Out for ha'penny, out for a pound

Even before the Norman conquest in 1066, Saxon tribes in England cut their silver pennies into two. The halfpenny (pronounced hay-penny) was first minted in 1279. It went on to become a symbol of penuriousness. In Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, Costard insults an acquaintance for his "halfpenny purse of wit." Now, because of inflation, the tiny (approximately 5/8in.) coin costs more to make than its value of 6-c-. Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that the halfpenny will not be recognized as legal tender after this year.

Extinction also awaits the pound note (current worth: $1.25). First issued in 1797, it is being replaced by a thick metal-alloy coin. Like the Susan B. Anthony dollar in the U.S., the heavy coin has been unpopular. But since the useful life of a paper pound is ten months, vs. 40 years for the coin, the Royal Mint expects to save $3.75 million a year. The British have already dubbed the new coin the Maggie, after Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, because it is hard, rough around the edges and, says one Member of Parliament, "pretends to be a sovereign."