What is "gripe penny"

Gripe \Gripe\, n.

1. Grasp; seizure; fast hold; clutch.

   A barren scepter in my gripe.
   --Shak.

2. That on which the grasp is put; a handle; a grip; as, the gripe of a sword.

3. (Mech.) A device for grasping or holding anything; a brake to stop a wheel.

4. Oppression; cruel exaction; affiction; pinching distress; as, the gripe of poverty.

5. Pinching and spasmodic pain in the intestines; -- chiefly used in the plural.

6. (Naut.)

   1. The piece of timber which terminates the keel at the fore end; the forefoot.

   2. The compass or sharpness of a ship's stern under the water, having a tendency to make her keep a good wind.

   3. pl. An assemblage of ropes, dead-eyes, and hocks, fastened to ringbolts in the deck, to secure the boats when hoisted; also, broad bands passed around a boat to secure it at the davits and prevent swinging.

      Gripe penny, a miser; a niggard.
      --D. L. Mackenzie.