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$100 Note Fact Sheet

$2 Note Fact Sheet

African Americans on U.S. Currency

Autos on the Back of U.S. $10 Notes

Facts About The Dollar Bill

Fun facts about U.S. banknotes

Origin of the $ Sign

Portraits on High Denomination Notes

Vignette on the Reverse of the $5 U.S. Note

Origin of the $ Sign

The origin of the "$" sign has been variously accounted for. Perhaps the most widely accepted explanation is that it is the result of the evolution of the Mexican or Spanish "P's" for pesos, or piastres, or pieces of eight. This theory, derived from a study of old manuscripts, explains that the "S," gradually came to be written over the "P," developing a close equivalent to the"$" mark. It was widely used before the adoption of the United States dollar in 1785.