# Dollar and Pound Signs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2000, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollar-and-pound-signs/19985 "2000-05-19T16:34:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/76d3ee/32.png) [@lask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lask)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2000, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollar-and-pound-signs/19985/1 "2000-05-19T16:34:53Z")
Who invented currency symbols? For instance where do the dollar $ and pound £ signs originate? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2000, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollar-and-pound-signs/19985/2 "2000-05-19T22:12:29Z")
A pound sterling was originally worth a Roman pound of silver. The symbol **£** derives from the Latin word for pound, _libra_. The symbol **$** is probably a modification of an **8** , to represent 8 Spanish reales. Pieces of Eight were 8-real silver coins used in Spain and Spanish-speaking America and were worth just about a dollar each. They continued to be legal tender in the U.S. until 1857. They were sometimes cut into 8 wedges, each wedge being worth 12.5 cents. One of these wedges was called a bit. Hence, “shave and a haircut, two bits” (25 cents). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dollar-and-pound-signs/19985/3 "2000-05-19T22:33:51Z")
Cecil once did a column on this exact question. Here ya go: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_178.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_178.html)