$ symbol
Origin of the Dollar Sign
Entrepreneurs Searching For Origin Of $
Striking Gold With Numis
Curiosity hit me when looking at the Dollar symbol on a facebook page of Vince Reed’s, owner of Netdivvy Marketing Online Training System, where he uses it as a profile picture. I wrote him to inquire of its origin and decided to do some digging myself and this is that I found. In this two part series, is a list of historical references, a philosophical analysis, biblical thought and some current information on the U. S. Mint and Numis Network, an MLM dealing in M70 coins. Finally listed is a word about the coinage industry. Did anyone know that coinage sales are one of the 4 top sales industries in the US today? Movies, music, pet supply and coins all do $10 billion in sales yearly. Entrepreneurs searching for the origin of the $ are striking gold with Numis.
The Dollar Sign
The sign is attested in business correspondence between the British, Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans in the 1770s, as referring to the Spanish-Mexican peso, known as “Spanish dollar” or “pieces of eight” in British North America where it was adopted as U.S. currency in 1785, together with the term “dollar” and the $ sign.
The Origin
The origin of the “$” sign has been variously accounted for. The most widely accepted theory is that it derives from the Spanish coat of arms engraved on the Spanish colonial silver coins, the “Real de a ocho” or Spanish dollars that were in circulation in the Spanish colonies in America and Asia. The Spanish dollars were also legal tender in the English colonies in North America, which later became part of the U.S. and Canada.
In 1492, King Ferdinand II of Aragon adopted the symbol of the Pillars of Hercules and added the Latin phrase Non Plus Ultra meaning “no further”, indicating “this is the end of the (known) world.” But when Christopher Columbus discovered America, the legend was changed to “Plus Ultra”, “beyond.”
It’s Adoption
The symbol was adopted by Charles V and was part of his coat of arms representing Spain’s American possessions. The symbol was later stamped on coins minted in gold and silver. These coins, depicting the Pillars of Hercules over two hemispheres and a small “S”-shaped ribbon around each, were spread throughout America, Europe and Asia. For the sake of simplicity, traders wrote signs that, instead of saying dollar or peso, had this symbol made by hand, and this in turn evolved into a simple S with two vertical bars.
Alternative hypotheses
There’s another documented explanation that states that the sign is the result of the evolution of the Spanish and Mexican scribal abbreviation “ps” for pesos. This theory, derived from a study of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century manuscripts, explains that the s gradually came to be written over the p developing a close equivalent to the “$” mark.”
For More Information on the origin of the $ symbol, and the more recent history of money, silver and gold, and coinage see PART II.
For more info on Numis Network continue reading part II and your search will end with this pure golden industry. Retail sales as well as membership prices are available for those who have interest in sharing the value of the dollar with their family and friends.
Numis Network utilizes minted dollar coins and has become the first MLM dealing in M70’s silver and gold coins. For More information on the history of coinage and more articles on gold and silver, see NumisRichGold.
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