Penny

Grimm sees OFr paner "remove" from pan "piece of cloth", Lat. pannus
as the origin of Pfand, Da. pant, (first in the Lex frisionum), Fi.,
Est. pantti "pawn, pledge" (loans?), which again would be the origin,
according to some, of OHG phandich etc "penny" where the geminate
gradually replaced the -nd-. But Finnish and Estonian have pan- "put",
Finnish has panos "contribution, stake". Remember that money was once
melted down and divided loot, the weight of the pieces guaranteed by
the stamp of he who divided it, the king etc.

Torsten