what does this symbol mean?

Currency symbols

The dollar, euro, pound, yen, rupee and other currency signs, which currency each one stands for and where its shape came from, and the three-letter ISO codes such as USD and EUR.

Test yourself: Currency symbols quiz

The most used signs 5 symbols

Signs adopted by governments 7 symbols

Other signs and codes 3 symbols

About currency symbols

A currency sign is shorthand for a currency’s name, written beside an amount: $20, £10, ¥500. Many signs are letters with lines through them, and many are shared. The dollar sign is used for the US dollar and for many of the pesos of Latin America, and the yen sign for both the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan. Each page here says which currency or currencies a sign stands for, where its shape came from, and which signs are easily mistaken for it. The pages describe the signs only; they give no prices, exchange rates or financial advice.

The signs everyone knows

The dollar sign’s origin is disputed: the most widely supported account traces it to the abbreviation PS for the Spanish-American peso. The pound sign is a crossed L, for the Latin libra. The euro sign was designed by the European Commission’s services, from the Greek letter epsilon crossed by two lines for stability. The cent sign marks hundredths.

Signs chosen by governments

Several currencies gained a sign in the last twenty years, chosen by a central bank or a government, often after a public competition: the Indian rupee sign in 2010, the Turkish lira sign in 2012 and the ruble sign in 2013. The Unicode Standard encodes each of them in its Currency Symbols block, where the naira, won, Philippine peso, new shekel and bitcoin signs also sit. The currency sign ¤ stands for a generic or unknown currency.

Signs and codes

Because one sign can mean several currencies, banks and software use the three-letter ISO 4217 codes when the currency must be exact: USD, EUR, GBP. Unicode itself advises software to rely on those codes rather than on a sign. SIX, in Switzerland, maintains the code list on behalf of ISO.

Sources

  1. Chapter 22, Symbols: 22.1 Currency Symbols, The Unicode Standard, Version 18.0, Core Specification, Unicode Consortium, 22.1 Currency Symbols
  2. Currency Symbols: Range 20A0–20CF (code chart), The Unicode Standard, Version 18.0, Unicode Consortium, 20A6
  3. C1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement: Range 0080–00FF (code chart), The Unicode Standard, Version 18.0, Unicode Consortium, Latin-1 Supplement, 00A4
  4. How Does $ = Dollar?, Graham Iddon, The Museum Blog, 1 April 2019, Bank of Canada Museum, Article text
  5. History of the use of the single crossbar pound sign on Bank of England’s banknotes, Freedom of Information disclosure, 2022, Bank of England, FOI response
  6. Communication from the Commission: The use of the Euro symbol, Euro related publications, July 1997 (summary page), European Commission, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, Summary
  7. Symbol for Indian Rupee approved, Cabinet decision, 15 July 2010 (Release ID 63283), Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Cabinet decision
  8. Cash Circulation, Bank of Russia, Cash Circulation Department, Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), Page text
  9. Financial data standards: ISO 4217 Currency Codes, SIX Financial Information, data standards, SIX Group, ISO 4217 - Currency Codes
  10. USD, EUR, CHF & Co.: How Do International Currency Codes Actually Come Into Being?, SIX blog, SIX Group, Article text

Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research