The cent is a monetary unit of many national currencies that equals a

hundredth In arithmetic, a hundredth is a single part of something that has been divided equally into a hundred parts. For example, a hundredth of 675 is 6.75. In this manner it is used with the prefix "centi-" such as in centimeter. A hundredth is also one ...

() of the basic monetary unit. The word derives from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, '

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

'. The cent sign is commonly a simple

minuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing system ...

(lower case) letter . In North America, the c is crossed by a diagonal or vertical

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

(depending on

typeface A typeface (or font family) is a design of Letter (alphabet), letters, Numerical digit, numbers and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display. Most typefaces include variations in size (e.g., 24 point), weight (e.g., light, ...

), yielding the character . The United States one cent coin is generally known by the nickname "

penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

", alluding to the British coin and unit of that name. Australia ended production of their 1c coin in 1990, New Zealand last produced their 1c coin in 1988, as did Canada in 2012. Some

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...

countries ended production of the 1 euro cent coin, most recently Slovakia in 2022.

Symbol

The cent may be represented by the cent sign, written in various ways according to the national convention and

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

choice. Most commonly seen forms are a minuscule letter ''c'' crossed by a diagonal

, a vertical line, a simple ''c'', depending on the currency (''see below''). Cent amounts from 1 to 99 can be represented as one or two digits followed by the appropriate abbreviation (2¢, 5c, 75¢, 99c), or as a subdivision of the base unit ($0.75, €0.99). In some countries, longer abbreviations like "ct." are used. Languages that use other alphabets have their own abbreviations and conventions. The cent symbol has largely fallen into disuse since the mid-20th century as inflation has resulted in very few things being priced in cents in any currency. It was included on US typewriter keyboards, but has not been adopted on computers.

North American cent sign

The cent sign appeared as the shift of the 6 keys on American manual typewriters, but the freestanding circumflex on computer keyboards has taken over that position.

Orthography

When written in English and Mexican Spanish, the cent sign (¢ or c) follows the amount (with no space between)for example, 2¢ and $0.02, or 2c and €0.02. Conventions in other languages may vary.

Usage

Minor currency units called ''cent'' or similar names

Examples of currencies around the world featuring centesimal () units called ''cent'', or related words from the same root such as '' céntimo'', '' centésimo'', ''

centavo The centavo (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese 'one hundredth') is a fractional monetary unit that represents one hundredth of a basic monetary unit in many countries around the world. The term comes from Latin ''centu ...

'' or ''sen'', are: * Argentine peso (as ''centavo'') *

Aruban florin The florin (; abbreviation: Afl.; ISO 4217, code: AWG) or Aruban guilder is the currency of Aruba. It is subdivided into 100 cents. The florin was introduced in 1986, replacing the Netherlands Antillean guilder at par. The Aruba currency exchang ...

, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 5 cents. *

Australian dollar The Australian dollar (currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar, dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official ...

, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 5 cents. * Barbadian dollar * Bahamian dollar, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 5 cents. * Belize dollar *

Bermudian dollar The Bermudian dollar (symbol: $; code: BMD; also abbreviated BD$; informally called the Bermuda dollar) is the official currency of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is subdivided into 100 cents. The Bermudian dollar is not n ...

* Bolivian boliviano (as ''centavo''), but all circulating coins are in multiples of 10 centavos *

Brazilian real The Brazilian real (plural, pl. '; currency symbol, sign: R$; ISO 4217, code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real repl ...

(as ''centavo'') * Brunei dollar (as ''sen'') * Cambodian riel (as ''sen'') *

Canadian dollar The Canadian dollar (currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, code: CAD; ) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used f ...

* Cayman Islands dollar * Chilean peso (as ''centavo''). Centavos officially exist and are considered in financial transactions, but there are no current centavo-denominated coins. *

Colombian peso The Colombian peso (currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: COP) is the currency of Colombia. Its ISO 4217 code is ''COP''. The official sign is $, with ''Col$''. also being used to distinguish it from other peso- and dollar-denominated currencie ...

(as ''centavo'') * Cook Islands dollar (''cent'', although some 50 cent coins are marked "50 ''tene''") *

Cuban peso The Cuban peso ( in Spanish language, Spanish, ISO 4217 code: CUP) also known as (Spanish for 'national currency'), is the official currency of Cuba. The Cuban peso historically circulated at par with the Spanish dollar, Spanish-American silver ...

(as ''centavo'') *

East Caribbean dollar The Eastern Caribbean dollar (currency symbol, symbol: EC$; ISO 4217, code: XCD) is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The successor to the British West Indies d ...

, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 5 cents. * Eritrean nakfa * Estonian kroon (as ''sent'') * Ethiopian birr (as ''santim'') *

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

– the coins bear the text "euro cent". Greek coins have ΛΕΠΤΟ (" lepto") on the obverse of the one-cent coin and ΛΕΠΤΑ ("lepta") on the obverse of the others. The actual usage varies depending on the language. * Fijian dollar * Guyanese dollar, but there are no circulating coins with a value below one dollar. *

Hong Kong dollar The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of Hong Kong. It is divided into 100 cents. Historically, it was also divided into 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong an ...

, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 10 cents. * Indonesian rupiah (as ''sen;'' last coin minted was 50 cents in 1961, last cents printed as banknotes in 1964 which were demonetized in 1996 save for the 1 cent) * Jamaican dollar, but there are no circulating coins with a value below one dollar. * Kenyan shilling * Lesotho loti (as ''sente'') * Liberian dollar *

Lithuanian litas The Lithuanian litas (ISO 4217, ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; plural ''litai'' (nominative) or ''litų'' (genitive) was the currency of Lithuania, until 1 January 2015, when it was replaced by the euro. It was divided into 100 Cent ...

(as ''centas'') * Macanese pataca (as ''avo''), but all circulating coins are in multiples of 10 avos. * Malaysian ringgit (as ''sen''), but all circulating coins are in multiples of 5 sen. *

Mauritian rupee The Mauritian rupee (Currency symbol, sign: Re (singular) and Rs (plural); ISO 4217, ISO code: MUR; ) is the currency of Mauritius. One rupee is subdivided into 100 cents. Several other currencies are also called rupee. Coins In 1877, coins for ...

Mexican peso The Mexican peso (Currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, currency code: MXN; also abbreviated Mex$ to distinguish it from peso, other peso-denominated currencies; referred to as the peso, Mexican peso, or colloquially varo) is the official curre ...

(as ''centavo'') * Moroccan dirham (as ''santim'') * Namibian dollar * Netherlands Antillean guilder *

New Zealand dollar The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...

, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 10 cents. * Panamanian balboa (as ''centésimo'') * Peruvian sol (as ''céntimo'') * Philippine peso (as ''sentimo'' or ''centavo'') * Seychellois rupee * Sierra Leonean leone *

Singapore dollar The Singapore dollar (currency sign, sign: S$; ISO 4217, code: SGD) is the official currency of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore. It is divided into 100 cent (currency), cents (, , ). It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or ...

, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 5 cents. *

South African rand The South African rand, or simply the rand, (currency sign, sign: R; ISO 4217, code: ZAR) is the official currency of South Africa. It is subdivided into 100 Cent (currency), cents (sign: "c"), and a comma separates the rand and cents. The Sou ...

, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 10 cents. *

Sri Lankan rupee The Sri Lankan rupee (, ; Currency symbol, symbol: ₨ in English, රු in Sinhala, ௹ in Tamil; ISO 4217, ISO code: LKR), known until 1972 as the Ceylon rupee, is the currency of Sri Lanka. It is subdivided into 100 cent (currency), cents (, ...

* Surinamese dollar * Swazi lilangeni *

New Taiwan dollar The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT), or simply the Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Usually, the $ sign precedes the amount, but NT$ is used to distinguish from othe ...

, but all circulating coins are in multiples of 50 cents. * Tanzanian shilling * Tongan paʻanga (as ''seniti'') * Trinidad and Tobago dollar *

United States dollar The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

* Uruguayan peso (as ''centésimo'') * Zimbabwean ZiG

Minor currency units with other names

Examples of currencies featuring centesimal () units not called ''cent''

Obsolete centesimal currency units

Examples of currencies which formerly featured centesimal () units but now have no fractional denomination in circulation:

References

{{Authority control Denominations (currency) Currency symbols