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The symbol $,usually written before a numerical amount is said to be the result of a late 18th-century evolution of the abbreviation “ps” for the peso (known in English as a Spanish dollar). The p and the s eventually came to be written over each other giving rise to $. After independence, the U.S. chose this symbol to denote its new currency. The term “dollar” is used by numerous countries whose currencies do not share a common history with Spanish dollars. Many of these countries adopted the name “dollar” for their currencies after moving from a £-based to a decimalised monetary system. Examples of other dollar currencies include the Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, Jamaican dollar, Namibian dollar, and Zimbabwe dollar. |