From: Anto'nio Martins-Tuva'lkin (antonio@tuvalkin.web.pt)
Date: Wed Sep 14 2005 - 18:19:12 CDT
On 2005.09.13, 16:28, Richard T. Gillam <rgillam@las-inc.com> wrote:
> The classic example (and, as far as I know, the only one) was the
> Portugese escudo.
<...>
> [WARNING: I'm reconstructing this from memory, so I may have goofed up
> some of the details.]
Yep, that's the one. One and a half escudos was written 1$50 (and a looong
time ago it was 1$500). Though we dont write one and a half euros as 1€50…
> The currency symbol was just "Esc.",
Seldom used as such and termed a "symbol" by Windows only. It is/was
rather an abbreviation with no official standing (nor a need for it).
> but the dollar sign
Ahem. Normal portuguese had no idea that "$" was not a general-purpose
symbol for money. It was (still is) a _cifrão_. (Originated, BTW, from a
spanish coin depicting the pillers of hercules, each a vertical bar with a
helix scroll around itself.)
> was used as the decimal separator: "1,234$56 Esc."
The thousands separater would be a (figure) space or (officially but
scarcely used) a period dot, never a comma.
> I think they normally use the comma as a decimal separator.
We do.
> I believe Portugal is in the Euro zone,
It is.
> so this format is probably pretty much obsolete now.
Yep.
-- ____.
António MARTINS-Tuválkin | ()|
<antonio@tuvalkin.web.pt> |####|
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