What does the $ sign really mean? It just looks like an “S” to me. Shouldn’t it be a “D”?
Not to mention the British pound, and lots of other currency signs.
The British pound sign is simply an ornate letter L … short for libri (as in libri, solidi, denarii, abbreviated £.s.d. - pounds, shillings and pence, the standard arrangement for British money until decimalization in 1971. Why the Latin abbreviations? Because accountancy in Britain goes back quite a long way, that’s why.)