# Anyone else think the $ sign should be after the number? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004 "2002-12-11T14:49:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/1 "2002-12-11T14:49:35Z")
I type as I think. I think “10 dollars,” not “dollars 10.” I always end up typing 10$. Thats my .02$. ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/2 "2002-12-11T15:44:58Z")
That would make more sense. I’m going to keep doing it the conventional way, though. I don’t want people to think I don’t know any better. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/3 "2002-12-11T15:51:21Z")
In Quebec it can often be found after the number. E.g. 1,500.25 would appear as 1 500,25 Note there is also a slight difference in the way the decimal point is represented. More of a French syntax. English speaking provinces in Canada use the American convention. Depending on where you are in QC though, you may see it both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/4 "2002-12-11T16:05:08Z")
An interesting variant: to visit the temple at Angkor Wat (and all of the others in the same vicinity), you must buy a visitor’s pass. If one of the inspector-types finds you without a pass, there’s a fine. The sign explaining this says that the fine is “30$00”, meaning thirty dollars (in this part of Cambodia, the US dollar is the _de facto_ currency). So, they’re using the dollar sign both to indicate currency _and_ to indicate the decimal point! ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/5 "2002-12-11T16:40:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Early Out \* > \*\*An interesting variant: to visit the temple at Angkor Wat (and all of the others in the same vicinity), you must buy a visitor’s pass. If one of the inspector-types finds you without a pass, there’s a fine. The sign explaining this says that the fine is “30$00”, meaning thirty dollars (in this part of Cambodia, the US dollar is the _de facto_ currency). So, they’re using the dollar sign both to indicate currency _and_ to indicate the decimal point! \*\* How efficient! Makes alot of sense actually. As for using the comma to indicate what we use as a decimal point is ridiculous. What the hell do you use to seperate (ummmm how to say…) three zeros? Spaces don’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/6 "2002-12-11T18:49:31Z")
But… spaces _are_ the “official” method, at least in Canada. Why go to spaces? Some European countries use “period” to separate thousands, and “comma” for the decimal point: 34.002,54. Others use the English style of “period” for decimal point and “comma” for thousands separator: 12,442.67. Still others use “period” for the decimal and “prime” to separate thousands: 15’200.40 Let’s say you’re in a multinational that has dealings with Canada, the USA, Britain, and a dozen countries on the mainland of Europe, and you encounter the number “4,527”. Is it “four point five two seven” or “four thousand five hundred twenty seven”? Better to eliminate all symbols for thousands markers and use spaces. That way, whatever symbol you find in the number is sure to be a decimal point… ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/7 "2002-12-11T20:30:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Early Out \* > \*\*So, they’re using the dollar sign both to indicate currency _and_ to indicate the decimal point! \*\* I also saw this extensively in France, with Euro price tags. Pretty spiffy. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/8 "2002-12-11T21:51:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sunspace \* > **Better to eliminate all symbols for thousands markers and use spaces.** Until your word processor decides to line-break between one of those groups of three digits, making for some fine double-takes when reading: “This will cost $123 223 556.78” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/9 "2002-12-11T22:13:27Z")
That’s what the “non-breaking space” is for… Back to the OP–I rather like the idea of putting the currency sign after the number. We do this with most other units of measurement after all… and when you get to price per unit, it fits perfectly with what we say: “gasoline was 0.64 $/L at Joe’s Kwik-E-Lube in Toronto today…” ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-the-sign-should-be-after-the-number/142004/10 "2002-12-11T22:37:45Z")
I totally agree with the OP. When I’m writing a personal email or chat message (therefore very informal), I usually write 10$. But then again I also never use CAPS or punctuation. I’m sort of an all-or-nothing kinda guy.