The Dollar Sign Was First Used in 1785: Here’s another fun money fact: The official adoption of the dollar sign in the U.S. can be traced back to 1785, when it evolved from the Spanish symbol for pesos. It’s believed the $ originated from the abbreviation PS, which was used to indicate Spanish pesos in the Americas. Gradually the “S” came to be written over the “P,” eventually morphing into the dollar sign we know today.
100 Mind-Blowing PS Facts
The $ symbol is derived from the Spanish dollar sign. In 1782, the US considered choosing the Spanish peso as the country’s currency. The abbreviation for the Spanish peso (PS) later transformed into a $.
The dollar symbol $ appeared long before the American currency and even before the United States. $ is an amalgamation of the letters Ps, short for the Mexican peso, which was heavily used in the United States before its currency. The sign became so entrenched in the United States that they continued to designate American dollars.