Using a currency amount such as $1,000 in writing that has an international audience may be confusing (as may £1,000). This amount might represent US, Canadian, Australian or some other currency. I have taken to using the ISO currency codes, such as, USD 1,000, AUD 500, GBP 1,200 to avoid any confusion. Is this a good practice or are there alternative approaches?
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2In formal writing, this is very much a good practice. If the text has to be more informal, you could just state the country/currency explicitly ("It cost 50 Aussie dollars"). I suppose whatever give enough information, and also fits the style of writing.– Alexander RaffertyFeb 9, 2011 at 7:35
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1GBP is interesting, as it has been the currency of the United Kingdom since 1826 (so why not UKP?) but is issued by the Bank of England, and the banknotes are only legal tender in England and Wales.– HenryFeb 9, 2011 at 8:03
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@Henry, Scottish and Northern Irish banks also issue banknotes denominated in pounds sterling and interchangeable with English banknotes. I believe the term "legal tender" is actually rather esoteric and doesn't affect the rights of shops or other businesses to refuse or accept whatever banknotes they wish (for normal transactions at least)– RedGrittyBrickFeb 9, 2011 at 10:26
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Although there are a number of Scottish shop owners that make a big show of looking very suspiciously at the Bank of England notes some tourist hands to them. :-)– Christopher CreutzigFeb 9, 2011 at 13:38
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There are a number of shops especially in London and Cardiff that even accept Euro...– Dan HanlyFeb 9, 2011 at 17:24
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1 Answer
I work for an investment firm, and we generally use ISO currency codes to represent currency.
You could have the following problems if you use currency symbols instead of ISO codes:
- There may be inconsistency in your document because not all currencies have specific symbols.
- Some symbols may not be easily recognizable, and you may not have a well-known source to reference them to.
- You cannot be sure that all your users will have the software to render the currency symbol you use.
That said, if the context is clear and you do not need to represent different currencies, it may be easier on the reader if you use the currency symbol of their country.
I would be interested in reading the other responses you get to this question. We use the Chicago Manual of Style, and as far as I know, it does not give a definitive answer either.
answered Feb 9, 2011 at 7:44
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It's good to see your industry is using the ISO codes. I am not sure how much they are used outside of banking and investment circles so they may be unknown to some audiences if not common. Perhaps the answer is to define uncommon codes on first use: "...one million Chinese yuan (CNY 1M)..."? Feb 9, 2011 at 7:58
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@Alex: I agree. Like all abbreviations, it is a good idea to define the code on first use when writing for people outside the industry. Feb 9, 2011 at 8:16
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1When I worked in a large multinational consumer-goods manufacturing business, we used ISO 3-alpha currency codes in the IT systems at least. Feb 9, 2011 at 10:28
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CMOS uses, in sections 8.23 ff., symbols for currencies that have them. In 8.30, they suggest prefixing symbols where needed, as in “U.S.$1.23” (dots, no spaces). Feb 9, 2011 at 13:44
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@Christopher Creutzig: Interesting... Which edition of CMOS do you use? I have the 15th edition. I believe in the 16th edition, in CMOS 9.22, it recommends using "the International Organization for Standardization’s three-letter currency codes (e.g., USD for United States dollars, CAD for Canadian dollars...)" Feb 10, 2011 at 8:40