the $ symbol and Peso correlation?

Does anyone know more history concerning the $ sign ? vs the Peso
I notice a lot of New Peso, has the $ symbol, does anyone know the correlation between the $ symbol and the Peso, I didnt think they were synonymous. I know unit of 1 but when any why was it adopted? either way?
I cant search for just the $ symbol as too much shows up. any other examples of the $ sign? non American.

for instance
Malaysia Ringgit
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3684.html

Uruguay new Peso
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3475.html

Here's a little bit of history:

"Many suggestions have been made about the origin of the dollar symbol $, one of the commonest being that it derives from the figure 8, representing the Spanish 'piece of eight'. However, it actually comes from a handwritten 'ps', an abbreviation for 'peso' in old Spanish-American books. The $ symbol first occurs in the 1770s, in manuscript documents of English-Americans who had business dealings with Spanish-Americans, and it starts to appear in print after 1800." From https://www.lexico.com/explore/what-is-the-origin-of-the-dollar-sign

Liberia has $ on some of its coins (which makes sense)

Hello
I thought of this questions as well like rsirian1 said and After some digging I’ve found that it is based of the Spanish colonial real which in English is Spanish dollar also 8 reales is worth 1 silver peso.


It was used a lot within the Spanish empire you could say that it was a analogue Bitcoin it was traded in the Americas, Africa to get the British trade dollar and with Asia that’s why the Philippines currency is names Piso Which translates to Peso.

When the countries won independence (after years of war) in the 1800s some of them renamed the currency peso or reused the name for example Central American Republic real was a coinage used by Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala when they separated in the mid 1800s and issued their own currency.


So technically the Dollar predates the US dollar and was actually invented by the Spanish in the Middle Ages when they conquered the Americas and when they came they ransacked the silver and the Chocolate to be used in Spain and in the process wipe out most of the Indigenous people not by killing them but with the diseases they brought with them aka Smallpox. But hey at least they modernised the Americas by bringing guns and tools be used by the locals and they didn’t enslave them unlike the British and French did.

sorry for me talking for hours basically the word peso is from the Spanish empire which the American adopted the sign in their currency when the Spanish empire existed at that time (far north as Alaska to what’s now Venezuela) so it would easily be traded with the Spanish and the Americans due to the reason that most of the west coast of America was part of the Spanish empire then Mexico and stayed like that until the 1840s so both of the currencies where traded there.

Actually, thank both of you guys, really good info.
Now Im even more intrigued, with the Po symbol though easy to understand Po for Peso
I didn't see a lot of Peso with the Po abbreviation, I love to collect any style of these unit of 1
one of my favorite Peso's though small for its era, really cool looking, wish the coin was in better shape.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces25476.html
but I also wonder, did the Po stand for Provisional?

Quote: "Worldwide collection"

Very nice history lesson. Thanks.

Quote: "13coinmike"​Actually, thank both of you guys, really good info.
​Now Im even more intrigued, with the Po symbol though easy to understand Po for Peso
​I didn't see a lot of Peso with the Po abbreviation, I love to collect any style of these unit of 1
​one of my favorite Peso's though small for its era, really cool looking, wish the coin was in better shape.
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces25476.html
​but I also wonder, did the Po stand for Provisional?

​Your welcome it’s the same with quite a few currencies for example U.K. Pound with Sudan pound, Egypt pound, Syrian pound, old Australian pound etc. Escudo is the same Used in Portugal, Angola, Cape Verde etc and finally the Franc used in France, Monaco, most of west Africa,Luxembourg and others so hopefully this has helped you.

Like others have said, the $ sign probably derives from the peso being abbreviated to ps and then those letters overlapping to form the dollar sign. Another theory I've heard (although less likely) is that people started using it because it appears on the right pillar on the 8 reales minted from roughly 1732-71, and then the symbol caught on.

Here are my thoughts about word and symbol:

Word "Peso" in Spanish means weight. (Similar to pound in English is a weight unit). On late times (about 1500's, 1600's) Spanish currency was Real (meaning Royal, from the King), and coins value were given for its contents of silver, a real, not "symbolic" value. A common coin at the moment was the 8 Reales, also known as "Reales de a 8" ( 8 reales), which contents of silver was about 1 ounce. Is possible this coin was referred to as "El peso de un real de a 8" (the weight of a 8 reales), and was shortened just to Peso.

It is noticeable, that at Uruguay, on 1840 to 1855 were used the "Imperial Real System", where 1 the main unit, Peso was equal to 8 Reales, and coins were named on Centésimos (Hundredths=Cents), but of Real. Therefore 1 Peso was equal to 800 Centésimos (Cents).

Now, for the symbol $, one theory is that, like seen on the previous post, a very popular design of coins had the Hercule Pillars, with ribbon bearing motto "Plvs Ultra". Plvs Ultra= Plus Ultra, meant far beyond. These coins are known in Spanish as "Columnarias" (with columns), Hercule Pillars was the name given to Gibraltar strait, which communicates Mediterranean Sea with Atlantic Ocean. At that time, Hercule Pillars was the last known limit of the world, and after Discovery of America, the world expanded, and the motto Plvs Ultra meant what was beyond the strait. The design of those coins shows two worlds, between two columns (or Pillars), and the ribbon cover each pillar showing the words.

Now, the $ symbol could be seen as a letter "S" with one or two vertical lines, but also may be the 2 vertical lines represented the Pilars, and the "S" represented a ribbon surrounding both pillars (not as in the coin design, as it would have covered the words, or would be placed behind them).

The use of one or two lines, is just esthetic, cause if you add 2 lines in a small symbol, would be too massive. Same happens in Pound symbol, where can be see with one or 2 lines.

About the use of Peso in many Spanish talking countries is inherited from Colonial times. Please note that Columnarias coins and Peso denomination was not used in Spain, but on many of their colonies.

Finally, New Peso is just a denomination to differentiate a new currency reformed from the previous one. At Uruguay, we had Peso Fuerte ($) (strong), while the Imperial System was used (real, 8 reales, etc.), changed to Peso (o Peso, Moneda Nacional= Peso, National Currency) (kept symbol $), when adopted the centesimal System, then Nuevo Peso (N$) currency reform at a rate of $ 1,000=N$ 1, and Peso Uruguayo ($U), another currency reform, also at a rate of N$ 1,000= $U 1.

Quote: "13coinmike"​Actually, thank both of you guys, really good info.
​Now Im even more intrigued, with the Po symbol though easy to understand Po for Peso
​I didn't see a lot of Peso with the Po abbreviation, I love to collect any style of these unit of 1
​one of my favorite Peso's though small for its era, really cool looking, wish the coin was in better shape.
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces25476.html
​but I also wonder, did the Po stand for Provisional?

​Hi Mike, I do not know much about the monetary system of Honduras, but I believe that the abbreviation Po is for "Peso" and not for "Provisional", since if you look at the 2 and 4 peso coins
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces23682.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces25477.html
if it were for the word "Provisional" it should also carry Po, and instead it carries the abbreviation Ps (from Pesos in plural). I hope I am not wrong.