Hrm. At one point on the internets, I read that it was just the letters 'U' and 'S' (for United States) overlaid on top of each other. And over time, we lost the round pipe at the bottom, and one of the lines.
It seemed like a plausible story, and because I wasn't doing hardcore research, I didn't look into it further. Now, I always wonder if some fun fact I have in my head is actually true or not.
Reminds me of that quote about Abe Lincoln and the internet.
From following the links through to the FAQ of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the URL is cute) : http://www.moneyfactory.gov/faqlibrary.html
"What is the origin of the $ sign?"
"The origin of the "$" sign has been variously accounted for, however, the most widely accepted explanation is that the symbol is the result of evolution, independently in different places, of the Mexican or Spanish "P's" for pesos, or piastres, or pieces of eight. The theory, derived from a study of old manuscripts, is that the "S" gradually came to be written over the "P," developing a close equivalent of the "$" mark. It was widely used before the adoption of the United States dollar in 1785."
Unless someone shows me good evidence to the contrary, I think I'm going to assume they have a good idea of what they are on about on this topic.
This theory is a "fact" in the fictional world of Atlas Shrugged, but the author (Rand) ackowledged that in the real world, it is not known to be true.
It seemed like a plausible story, and because I wasn't doing hardcore research, I didn't look into it further. Now, I always wonder if some fun fact I have in my head is actually true or not.
Reminds me of that quote about Abe Lincoln and the internet.