Derivation of Penny

Akerman's *Numismatic Manual* (p. 228.) has, under the head of "Penny," the following remarks:— "The penny is next in antiquity. It is first mentioned in the laws of Ina. The term has been derived by various writers from almost every European language; but the conjecture of Wachter, as noticed by Lye, seems the most reasonable. This writer derives it from the Celtic word *pen*, head; the heads of the Saxon princes being stamped on the earliest pennies. The fact of the *testoon* of later times having been so named, certainly adds weight to the opinion of Wachter."