Currency Symbols

Time once again for a good dose of worthless knowledge: unusual currency symbols.

Most of us are used to seeing pounds, dollars, yen, and Euros. These symbols look typical to us. But there are some pretty whacky currency symbols out there, and here are six of them.

Brazil, Cruzeiros (obsolete)
The monetary unit of Brazil from 1942 to 1986, it later became the cruzeiro novo (new cruzeiro) in 1967, renamed the Cruzeiro in 1970, replaced with the Cruzado in 1986, only to have the Cruzeiro reinstated in 1990, and then Reals, the current currency (and the historical currency of Brazil from the 17th century until 1942, was reintroduced in 1993. Phew!

)Cambodia, Riels
Although Riels are the national currency of Cambodia. It is used mainly for the local economy, as the US Dollar, particularly in single dollar banknotes, is widely used throughout Cambodia for virtually all purposes. When I was in Cambodia, I saw more dollar bills than Cambodian Riel, and it is effectively the country’s “unofficial second currency.”

Israel, New Shekels
The New Shekel was issued by the Bank of Israel in September 1985. It replaced the “old” sheqel at a rate of one new sheqel per 1000 “old” sheqel. 　The name “sheqel” derives from the name of an ancient unit of weight in Ancient Israel, corresponding to slightly less than half an ounce (11 grams). Amounts of gold or silver were expressed in shekels, and served as currency.

Nepal, Rupees
The Rupee is the common name for the currencies used in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Mauritius, whereas in Indonesia the currency is known as the rupiah and in the Maldives the rufiyah. An Indian rupee is equivalent to one hundred new paise or pice (singular paisa).

Sri Lanka, Rupees
The origin of the word Rupee is found in the Sanskrit word rupya, meaning ‘silver.’ The derivative word Rupiya was used to denote the coin introduced by Sher Shah Suri during his reign from 1540 to 1545 CE. The original Rupiya was a silver coin originally divided into 16 annas, and the anna into 4 pice, or 12 pies. Most countries decimalized in the mid-20th century

Thanks to XE.com, Wikipedia, and various sites found through Google.