• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Odds / How Did the Dollar Sign Begin?

How Did the Dollar Sign Begin?

July 13, 2020 by Karen Hill

Historians are not certain how the United States began using the $ as a dollar sign.

Some believe that it came from a design marked on old Spanish coins called pieces of eight. These pieces of eight were used by Americans as dollars before they coined their own silver dollars.

A Spanish piece of eight was given its name because eight smaller coins equaled that coin.

One side of the piece of eight had two pillars stamped on it, with a ribbon curling around them. The “S” formed by the ribbon around each pillar may have led to our dollar sign, $.

Related Facts

  • Who Invented the Dollar Sign and How Did the Dollar Symbol Originate?
  • What does the term "Indian sign" mean and Where does the phrase Indian sign come from?
  • Where Did the Word Dollar Come From and What Does the the Word Dollar Mean in German?
  • How does a dollar bill changer know whether your dollar note is real or fake?
  • Where does the word "dollar" originate and What does dollar mean?
  • Where Did the Santa Fe Trail Begin and End and Did the Santa Fe Trail Begin In St. Louis?

Filed Under: Odds

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Does the Government Do with Old Money?
Next Post: How Did a Classified Ad Lead to the World’s Most Popular Hobby? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy