# The lost art of the dollar sign **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897 "2019-05-13T13:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/21 "2019-05-13T20:23:59Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > 2¢ > > I miss that symbol being on the keyboard. Yes, I learned to touch-type in the 80’s. (ALT155 if you’re interested) Same here. Now I can’t remember which key it was on. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2019, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/22 "2019-05-13T20:59:02Z")
**naita** , don’t you mean %3 of the total? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/23 "2019-05-13T22:31:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **naita** , don’t you mean %3 of the total? In case anyone is wondering, \*\*Chronos \*\*is referring to post 19#. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/24 "2019-05-14T12:03:39Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > I miss that symbol being on the keyboard. Yes, I learned to touch-type in the 80’s. (ALT155 if you’re interested) So much easier to remember that ¢ is option- (actually, option-4, since option- is really option-shift-4) than it is to remember alt codes. I don’t understand why Windows never developed a more Mac-like keyboard, where nearly all of the extended ASCII characters are logically mapped. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/25 "2019-05-14T12:35:26Z")
It isn’t just currency symbols ($ has the same problem as £¥€ etc) but º is also a problem. 1ºC is wrong. Should be 1 C (or K, F, R etc). Angles still get to be º, but you get into all manner of problems with how you are specifying an angle anyway. (My day job involves two systems that specify both angles and geographic locations. Both specify all angles in radians, but one uses N = 0, and positive clockwise, the other E = 0 and positive anticlockwise. It can be a source of evil problems.) Not to mention relative, true, magnetic. I have a habit of writing down currency values as things like 2k. Which is awful. But probably no worse than 2k in some ways. Then you get abominations like $2 USD ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/26 "2019-05-14T12:37:33Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > 2¢ Why not ¢2? That’s not snark, by the way. It’s a real question that I don’t know the answer to. If the dollar sign comes before the value, why does the cent sign come after it? ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/27 "2019-05-14T12:55:17Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I have been seeing more and more people in casual writing (message boards, texts, Facebook, tweets) putting the dollar sign after the amount, like 100$, instead of the traditional $100. > > Is this just an error/eccentricity, or did I miss a memo? The reason you see it in casual writing is because people are not writing sentences, but rather transcribing their speech in real-time. Since one says “one hundred dollars,” and the brain is coming up with the words extemporaneously, people naturally write the “100” first, and only after realize they should have included the sign first. Since the message is casual, expediency wins out over convention, so the person just says "fuck it, I don't feel like deleting 3 digits and starting over so I'll put the sign after since they’ll still know what I mean." ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/28 "2019-05-14T13:02:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Something related I’m seeing is the use of $10 million dollars, so the word dollars is represented twice. It really gets under my skin when people do that. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/29 "2019-05-14T13:49:04Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Along those same lines I have to consistently explain to my employees that .99¢ isn’t correct. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to say “decimal point or cent sign, but not both”. The replies I get are typically either ‘it’s the same thing’ or ‘what’s the difference’. Yes, I’m nit picky about it, but I think it looks uneducated. In any case, I’ve learned that if they don’t at least understand that there’s a difference, trying to explain that .99¢ is less than a penny won’t sink in. > **[Original Recording of Verizon Customer Service Call](http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/2007/08/original-recording-of-verizon-customer.html)** > > Here is a repost of my verizon call using blogspot's new video feature: ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/30 "2019-05-14T15:27:23Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > 1ºC is wrong. Should be 1 C (or K, F, R etc). Why is it wrong? I know that 1ºK is wrong because the Kelvin is a unit, but the degree Celsius is the unit for the Celsius scale so 1ºC is fine. Same for Fahrenheit. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/31 "2019-05-14T17:56:24Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > 10$ is correct in French. I doubt all who use it are French though. So ten francs is 10f, oui? How about Euros? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/32 "2019-05-14T18:02:30Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Why not ¢2? > > That’s not snark, by the way. It’s a real question that I don’t know the answer to. > > If the dollar sign comes before the value, why does the cent sign come after it? My guess is that it gives additional differentiation between dollars and cents. You’ll sometimes see a similar system with dates. CE 1500 or AD 1500, but 1500 BCE or 1500 BC. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/33 "2019-05-14T19:16:34Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > So ten francs is 10f, oui? How about Euros? Sometimes written as €10 and sometimes as 10€ in continental Europe. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/34 "2019-05-14T19:35:17Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > So ten francs is 10f, oui? How about Euros? Surely 10 F or 10 € is more common? Someone ought to look in Brossard’s _Correcteur typographe_ for a comprehensive treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/35 "2019-05-14T21:02:44Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > Sometimes written as €10 and sometimes as 10€ in continental Europe. The European Union was doomed from the beginning! ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/36 "2019-05-14T21:16:08Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > What foreign aid does the US send to France? Almost [all countries](https://www.forbes.com/sites/othercomments/2014/10/15/u-s-gives-financial-aid-to-96-of-all-countries/#1e90da8cccb9): > [@](#): > > The U.S. disbursed $33.2 billion—$19 billion in economic assistance to 184 countries and $14.2 billion in military assistance to 142 countries. Even [Canada](https://explorer.usaid.gov/cd/CAN) Some to [France](https://explorer.usaid.gov/cd/FRA), but not much ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/37 "2019-05-14T21:55:34Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Almost [all countries](https://www.forbes.com/sites/othercomments/2014/10/15/u-s-gives-financial-aid-to-96-of-all-countries/#1e90da8cccb9): > > Even [Canada](https://explorer.usaid.gov/cd/CAN) > > Some to [France](https://explorer.usaid.gov/cd/FRA), but not much The biggest part of the “Aid” to Canada appears to be the parts of money for a joint Canadian/US environmental protection program that is paid to entities that happen to be Canadian. The “Aid” to France appear to be tiny parts of big government programs that are paid to French entities, although it’s difficult to say exactly whom, since whomever is receiving the money in France isn’t listed. It’s definitely a rubbish definition of “Foreign aid”. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/38 "2019-05-15T02:26:58Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Why is it wrong? I know that 1ºK is wrong because the Kelvin is a unit, but the degree Celsius is the unit for the Celsius scale so 1ºC is fine. Same for Fahrenheit. Ack. Quite correct. The _symbol_ for Celsius is ºC not C. Whereas the _symbol_ for Kelvin is just K. ---
**Author:** ![ALOHA\_HATER](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@ALOHA\_HATER](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ALOHA_HATER)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/39 "2019-05-15T02:53:48Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Why not ¢2? > > That’s not snark, by the way. It’s a real question that I don’t know the answer to. > > If the dollar sign comes before the value, why does the cent sign come after it? Write a number and another number on the same piece of paper. Write an identifying symbol between them. Which does it refer to? $ is big, ¢ is little. The hierarchy makes sense here. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897/40 "2019-05-15T04:08:42Z")
> [@ALOHA\_HATER](#): > > Write a number and another number on the same piece of paper. Write an identifying symbol between them. Which does it refer to? > > $ is big, ¢ is little. The hierarchy makes sense here. I’m not understanding. Can someone help me out with this explanation? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-art-of-the-dollar-sign/833897.md?page=3)