let's call the "nickel" the "five-cent piece" because that's what it says on it..
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Moderator
United States
14463 Posts |
Quote:
Posted by coinsearcher83
Then let's call the "nickel" the "five-cent piece" because that's what it says on it.. the entire country will have to reconsider this when/if they remove its nickel content. |
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
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Close, but no cigar. The British refer to a single coin as a penny, and more than one as pence. Actually, "pence" refers to an amount of money, "pennies" refer to an amount of coins. Quote:
It's easy to keep track of the difference and call the coins by their correct names. (Evidently not). Quote:
Pence say "penny" on one side, while cents say "cent". Pence say "pence" on one side, while pennies say "penny", and cents say "cent". Quote:
You only have to be as smart as a near-worthless piece of metal. Yeah. Edited by zeewool
03/27/2011 3:51 pm
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Posted 03/20/2011 10:46 am
