# What is $

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is/229737>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 18, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is/229737 "2004-02-18T00:18:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![gesmehod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gesmehod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gesmehod)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is/229737/1 "2004-02-18T00:18:04Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is/229737/2 "2004-02-18T00:20:29Z")

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[The SD Search Archive feature is your friend…](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_178.html)

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**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is/229737/3 "2004-02-18T12:10:12Z")

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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.)