The slash is the oblique slanting line punctuation mark /. It is also known as a stroke, a solidus, a forward slash and several other historical or technical names. Once used to mark periods and commas, the slash is now used to represent division and fractions, exclusive 'or' and inclusive 'or', and as a date separator.
Sign in Kisoro with prices in Ugandan shillings; note the use of the '/=' notation.
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or one-twentieth of a pound before being phased out during the 1960s and 1970s.
A 1933 UK shilling
1956 Elizabeth II UK shilling showing English and Scottish reverses
English shilling minted under Edward VI, c. 1551
Schilling coin of the imperial city of Zürich, minted in billon, 1640