The peso sign is a Mexican invention. At present, countries such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, and the United States use it for their currencies.
A considerable number of nations use the dollar sign “$” to represent their respective currencies. What is almost never mentioned is that such sign was invented in Mexico.
To give us an idea of its importance, it should be mentioned that this sign is used to represent money in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Uruguay, the United States, Australia, Canada, Brazil, to name a few.
Peso sign, for the first time between the 17th and 19th centuries
Although there are no very clear sources, it is believed that the first time the peso sign ($) was used was between the 18th and 19th centuries, and although the symbol was not necessarily engraved on coins, it was already beginning to be used on documents.
Before continuing, it should be clarified that the gold coin minted in Spain whose weight corresponded to one-hundredth of a pound of fine gold was called “peso”. This measure remained as a reference of the payment unit, that is, such goods or services cost a certain number of “gold pesos”, which were measured with scales.
The dollar sign, a deformation
It is possible that, although the 8 Reales coin began to be minted in Mexico City as early as 1535, it was not until 1770 that the peso symbol began to be added to it, at least in commercial correspondence and other transaction documents. The time.
Hispanic American and American studies propose that the peso symbol, as we know it today, that is, with an “S” plus a vertical cross line, emerged as a deformation of the abbreviations that meant weight: ” ps ” or ” p “. s “
The US adopts the peso sign in 1792 for dollars
It was not until 1792 when the United States adopted the symbol of pesos ($) to represent the dollar as its currency, since it was a sign to which the government and the population were already very accustomed, as it was the 8-real coin in very common use because it was reliable in its silver value, even in countries as far away as China.
And although many of the bills that use the peso sign created in Mexico do not always print it on their bills or coins, they do recognize it in their documentation or as reference abbreviations.
For example, in Argentina, AR$ is used; Chile, CLP$; Colombia, COP$; Cuba, $MN; Dominican Republic, DR$; Uruguay, $U; Hong Kong, HK$; Brazil, R$; United States US$ and Canada, C$.
