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Even the minor players have made waves in the foreign exchange market. In 2010, India unveiled the new symbol for the rupee, its official currency. Perhaps some of you once asked this question: where did the symbols come from? Today’s edition of Guru Articles explains the origin of the symbols of the world’s major currencies.

Swiss Franc

Around 75 groups manufactured the Swiss franc until the government interfered, which first came out in 1798. The “franc” is the French word for cent. It is tantamount to 100 centimes. France was perhaps the nation most frequently associated with the currency before Swiss authorities asserted itself as the sole institution to issue the franc, which became Switzerland’s official currency in 1850.

Canadian Dollar

The Canadian dollar, bearing the symbol C$, is comprised of 100 cents. The currency and the US dollar have been trading at or close to each other. Before the government introduced the loonie in 1871, many provinces in Canada had differing currencies. Also, prior to exchanging pounds for dollars, one Canadian pound was equivalent to four greenbacks.

Australian Dollar

Considered one of the youngest currencies worldwide, the Australian dollar was revealed in 1966 following a switch from pounds. Carrying the symbol A$, the aussie is made up of 100 cents. Investors is hugely interested in trading the currency because of stability of the Australian government and its high interest rates.

Japanese Yen

Silver is the origin of the Japanese yen, which is comprised 100 sen or 1,000 rin. First used in 1871, the word “yen” is pronounced as “en”, translated as “round object”. Maybe the country used the “Y” in the symbol due to foreigners’ inclination to utter the word as “yen”. It was primarily created to weigh about 1.5 grams of pure gold or 24.26 grams of pure silver. As of present, yen coins are made of aluminum.

British Pound

The United Kingdom opted to use pound although the European Union has euro as the bloc’s official currency. Its roots can be traced back to “libra”, a Latin term which means balances or scales. Numerous theories have surfaced about the pound sterling’s inception. But most currency experts concluded it had something to do with silver and weight.

Euro

In 1999, the euro marked its first public appearance to the financial community. In 2002, euro coins and bills were circulated in the European Union. Some designers presented their ideas for the currency’s symbol. Through polling and the European Commission’s decision, the winning design was chosen. The euro’s sign was inspired by the Greek symbol epsilon, translated as “E” in English, the first letter of the word “Europe”. The parallel lines depict the currency’s soundness.

US Dollar

This global currency, introduced in 1785, is the leading player in the forex market. Several presumptions emerged explaining the origin of the “$”. Some gurus stipulated it is the abbreviation for the woes “peso”. It was denoted as “s” and transposed into the “S” with one line crossed through it as a short version of the “p”. Others mentioned the double stroke version symbolizes the acronym for the United States by putting a shorthand “u” on top of the “S”. Today, most countries worldwide trade this currency.