Indication of money by signs. Currency sign

The designation of world currencies is used to simplify the type of economic information. Each currency has its own three-digit code, where the first two letters indicate the country, and the last third letter is the name of the currency itself (dollar - D, franc - F, pound - P).

This procedure for three-digit designation of currencies is regulated by a special standard ISO 4217. The International Organization for Standardization in 1978 recommended that all countries use three-letter and three-digit currency codes.

Symbol of any currency:

The main purpose of this use of currency designations was aimed at international documentation in international agreements, in which it was more effective to use abbreviated names of currency codes to identify their names, since the names of some currencies are quite similar (US dollar, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, etc.).

Of course, each country has adapted the ISO 4217 standard to suit its needs. For example, Russia has its own All-Russian Classifier of Currencies. Only the European Union uses the ISO 4217 standard directly.

The designation of currencies, according to the ISO 4217 standard, has been improved several times: digital codes have been introduced, and data on fractional monetary units has been introduced.

In order to facilitate the use of the ISO 4217 standard, the designation of currencies was displayed in special tables - lists that indicate the name of the currency, the place of circulation of the currency, a three-letter alphabetic code, a three-digit alphabetic code, and decimal places for monetary units.

It is clear that some currencies go out of circulation, so they are marked in additions to the ISO 4217 standard with an explanation of the reasons for such changes, and the dates of entry and exit of information.

All changes in currency designations are officially published on its website by a special agency - SIX Interbank Clearing in English and French.

The most interesting thing is that during the use of the designation of world currencies since 1978, practically all available currency signs were used, therefore, for new currencies, they came up with the idea of ​​​​entering the letter N, from the English word - new.

Currency codes were needed to automate and unify the designation of currencies, so each country develops them independently, taking into account the ISO 4217 standard.

Letter designation of world currencies

Surely you noticed when you filled out a payment order at your bank that you have columns of currency codes: for the dollar - 840, euro - 978, Russian ruble - 643, Ukrainian hryvnia - 980.

Symbols of world currencies

In addition to currency signs and currency codes, there are also currency symbols $, £, ¥, €, which you very often see in everyday life.

The history of the dollar symbol $ has a number of versions.

The first version says that in 1492, King Ferdinand II of Aragon from Spain adopted a symbol that looked like the Pillars of Hercules entwined with a ribbon as his currency.

The second version tells the origin of the dollar symbol in the period between 1573 – 1825. in Potosi, which at that time was the largest industrial center in the world, and was located in the territory of modern Bolivia. The fact is that the coins that were circulated in Potosi at that time are very similar to the modern dollar symbol.

The third version talks about the similarity of the modern dollar symbol with the sestertius currency from Ancient Rome. The sesterce was designated IIS.

And according to the fourth version, it is assumed that the $ symbol was obtained as a result of the abbreviation of the Spanish peso. That is, in a single expression, peso was abbreviated as ps. Later, ps was simplified to a single letter S, which was simply crossed out with the missing letter p, which is how the $ symbol came out.

With other currencies everything is simpler. The designation for the pound £ comes from the Latin word libra, which means scales. At that time, the value of the pound was equal to the pound of silver.

The designation of the euro currency - € arose as a result of a sociological survey of the population. That is, the people themselves chose what their national symbol should look like. The euro itself is a very young European currency, which was born in 1999. The symbol €, according to the European Commission, denotes two elements: the importance of Europe in the Greek letter Epsilon, and the stability of the currency in two parallel lines.

The symbol for the Japanese yen currency - ¥ - arose as a result of drawing two parallel lines on the Latin letter Y. The Japanese describe their currency with the hieroglyph 円.

Most countries in the world do not bother with any special invention when designating currencies, but simply use abbreviations of the first letters in the name of the country. Thus, in Poland zlotys are denoted as zł, and the former German Deutsche Mark is simply abbreviated as DM.

Some countries designate their currencies with a symbol that is related to the dollar. For example, Nicaraguan Cordoba looks like C$.

The designation of the shekel currency in Israel in Hebrew is deciphered as the first letters of the name of the currency - ₪.

The history of the designation of the Russian ruble indicates that the name ruble itself was first encountered in the 13th century and meant a pound of silver, which weighed one hryvnia and was cut into pieces. Over time, the symbol of the ruble has changed. In the 17th – 19th centuries, the ruble was depicted by connecting two letters P and U. The modern symbol of the Russian ruble was approved only at the end of 2013 and denotes the letter P with a horizontal line intersecting the letter P - ₽ (but this symbol is not displayed correctly for everyone yet, since such a symbol appeared in Unicode tables quite recently).

Thus, we have dealt with the designations of the currencies of the world, examined the signs, codes and symbols of the main world currencies.

Nowadays, the currency symbols of various countries are used everywhere, and no one questions why the euro, for example, is symbolized as €. But the sign of a currency and its designation is an interesting topic, behind which many interesting facts are hidden.

Why does money need graphic symbols?

Few currencies in the world can present their own signs. The following money does not have special designations: Swiss francs, Croatian kunas, Latvian lats, etc. According to the world Unicode standard, currently only thirty world banknotes have officially recorded graphic symbols. Among them, there are some that are not currently used due to the introduction of the euro: this is the symbol of the French franc (₣).

It would seem, why write the euro currency sign in the form of symbols if you can write 100 euros, and not 100 €?

There are several factors according to which short designations for a particular currency are introduced into use:

• Such signs are very convenient, because as soon as they do not indicate the ruble: rub. or ruble. It looks unoriginal and is not always clear to foreigners.
• Having your own designation for a currency is prestigious. Such banknotes are automatically classified as strong and successfully developing.

When a state is able to develop, approve and include a currency symbol in UNICODE, we can say that the country has increased its authority at the global level.

Signs of world currencies and the main requirements for them

When developing a designation for any country, designers adhere to the following requirements:

1. The symbol must consist of one character. If the designation has 2 or more of them, it will cause both inconvenience when reading and difficulty in writing.
2. It should be easily recognized by citizens of the country who use this currency. It would be great if foreigners could recognize it, because the symbol of any currency is unique.
3. The designation should not depend on the font. The sign must be recognizable in any font system.
4. All symbols have width restrictions: if we consider all currency symbols, they are no thicker than 0.
5. The icon should not be overloaded with additional elements (wavy lines, etc.).
6. The symbol must be unique, unlike any other.

When developing symbols, strict requirements are taken into account, so sometimes they contain similar elements: vertical or horizontal dashes, and possibly two. Such symbols denote stability, and this is the main thing that all currencies in the world strive for.

The history of the appearance of the Russian ruble symbol

The most famous symbols that represent a specific currency have their own history.

The well-known designation of the ruble (₽) is presented in the form of the letter P, which is crossed out by a horizontal line below. It denotes stability and distinguishes a currency sign from a letter of the alphabet.

During the times of the Russian Empire, the ruble was written differently: the capital letters “r” and “u” were combined. According to the most common version, the letter “r” was turned 90 degrees and the letter “u” was written on top of it. The sign turned out to be unique, but it turned out to be difficult to use, especially in writing.

Therefore, the designation did not take root, and the symbol had to be reinvented.

The process of developing the ruble symbol is interesting:

• The Central Bank of Russia held 2 competitions on this issue. The first was held in 2007, but all the proposals were not particularly original.
• The next competition was held in 2013, but no new version of the ruble symbol was invented.

Masters of type design were involved in the design process: Alexander Tarbeev and Vladimir Efimov.

The ruble (₽) currency symbol is now officially recognized, which was approved by the Central Bank of Russia. The designation is implemented in UNICODE.

Single currency symbol

The designation of the currency of the European Union (€) was approved after a sociological survey of citizens of the member countries of the commonwealth. This mark was officially introduced in 1996. The authors are considered to be four specialists, whose details have not been disclosed.

The logo was chosen very well. According to the commission that made the final decision, the sign demonstrates:

1. The significance of European civilization, because it includes the Greek letter "epsilon".
2. Stability, which is confirmed by two parallel horizontal lines.
3. Identification with Europe (letter E).

The euro is considered one of the youngest monetary units on the planet. The world's currency symbols, such as the dollar, yuan and yen signs, have a longer history of development.

Where did the $ notation come from?

Many inhabitants of the planet are familiar with the designation in the form of the Latin letter S, which is crossed out by one (two) vertical lines, regardless of whether they are faced with the field of finance or not. The exact version of the appearance of this designation is unknown, but there are several versions of the origin of the sign:

• Presumably the $ sign has a lot in common with the spelling US. If we move U and S towards each other, we get the symbol for American currency.
• Another version is associated with Spain and its currency - the peso. 1 peso is equal to 8 reais; when writing this was done to save time - /8/. Over time, the inscription may have been simplified: only halves remained of the eights, and the oblique lines turned into one vertical line.
• The next version is also Spanish. To denote plural numbers, Ps was used, then all that was left of P was a line, and the letter S became full. Only this version has documentary evidence from 1778. In this message, a certain Olliver Polak first wrote Ps, and then corrected it to $.
• You should not refuse the version associated with the Roman theme. It was customary for the Romans to designate sestertius as LLS, then the spelling was shortened, and it became known as $. This option cannot be abandoned, because in the US Congress the upper house is called the Senate.
• The last version of the origin of $ is how printed sheets were designated. Previously, their number was designated sh, in this case s resembled the number 5 in writing. Then h was transformed into a line that was superimposed on S.

Currently, the most popular currencies in the world are represented by the US currency. But the sign of the American currency is known throughout the world, and it is not possible to establish exactly where it came from.

Ukrainian currency symbol

In Ukraine, they started thinking about introducing a designation for their national currency back in 2004. First, the National Bank of Ukraine held a corresponding competition for the currency sign, and in the end the best option was chosen.

Hryvnia is a rather ancient name for a monetary unit, but it did not have a separate designation. Finding a suitable option was not difficult. The Ukrainian currency sign is represented in the form of “₴”, where the main part of the symbol resembles the letter g, and two horizontal lines are added to it. The dashes, as in all other signs, symbolize stability.

Some historians were able to notice the coincidence of the currency designation with the Roman sextula. The symbol indicating 0.5 sextule is exactly like ₴, although it is pointless to look for Roman roots in this situation.

Japanese yen and Chinese yuan

The yen has been the currency of Japan since 1871. It is considered the main reserve currency of the world after the American dollar and the euro. This happened thanks to the steadily developing economy of the Land of the Rising Sun.

The international designation is ¥, and in the country itself they use the hieroglyph on price tags. The official date of appearance of this sign is considered to be 1953, when the IMF, in order to help restore the Japanese economy, officially equated 1 yen to 2.5 grams of gold. Then the corresponding designation appeared.

In addition, the yen symbol is also used for the Chinese yuan. When written, the yuan should have one dash, but in practice this is not done.

English pound sign

The British pound, despite its fall due to Brexit, is considered one of the most stable currencies in the world. The sign is designated - £, which resembles the Latin letter L, supplemented by one or two horizontal lines in the middle.

The history of its origin is connected with Ancient Rome and its measurement system. The pound got its name from the phrase “liberal weight”. In the past, 1 pound of silver yielded 240 coins. Therefore, libral or true weight was used to determine the quality of coins or their degree of wear.

The designation of currencies in the form of symbols is not at all a mandatory procedure, because in the world there are many monetary units that use abbreviations. However, if a state has a separately designed symbol, then its currency is considered to be stable and reliable. Symbols have not only monetary units of countries with a rich historical past. There is a euro currency sign for the recently formed European Union.

The most popular currencies in the world have a huge impact on financial processes. Each popular currency has its own symbol, which makes it recognizable among others. It is difficult to confuse the American dollar sign with the euro, or the Japanese yen sign with the British pound. But what do the signs and symbols mean on popular world currencies? And what is the history of their appearance?

American dollar ($)

The English pound (£ or ₤) is combination of two symbols:

• — Latin letter “L”;
• - two horizontal lines.

The pound sign is also used in the currencies of other countries (Egypt, Turkey), since it also means “lira” (from the Latin Libra). This is exactly what the measure of weight was in England and Ancient Rome.

Euro – Single currency of the European Union (€)

The EU currency sign was created after a sociological survey, in which residents of the European Commonwealth participated. The official presentation of the new symbol took place at the end of 1996.

Euro - very young currency(her year of birth was 1999). According to the European Commission, which dealt with the development of the sign, € is a combination of two elements:

• — the Greek letter “epsilon” (symbol of the importance of Europe);
• - two lines parallel to each other (symbol of currency stability).

Swiss franc (Fr)

If several years ago there were several currencies called “francs,” today, of all the “francs” of the European Union, only Swiss money is still used. The symbol itself is a capital letter "F" and a small "r". Franks were first used in the 14th century in France.

Japanese yen (¥)

Yen recognized reserve currency in the countries of Asia, where one of the most powerful, technically developed and economically strong countries in the world is located - Japan. True, the Japanese currency is popular only in the East. And the symbol of Japanese money itself is derived from the Chinese yuan.

The yen symbol is hieroglyphs or Latin. The symbol "¥" represents the Japanese yen, which is derived from the Latin letter Y and two parallel lines. In Japan, the yen is written as the character "円".

Half a century ago, the International Monetary Fund recognized the Japanese yen as an international reserve currency, at the same time the yen received the international symbol ¥.

Chinese Yuan (Ұ)

Yuan was once called silver coins, which were used during the Qing Dynasty. Yuan is written with the sign “元” or “圓”, but recently “Ұ” is used for the international designation.

In the 18th century, silver coins were brought to China from Europe, which were called “Western Yuans”. And later, in Hong Kong (Japan), they started producing silver coins. They were called “Hong Kong yuan”, their pronunciation changed to the Japanese style - “yuan”.

Literally, "yen" is round coins. In China, the yuan is the basis of any monetary system. So, the American dollar sounds like “mei yuan” in Chinese.

Russian ruble

And, once upon a time, the ruble was the name given to the monetary currency of the Russian Empire. The symbol of today's ruble was approved only in December 2013. It consists of the letter "P" and a horizontal line that crosses the inscription.

Back in the 17th century, there was a progenitor of the current ruble. The symbol consisted of two letters: “P” and “U”. The first letter was perpendicular to the second and was located counterclockwise. And the very name “ruble” was found back in the 13th century and meant a pound of silver, weighing one hryvnia, cut into pieces.

Ukrainian hryvnia (₴)

This young currency appeared only in the mid-90s in Ukraine, despite the fact that money was called “hryvnia” several centuries ago. The currency symbol “₴” itself was officially approved in 2004.

Symbol "₴" is derived from the letter "g", taken from the Cyrillic alphabet and two horizontal stripes that symbolize the stability of the currency. Recently, Ukrainian paper money was recognized as the most beautiful in the world.

Kuwaiti Dinar (X)

This currency replaced the Indian rupee in the 60s of the last century. And today it is one of. The name itself is derived from the name of the coin of the Roman Empire. Dinars ( Golden coins) 800 years ago were used as the currency of the countries of the East. The ancestors of the Kuwaiti dinar are ancient Roman coins " denarii" They were the most popular silver coins in Ancient Rome.

Omani rial (﷼)

Recognized as one of the most expensive currencies. The name comes from Lat. "royal" and was first used to refer to money in 14th century Spain. Later, rials began to be used in a number of colonies, which had a huge impact on the formation of the monetary system in the countries of South America, Asia, the East and Europe.

Banknote symbols have different histories and origins. Some of them are very young, others are borrowed from other cultures. But the value and popularity of currencies does not depend on this. Both new and old currencies are used very successfully and are an integral part of major financial transactions around the world.

The number and variety of world currencies will make anyone's eyes sparkle. After all, the currency world is not only a variety of coins and banknotes, but also specific names, as well as a fascinating story that lies behind each national currency.

It so happened that certain types of currencies have become practically global, and their development and stability evoke sincere admiration. However, there are types of money that even local residents of the country where they are common have little understanding of.

In any case, to simplify the reading of trading reports, facilitate the process of orientation among the huge number of monetary units and flows of information from currency exchanges, special notations were invented. After all, this is the easiest way to quickly understand in what currency this or that amount is expressed.

Currency designation system

The term “currency” itself is borrowed from the Italian language and means “value”. In fact, currency is the unit of account of the state.

In order to somehow make the life of everyone involved in the financial sector easier, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) adopted a standard, thanks to which any currency in the world was assigned a special designation, which made it possible to unify forms of financial activity.

ISO is a leader in the development of any international standards. And according to the standard it adopted, any world monetary unit received not only a three-digit letter designation, but also a digital one.

It should be noted that any power that decides to develop its own currency classification system always acts on the basis of an already existing ISO standard.

Major currencies of the world (16 currencies)

There are about 200 different currencies in the modern world, and only 150 of them are included in the international standard. It should be noted that, along with world currencies, some other medals and collectible coins are included in this standard.

Among so many monetary units of the world, 16 currencies have acquired a special status, which are now recognized as the main ones on the market.

These include:

However, it should be noted that only the first 7 currencies listed in the list are recognized as base ones. This means that they are the main reserve currencies and it is in them that many states prefer to both create and maintain their gold and foreign exchange reserves.

Letter designation of world currencies

As already mentioned, on any foreign exchange market and accompanying financial documentation, you will not find names familiar to the eye. After all, they have long been replaced by a special notation system that is easy to understand.

Thus, thanks to the merits of the International Organization for Standardization, each monetary unit received its own abbreviated letter designation, consisting of three Latin letters. Accordingly, the first two of them indicate the name of the country, but the last one indicates the name of the currency itself.

If you look at the familiar abbreviation USD (US dollar), you will understand that US is United States, and the letter D stands for the name of the currency itself - Dollar. A similar principle applies to the names of other currencies.

World currency signs

However, most people have already come across other options for designating world currencies more than once. Undoubtedly, we are talking about a symbolic display of currencies. This is an even more effective and concise way to display the type of currency; in addition, many signs date back more than a dozen, or even a hundred years, and have their own impressive history.

However, few people know (with the exception of financial specialists) that the general expression of all world currencies looks similar.

Of course, each of the major currencies has its own symbolic expression, although it makes sense to focus on the “base” currencies.

• $ — US dollar
• € — Euro
• £ — British pound
• ¥ — Japanese yen
• ₣ — Swiss franc

It is immediately noticeable that most symbols try to include horizontal lines. And this is no coincidence. After all, the presence of such components has always served as a symbol of stability and reliability of the currency.

World currency codes and their designations

In addition to alphabetic and symbolic expressions, any type of currency also has its own digital code. You may be wondering why such diversity is necessary, but everything has its own hidden meaning.

As you would expect, the use of a digital code makes it easier to carry out certain currency transactions.

As for the designations themselves, the codes of the main world currencies look like this:

Naturally, any currency has its own interesting history and a lot of features worthy of closer study. However, I would like to believe that the information provided will serve you well, significantly expanding the boundaries of your understanding of this area.

The most common currencies used in different countries of the world have a huge impact on processes in financial markets. Each monetary unit is indicated by a special symbol. This makes any of them recognizable and avoids confusion. Today, almost everyone can immediately distinguish such world currencies as the American dollar and sterling, the euro and the Japanese yen. Each of these symbols has its own history of origin and carries a certain meaning. This material proposes to consider the signs of the most popular world currencies.

U.S. dollar

Today, several versions of the origin of this currency sign 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 the real. It was equal to 1/8 of the English pound sterling. This ratio became the reason for the name of the real that stuck with the British - “peace of eight” (1/8). And, accordingly, the symbol of the real currency was chosen in the form of a vertically crossed out eight.

According to another version, the symbol “$” originates from the name of the US state. Thus, American patriots believe that the first two letters of the English name USA form a dollar sign. As evidence, an argument is given that this symbol was used as a postal stamp for government correspondence.

Another interesting version of how the “$” currency sign came about is another “Spanish” version. Thus, it is alleged that when gold was exported from the territory of the colonies on the American continent, the “S” stamp was placed on the cargo. It symbolized the recipient's country - Spain. After arriving at Spanish ports, a vertical line was added to the sign, and when the cargo was sent in the opposite direction, the symbol was marked with another additional line.

English pound

The British pound sterling currency sign “₤” is a combination of two symbols: the Latin letter L and two horizontal strokes. Sometimes a symbol with a single line (£) is used to denote this currency. It would be appropriate to say that a similar sign is used for other world currencies. For example, it is also used to denote the Turkish lira. The Latin word libra was used to define a measure of weight in ancient Rome and later in England.

Monetary unit of the European Union

The European Union currency symbol “€” was chosen based on the results of a sociological survey, in which residents of the member countries of the commonwealth took part. The symbol was officially introduced at the end of 1996. It should be noted that the euro is a very young currency. The world's currency symbols, such as the dollar, pound sterling, yuan and yen symbols, have a much longer history. Officially, the euro began to be used at the beginning of 1999. The development of the sign was carried out by the European Commission, which chose a combination of two symbols: the Greek letter “epsilon” and two parallel strokes, symbolizing the stability of the new monetary unit.

Swiss frank

Just a few years ago in Europe there were a number of currencies called “franc”. However, today only the Swiss representative of this currency is used in circulation. The “Fr” sign itself is made up of a combination of two letters: an uppercase “F” and a lowercase “r”. The appearance of the franc currency in Europe dates back to the 14th century. Then they began to use it in France.

Japanese yen and Chinese yuan

The name "yuan" appeared during the reign of the Qin Dynasty in China. This is how silver coins were called in those days. Local hieroglyphs were used for designation. Nowadays, the international sign 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 money had the same name in the Russian principalities, the Russian Kingdom, the Russian Empire and the USSR. It should also be taken into account that the Republic of Belarus uses its own rubles.

The modern symbol of the Russian monetary unit consists of a capital letter “P” and one horizontal line crossing it out. An interesting fact is the fact that back in 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.