$This is the dollar sign.

"$" is a representative symbol of the dollar sign.

The origin of "$" can be traced back to the early 16th century, when Spain minted a silver dollar called "PESO" (peso). The pattern of this silver coin has a crown and royal emblem (lion and castle) on one side and two pillars on the other side. According to Western mythology, they are the pillars of Hercules and represent the peaks on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar.

According to legend, a long time ago, Europe and Africa were connected to each other, but were later separated by the strongman Hercules. In 1732, Mexico City used a machine to cast a "double-column silver dollar" with a pattern similar to that of "PESO". Just add the pattern of the east and west hemispheres between the two columns, and there is a curved "$$" shape on each column.

Over time, people began to regard "$" as the symbol of silver dollars.

To this day, many countries in the world use "$" as their national currency symbol. Therefore, sometimes in order to distinguish the currencies of these countries (regions) (including the United States), "$" Add the English abbreviation of the country (region) in front, such as US dollar (USA$), Canadian dollar (CAN$), Hong Kong dollar (HK$). You can write "$" directly if there is no ambiguity.

There are many theories about the origin of this dollar sign, among which there are two common ones. One theory is that this symbol is formed by placing a narrower U on a wider S, so it represents the dollar sign of the United States. Another theory points out that it is the evolution of PS superimposed writing.

PS is the abbreviation of Pesos, a round coin in the United States from the 18th to the 19th century. This coin was in common use across the country until the United States officially established the mint in 1974. Later, the U.S. government recognized the $ symbol as a unit of the new currency, the dollar. When writing, $ should be placed in front of the number. For example, 1 U.S. dollar should be written as $1, and 50 U.S. dollars should be written as $50.

Extended information:

The United States has issued a new version of banknotes, which has many more advanced anti-counterfeiting features than the old banknotes. It can be identified from the following aspects:

(1) Engraving and gravure printing

The portraits, buildings, borders and denomination numbers on the front and back of the U.S. dollar are all printed with engraving and gravure printing by hand. There is an obvious bumpy feeling to the touch. After 1996, the portrait of the US dollar became larger and more vivid.

(2) Fully buried security thread

Starting from the 1990 edition, a fully buried text security thread has been added to banknotes of each denomination from US$5 to US$100. The security thread is printed with "USA" and Arabic or English words and denomination numbers. The 1996 version of the $50 and $20 dollars also had an American flag graphic on the security line.

The security thread of the 1996 version of the US dollar is still a fluorescent security thread, which shows different colors under ultraviolet light. The security threads of 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 US dollars are red, yellow, green, brown and blue. There is a safety thread (plastic strip) embedded in the paper vertically on the right side of the portrait. The continuous words "USA50" and a small flag are visible when facing the light. The safety thread has yellow fluorescence under the purple light.

(3) Fixed avatar watermark

The 1996 edition of U.S. dollar paper has a fixed watermark that is the same as the character avatar pattern on the bill, but there is no watermark for the 1 and 2 U.S. dollars.

(4) Optically variable denomination numbers

The denomination numbers in the lower right corner of the front of the 1996 version of the 100, 50, 20, and 10 US dollars are gravure printed with optically variable ink, at a perpendicular angle to the face of the note It appears green when observed, and turns blue when the banknote is tilted at a certain angle.

The denomination numbers in the lower right corner of the front of the 2006 version of the US$50, US$20, and US$10 are gravure-printed with optically variable ink. They appear golden when viewed perpendicular to the face of the note, and turn green when the banknote is tilted at a certain angle.

Baidu Encyclopedia—USD