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From: aa318@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (John Coughlin)
Subject: Re: The origin of "$", the dollar sign?
Message-ID: <D4B7B7.HDx@freenet.carleton.ca>
Sender: aa318@freenet3.carleton.ca (John Coughlin)
Reply-To: aa318@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (John Coughlin)
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Date: Mon, 20 Feb 1995 17:30:42 GMT
Lines: 18

In a previous posting, Luis M. Garca-Barrio (lmbarrio@omni.voicenet.com) writes:
> 
> I have read several theories, some of them quite creative. The one most 
> plausible traces the $ symbol to the "8 Reales" coins ("columnarios", or 
> "pesos") from the Spanish colonies, similar in weight, size and appearance to 
> a silver dollar, that circulated widely in North America during the colonial 
> period; the scarce English currency was needed to pay England. For everyday 
> use, the word "reales" was dropped and replaced by "bits": thus, a quarter of 
> a dollar was also known as "2 bits".
> 
It should also be mentioned that the coins in question were scored in four
places so that they could be broken into (up to) eight pieces to make change.
Therefore two bits made up a quarter.
--
Flesh:  John Coughlin                       ___     __o
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