# How did we get the $ sign? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2001, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-get-the-sign/73422 "2001-07-22T07:59:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2001, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-get-the-sign/73422/1 "2001-07-22T07:59:47Z")
I was told that it was originally created by combining a U and S. Any truth to this? ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2001, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-get-the-sign/73422/2 "2001-07-22T08:03:00Z")
Absolutely. Overlay the two characters and truncate the bottom portion of the “U”. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2001, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-get-the-sign/73422/3 "2001-07-22T08:05:14Z")
Muad’Dib Member Registered: Jul 2000 Posts: 4 ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2001, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-get-the-sign/73422/4 "2001-07-22T09:28:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\*Absolutely. > Overlay the two characters and truncate the bottom portion of the “U”. \*\* Actually, **Absolutely _not_**. Cecil the Magnificent reviewed this in _Return of the Straight Dope_ – the correct answer is that the $ came from writing ps as an abbreviation for pesos. Cecil’s column is online at [What does the S in the dollar sign represent?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_178.html) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2001, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-get-the-sign/73422/5 "2001-07-22T11:57:25Z")
The excellent website [http://www.wordorigins.org](http://www.wordorigins.org) favours the theory about the scroll wrapped around the column. If you look at a picture of an ancient peso (here: [http://www.jassco.com/spreale.htm](http://www.jassco.com/spreale.htm) ), the similarity of this to the modern $ sign strikes you at first glance, so I personally would prefer this theory. Maybe lost forever in history which one is the true background. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2001, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-get-the-sign/73422/6 "2001-07-22T12:08:12Z")
An interesting book **Made in America** by **Bill Bryson** has it that it is a form of a scroll wrapped around the pillars of Hercules as seen on old Spanish pieces of eight. One of the problems in coming up with a new currency for the newly founded country was the fact that so many different people had colonised America and the surrounding land that any number of coins were still in use from different European countries. This is why Americans have “pennies” as in Britain even though the two currencies were once so different. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-get-the-sign/73422/7 "2001-07-23T02:28:03Z")
**Bryson** _in spite of his problems_ possibly has the correct source. At least, the current best theory. But don’t place too much faith in all of his derivations.