What does the dollar symbol represent?

Answer 1

The Dollar sign ($) is thought to have been derived from the Spanish-Mexican Peso (or Spanish Dollar) sign "Ps". Old manuscripts suggest that the "S" was eventually written over the "P" and gradually, over time, came to appear as the symbol we currently use "$". Another theory, again from Spanish coinage, is that the symbol for "Pieces of 8" was written as an "8" with a vertical slash through it, which again, over time, came to appear as the symbol we currently use "$". A further theory applicable to the US Dollar which has a double vertical slash, and again based on Spanish currency, is that "U" and "S" were originally written, one over the other for currency purposes. Eventually, the "U" was reduced to a double vertical slash, possibly for the sake of legibility in hand written ledgers. There are a number of other theories on the origin of the Dollar sign which are all credible, the theories above seem to be the most popular.