SymbolHub

Generic Currency Sign (¤)

The generic currency sign ¤ is Unicode U+00A4, a placeholder for any currency. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 0164 on Windows.

Unicode
U+00A4
HTML
¤
Windows
Alt + 0164

How to type the generic currency sign (¤)

The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ¤ yourself, use the method for your device below. On Windows the alt code is Alt + 0164.

Windows

  1. Hold Alt and type 0164 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Num Lock must be on. This uses the Windows-1252 code page, so it works in almost every Windows app.
  2. In Word or Outlook, type 00A4 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
  3. Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Currency Sign, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.

Mac

  1. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for currency sign and double-click it.
  2. With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 00A4.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type a4, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Copy ¤ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;curr. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.

Android

  1. Copy ¤ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

  1. Type 00A4, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 00A4 in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

  1. Insert → Special characters, then search for “currency sign” or draw it in the box.

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(164) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

  1. Write ¤ or ¤ in your HTML.

What does ¤ mean?

¤ is the generic currency sign, sometimes nicknamed the scarab. It stands for “some currency” when the real sign is unknown or unavailable. It appeared in early international character sets of the 1970s so that countries could avoid a hard-coded $ sign, and it sits in ISO 8859-1 and Windows-1252 (Alt + 0164).

You mostly meet it today in software: number-formatting patterns use ¤ as the placeholder that is replaced by the local currency sign, for example ¤#,##0.00 in Unicode CLDR and Java formats. In ordinary prose, write the real sign or the ISO code instead.

Generic Currency Sign codes for HTML, CSS and programming

Every code below produces ¤. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.

Unicode code pointU+00A4
HTML entity (named)¤
HTML decimal¤
HTML hex¤
CSS contentcontent: "\A4";
JavaScript"\u00A4"
Python"\u00A4"
Python (by name)"\N{CURRENCY SIGN}"
Java / C#"\u00A4"
UTF-8 bytesC2 A4
UTF-1600A4
URL encoded%C2%A4
Windows Alt codeAlt + 0164

¤ vs look-alike characters

These characters look similar to ¤ but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.

CharNameWhen to use it
White Sun with Rays
U+263C		White sun with rays, a weather symbol with a similar circle-and-rays look.
Degree
U+00B0		Degree sign, sometimes mistaken for a small ¤ in low resolution.

Symbols similar to ¤

Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full currency symbols collection.

¤ character properties

Official Unicode name
CURRENCY SIGN
Also known as
currency sign, scarab, general currency symbol
Code point
U+00A4
Unicode block
Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF)
General category
Currency symbol (Sc)
Added in
Unicode 1.1 (1993)
Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
Emoji
No, it is a text symbol

Frequently asked questions

What is ¤ used for?

It is a placeholder for a currency sign, mainly in number-formatting patterns in software, where it is replaced by $, €, ¥ and so on.

What is the alt code for the generic currency sign?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 0164 on the numeric keypad to get ¤. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 00A4 then Alt + X in Word.

How do I type the generic currency sign on a Mac?

There is no single Option shortcut for ¤ on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “currency sign” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code for the generic currency sign?

Use the named entity ¤ or the numeric reference ¤ (hex ¤). All three display ¤ in every browser.

What is the Unicode for the generic currency sign?

¤ is U+00A4, officially named CURRENCY SIGN, in the Latin-1 Supplement block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).