Sentence:  A price quoted as “10 <WSD>pennies sterling</WSD>” meant only that a buyer was expected to render a coin that was considered “worth” 10 <WSD>pennies sterling</WSD>. In such a case, payment might indeed be rendered in an actual <WSD>penny sterling</WSD>, but the relationship between the price (expressed by the money of account) and the bullion value of the penny was uncertain. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A British coin worth 1⁄240 of a pound sterling, made of silver prior to 1496, and copper thereafter, Abbreviation: d.