Type Foreign Currency Symbols in Mac OS X

You can access and type foreign currency symbols in Mac OS X in much the same way that other special characters are typed out. That means you’ll use a keystroke combined with the “Option” key to type the respective character. A few common currency symbols are available on default keyboard layouts, including the $ dollar, € Euro, ¥ Yen, and £ Pound, but other foreign currencies can also be accessed through a special character panel. Let’s review each of these:

Foreign Currency Symbols in Mac OS X

The three most commonly used symbols (according to Apple’s inclusion as option-characters, at least) are the Euro, Yen, and Pound. On a standard US, Australian, and Canadian keyboard layout, they can be typed by using the following keystrokes:

European Euro Symbol: € – Shift + Option + 2

Japanese Yen Symbol: ¥ – Option + Y

British Pound Symbol: £ – Option + 3

Dollar symbol: $ – Shift + 4

Of course, the common $ dollar sign (Shift+4) applies to many currencies as well (USD, NZD, AUD, CAD, etc), and thus will appear on many keyboards whether they’re using a US layout or not, and on those keyboards the ¢ cent sign can be typed by hitting Option+4 (or option+$).

Accessing Additional Foreign Currency Symbols

Additional symbols for currencies can be accessed through the Character viewing panel, which can be summoned just about anywhere that you can type on the Mac by pulling down the “Edit” menu and choosing “Special Characters”. From there, choose the “Currency symbols” option to gain access to many more symbols, ranging from the Peso to Yuan Renminbi.

If you can’t recall the precise keyboard shortcut, going straight to the character viewing panel can be easier, particularly with some of the more obscure keystrokes, and thus having them all in a central location for those International Mac users or avid travelers is quite nice. Speaking of travelers, don’t forget you can also access type foreign currencies on Apple’s mobile devices in iOS too, which in many respects is even easier to do than it is on the Mac.