Both pence and pennies have existed as plural forms of penny since at least the 16th century. The two forms now tend to be used for different purposes: pence refers to sums of money （five pounds and sixty-nine pence） while pennies refers to the coins themselves （I left two pennies on the table）. The use of pence rather than penny as a singular （the chancellor will put one pence on income tax） is not regarded as correct in standard English.