Pound Sign

The pound sign (£ or ₤) is the symbol for the pound sterling—the currency of the United Kingdom (UK). The same symbol is (or was) used for similarly named currencies in some other countries and territories, such as the Irish pound, Gibraltar pound, Australian pound, and Italian lira. Several countries, including Lebanon and Egypt, call their currency "the pound" but do not use the £ symbol.

The symbol derives from a capital "L", representing libra, the basic unit of weight in the Roman Empire, which in turn is derived from the Latin name for scales or a balance. The pound became an English unit of weight and was so named because it originally had the value of one tower pound (~334 grams) of fine (pure) silver.

The pound sign is placed before the number (e.g. "£12,000"), and separated from the following digits by no space or only a thin space.

The symbol ‹₤› was called the lira sign in Italy, before the adoption of the euro. It was used as an alternative to the more usual L to show prices in lire.

In the original old Caslon metal fonts, the pound sign was identical to the italic capital "J" rotated 180 degrees.