δηνάρια, [8 verses]( noun pl neut acc) "Penny" is from denarion, which was the principle silver coin of the Roman Empire in NT times. -- "Penny is from the Greek word for a denarius, which was a coin of silver, which had the purchasing power of about $70-$80 today (though comparisons are obviously not very meaningful). It was the standard wage for a day's labor by a general laborer, which for most of human history was an agricultural worker. An English penny in the 1500s was also a silver coin, but a day's wages was a few pence (the plural of "penny").