Coppers accepting a new punishment (7)
I believe the answer is:
penance
'punishment' is the definition.
(I know that penance is a type of punishment)
'coppers accepting a new' is the wordplay.
'coppers' becomes 'pence' (I've seen this before).
'accepting' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters are accepted).
'new' becomes 'n' (common abbreviation eg NT for New Testament).
'a'+'n'='an'
'pence' placed around 'an' is 'PENANCE'.
(Other definitions for penance that I've seen before include "act of expiation" , "Self-inflicted punishment for wrongdoing" , "Act of penitence" , "Punishment for religious wrongdoing" , "Voluntary self-punishment" .)