The US dollar is one of the most widespread currencies in the world, but there are also Canadian, Australian and other dollars. The dollar symbol is an E crossed by two vertical bars, although it is also represented with one. The most widespread theory about its origin suggests that the dollar was born from a Spanish currency.
The Spanish eight real was known as the Spanish dollar and was the first legal tender in the United States in the 18th century. Its use was abolished by law in 1857. On its reverse the two columns of Hercules appeared with a ribbon. This contained the inscription “plus ultra”, which actually comes from the phrase “non plus ultra” and meant that these pillars marked the end of the world according to Greek mythology. The US dollar replicated this image. The two vertical bars drawn in the symbol correspond to the aforementioned columns, while the letter that arose when illustrating the route of the tape.
Other studies indicate that the dollar’s E was born due to the evolution of the abbreviation Ps, which meant pesos. By writing the p over the that, the first letter would end up being reduced to a vertical line. The peso was an ancient Spanish silver coin that had various values and from which the monetary units used in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Philippines, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay come.
Nowadays, it is more common to see the dollar symbol represented with a single bar instead of two. There is no clear explanation, but it could be a simplification of the sign with the two lines that evoked the columns of Hercules. Furthermore, it should be noted that on computer keyboards it appears with a single vertical line.