The Dollar Sign

money · symbols · world currencies

A crossed S. The dollar sign is just a capital letter S with one or two vertical lines struck through it. It's one of the most recognizable symbols in the world because so many countries use it for their money.

Used worldwide. The dollar sign represents the base unit of money in many countries, not just the United States. Any currency called a dollar or peso uses this symbol to show you're dealing with that country's money.

Double-barred version. In Portuguese, the version with two lines through the S is called a cifrão. It looks extra fancy, but it means the exact same thing as the single-line version we usually see.

Simple and clear. The dollar sign works so well because it's easy to write, easy to recognize, and hard to confuse with other symbols. That's why it stuck around for so long.

Money shorthand. When you see a dollar sign before a number like $50, it instantly tells you that number represents money, not just a regular quantity of something else.