Spanish Peso facts
While investigating facts about Spanish Peso, I found out little known, but curios details like:
The US dollar was originally based on the Spanish peso AKA the Spanish dollar, AKA the famous 'pieces of eight' treasured by pirates; and that the word *peso* itself is derived from the Spanish "*peso de ocho*" (piece of eight)
No one is 100% sure of the origin of the dollar sign ($). Our best guess is that it evolved from Pˢ, an abbreviation for the Spanish American peso used in the late 1700s.
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 9 of the best facts about Spanish Peso I managed to collect.
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The US dollar was named after the Spanish peso de ocho "dollar" coin
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The dollar sign ($) is older than the U.S. dollar and likely arose from the notation for Spanish Pesos (Ps) in the New World
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The dollar sign $ is thought to originate from the abbreviation for the Spanish American Peso, pˢ. The P was often written over the top of the S and gradually the curve in the P disappeared
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The $ most likely originated from abbreviation for Spanish "Peso"
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The $ sign comes from the "P" for Mexican or Spanish pesos, and over time, the "S" was written over it to pluralize it, forming the $.
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The world's largest banknote was issued by the Phillipines to celebrate a century of independence from Spanish rule. The size of a sheet of legal paper, the 100,000 peso note was sold for $3,700 to collectors
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The $ symbol has origins in the Spanish Peso dominance during the 1500s
