United States Dollar

The United States dollar (sign: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$), is referred to as the U.S. dollar, or Federal Reserve Note. It is the official currency of the United States and its overseas territories. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents.

The U.S. dollar is the fiat currency most used in international transactions and is one of the world's most dominant reserve currencies. Several countries use it as their official currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. It is also used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories: the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos islands.

Today, USD notes are made from cotton fiber paper, unlike most common paper, which is made of wood fiber. U.S. coins are produced by the United States Mint. U.S. dollar banknotes are printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and, since 1914, have been issued by the Federal Reserve.

Dollar sign $

The symbol $, usually written before the numerical amount, is used for the U.S. dollar (as well as for many other currencies). The sign was the result of a late 18th-century evolution of the scribal abbreviation "ps" for the peso. The p and the s eventually came to be written over each other giving rise to $.

Another popular explanation is that it comes from the Pillars of Hercules on the Spanish Coat of arms on the Spanish dollars that were minted in the New World mints in Mexico City, Potosí, Bolivia, and in Lima, Peru. These Pillars of Hercules on the silver Spanish dollar coins take the form of two vertical bars (||) and a swinging cloth band in the shape of an "S"

Source: Wikipedia.

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