The most common currencies used in different countries of the world have a huge impact on the processes in the financial markets. Each currency is indicated with a special symbol. This makes any of them recognizable and avoids confusion. Today, almost everyone can immediately distinguish such signs of world currencies as the American dollar and British pound sterling, the euro and the Japanese yen. Any of these symbols has its own history of origin and carries a certain meaning. This material is proposed to consider the signs of the most popular world currencies.
U.S. dollar
Today, several versions of the origin of the sign of this currency are common. Some people are of the opinion that the symbol "$" came to the USA from Spain. At the time of the discovery of the American continent, the Spanish currency was real. It was equal to 1/8 of the British pound. This ratio has become the reason for the English name of the real name that has become firmly established in the British - “Pis of Ait” (1/8). And, accordingly, the real currency sign was chosen in the form of a vertically crossed eight.
According to another version, the symbol "$" originates from the name of the US state. So, American patriots believe that the first two letters of the English name USA form a dollar sign. As evidence, an argument is given that the symbol was used as a postal stamp for government correspondence.
Another curious version of how the “$” currency sign came about is another “Spanish” option. Thus, it is argued that when exporting gold from colonies on the American continent, the stamp “S” was put on cargo. It symbolized the country of the recipient - Spain. After arriving in Spanish ports, vertical strikethrough was added to the sign, and when sending goods in the opposite direction, the symbol was marked with another additional dash.
Pound
The British pound sterling “₤” is a combination of two characters: the Latin letter L and two horizontal strokes. Sometimes a single-character symbol (£) is used to denote this currency. By the way, it will be said that a similar sign is used for other world currencies. For example, with it, the Egyptian pound and the Turkish lira are designated. The Latin word libra was used to define weight measures in ancient Rome and later in England.
The monetary unit of the European Union
The sign of the currency of the European Union “€” was chosen according to the results of a sociological survey, in which residents of the countries participating in the community took part. The symbol was officially introduced in late 1996. It should be noted that the euro is a very young currency. Signs of world currencies, such as the symbol of the dollar, pound sterling, yuan and the yen, have a much longer history. Officially, the euro began to be used in early 1999. The European Commission was engaged in the development of the sign, which chose a combination of two symbols to denote the currency : the Greek letter "epsilon" and two parallel strokes, symbolizing the stability of the new currency.
Swiss frank
A few years ago in Europe there were a number of currencies, bearing the name "franc". However, today only the Swiss representative of this currency is used in circulation. The “Fr” sign itself consists of a combination of two letters: an uppercase “F” and a lowercase “r”. The emergence of the franc currency in Europe dates from the XIV century. Then it began to be used in France.
Japanese Yen and Chinese Yuan
The Japanese yen has the designation "¥". This currency is one of the IMF's officially recognized reserve currencies of the world. The yen received this status thanks to a powerful economy and a technical breakthrough in Japan. A hieroglyph can be used to indicate the yen. True, such a tradition is followed by the Japanese themselves in the territory of their country. The rest of the world uses the “¥” sign, which consists of the Latin letter “Y” and two horizontal strokes. By the way, it will be said that the Chinese yuan is considered the progenitor of the Japanese yen .
The name "yuan" appeared during the reign of the Qin Dynasty in China. Thus, in those days, coins of silver were called. To indicate the currency of China , local characters were used. Nowadays, the international currency sign Yuan is a combination of the Latin letter "Y" and a horizontal line.
Russian ruble
The ruble is the official currency in the Russian Federation. In addition, at one time the same name was worn in the Russian principalities, the Russian Empire, the Russian Empire and the USSR. It should also be noted that the Republic of Belarus uses its own rubles.
The modern symbol of the Russian currency consists of the capital letter "P" and one horizontal line that crosses it. An interesting fact is the fact that as early as the 17th century the ruble currency sign looked like a combination of two letters: “P” and “U”. The first of them was located at an angle of 90 degrees to the second counterclockwise. By the way, the very name “ruble” began to be used back in the 13th century.