Dollar sign
The dollar or peso sign is a symbol used to indicate the units of various currencies around the world, including the peso and the US dollar. The symbol can interchangeably have two vertical strokes. In common usage, the sign appears to the left of the amount specified, as in $1. A common hypothesis holds that the sign derives from the symbolic representation of the Pillars of Hercules; this representation can have either a banner separately around each pillar, or, as in the Spanish coat of arms, a banner curling between them. In 1492, Ferdinand II of Aragon adopted the symbol of the Pillars of Hercules and added the Latin warning Non plus ultra meaning "nothing further beyond", indicating "this is the end of the world", but when Christopher Columbus came to America, the legend was changed to Plus ultra, meaning "further beyond". The Pillars of Hercules wrapped in a banner thus became a symbol of the New World; the link between this symbol and the dollar sign is more seen in Spanish coins of the period, which show two pillars, each with a separate banner, rather than one banner spanning both pillars.
In this example the right-hand pillar resembles the dollar sign, additionally directly relates to the use of money. The symbol was adopted by Charles V and was part of his coat of arms representing Spain's American possessions; the symbol was stamped on coins minted in gold and silver. The coin known as Spanish dollar, was the first global currency used in the world since the Spanish Empire was the first global empire; these coins, depicting the pillars over two hemispheres and a small "S"-shaped ribbon around each, were spread throughout America and Asia. According to this, traders wrote signs that, instead of saying "Spanish dollar", had this symbol made by hand, this in turn evolved into a simple S with two vertical bars; when the United States gained their independence from Great Britain, they created the US dollar, but in its early decades they continued to use the Spanish dollar, more trusted in all markets. The United States after independence, was still using the pound sterling as currency.
This is attested in state legislation of the early 1780s, referring to pounds and pence, which predated the U. S. Constitution and federal legislation. Given the origin of this theory – related to Spanish colonisation of the Americas – it is that the cifrão or peso signs share the same origin, that the double stroke usage is a stylistic variant, rather than a distinct character; the sign is first attested in Spanish American, Canadian and other British business correspondence in the 1770s, referring to the Spanish American peso known as "Spanish dollar" or "piece of eight" in North America, which provided the model for the currency that the United States adopted in 1792 and the larger coins of the new Spanish American republics such as the Mexican peso, Peruvian eight-real and Bolivian eight-sol coins. This explanation holds that the sign evolved out of the Spanish and Spanish American scribal abbreviation "pˢ" for pesos. A study of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century manuscripts shows that the s came to be written over the p, developing into a close equivalent to the "$" mark.
A variation, though less plausible, of this hypothesis derives the sign from a combination of the Greek character "psi" and "S". There are a number of other hypotheses about the origin of the symbol, some with a measure of academic acceptance, others the symbolic equivalent of false etymologies. Among the various hypotheses, the simplest one is that the barred S is a typo modified 8, from its obvious link with the pieces of eight, the popular name of the Spanish dollar; the added bar should be the same used to distinguish a letter dedicated to a currency value, like £. Kingdom of Sicily deniers minted by Manfred of Hohenstaufen in the Kingdom of Sicily between 1258 and 1266 had what can be construed as an early dollar symbol; these coins were circulated outside Europe due to the Crusades, including the Crusade that targeted Tunis. Several alternative hypotheses relate to the dollar sign drawn with two vertical lines. A dollar sign with two vertical lines could have started off as a monogram of'USA', used on money bags issued by the United States Mint.
The letters U and S superimposed resemble the historical double-stroke dollar sign: the bottom of the'U' disappears into the bottom curve of the'S', leaving two vertical lines. It is postulated in the papers of Dr. James Alton James, a professor of history at Northwestern University from 1897 to 1935, that the symbol with two strokes was an adapted design of the patriot Robert Morris in 1778. Robert Morris was such a zealous patriot – known as the "Financier of the Revolution in the West" – that James came to believe that this hypothesis is viable. A similar idea claims that the letters U and S would stand for unit of silver, referencing pieces of eight again, but, unlikely since one would expect it to be in Spanish instead. Another hypothesis is. According to Ovason, on one type of thaler one side showed a crucifix while the other showed a serpent hanging from a cross, the letters NU near the serpent's head, on the other side of the cross the number 21; this refers to the Bible, Chapter 21.
A similar symbol, constructed by superposition of "S" and "I" or "J", was used to denote German Joachimsthaler. It was known in the English-speaking world by the 17th century, appearing in 1
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate arguments and debate policy. FAO is a source of knowledge and information, helps developing countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all, its Latin motto, fiat panis, translates as "let there be bread". As of August 2018, The FAO has 197 member states, including the European Union and The Cook Islands, the Faroe Islands and Tokelau, which are associate members; the idea of an international organization for food and agriculture emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century advanced by the US agriculturalist and activist David Lubin. In May–June 1905, an international conference was held in Rome, which led to the creation of the International Institute of Agriculture by the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III.
In 1943, the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt called a United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture. Representatives from forty-four governments gathered at The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, US, from 18 May to 3 June, they committed themselves to founding a permanent organization for food and agriculture, which happened in Quebec City, Canada, on 16 October 1945 with the conclusion of the Constitution of the Food and Agriculture Organization. The First Session of the FAO Conference was held in the Château Frontenac in Quebec City from 16 October to 1 November 1945. World War II ended the International Agricultural Institute, though it was only dissolved by resolution of its Permanent Committee on 27 February 1948, its functions were transferred to the established FAO. From the late 1940s on, FAO attempted to make its mark within the emerging UN system, focusing on supporting agricultural and nutrition research and providing technical assistance to member countries to boost production in agriculture and forestry.
During the 1950s and 1960s, FAO partnered with many different international organizations in development projects. In 1951, FAO's headquarters were moved from DC, United States, to Rome, Italy; the agency is directed by the Conference of Member Nations, which meets every two years to review the work carried out by the organization and to Work and Budget for the next two-year period. The Conference elects a council of 49 member states that acts as an interim governing body, the Director-General, that heads the agency. FAO is composed of eight departments: Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Biodiversity and Water Department and Social Development and Aquaculture, Corporate Services and Technical Cooperation and Programme Management. Beginning in 1994, FAO underwent the most significant restructuring since its founding, to decentralize operations, streamline procedures and reduce costs; as a result, savings of about US$50 million, €35 million a year were realized. FAO's Regular Programme budget is funded by its members, through contributions set at the FAO Conference.
This budget covers core technical work and partnerships including the Technical Cooperation Programme, knowledge exchange and advocacy, direction and administration and security. The total FAO Budget planned for 2016–2017 is USD 2.6 billion. The voluntary contributions provided by members and other partners support mechanical and emergency assistance to governments for defined purposes linked to the results framework, as well as direct support to FAO's core work; the voluntary contributions are expected to reach US$1.6 billion in 2016–2017. This overall budget covers core technical work and partnerships, leading to Food and Agriculture Outcomes at 71 per cent; the world headquarters are located in Rome, in the former seat of the Department of Italian East Africa. One of the most notable features of the building was the Axum Obelisk which stood in front of the agency seat, although just outside the territory allocated to FAO by the Italian Government, it was taken from Ethiopia by Benito Mussolini's troops in 1937 as a war chest, returned on 18 April 2005.
Regional Office for Africa, in Accra, Ghana Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in Bangkok, Thailand Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, in Budapest, Hungary Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, in Santiago, Chile Regional Office for the Near East, in Cairo, Egypt Sub-regional Office for Central Africa, in Libreville, Gabon Sub-regional Office for Central Asia, in Ankara, Turkey Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Sub-regional Office for Mesoamerica, in Panama City, Panama Sub-regional Office for North Africa, in Tunis, Tunisia Sub-regional Office for Southern Africa and East Africa, in Harare, Zimbabwe Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean, in Bridgetown, Barbados Sub-regional Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council States and Yemen, Abu Dhabi Sub-regional Office for the Pacific Islands, in Apia, Samoa Liaison Office for North America, in Washington, DC Liaison Office with J
Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean. It forms part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, Canary Islands and the Savage Isles. In ancient times these islands were referred to as "the Islands of the Blessed" or the "Fortunate Isles". Located 570 kilometres west of the Cape Verde Peninsula off the coast of Northwest Africa, the islands cover a combined area of over 4,000 square kilometres; the Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands, establishing the first European settlement in the tropics. Ideally located for the Atlantic slave trade, the islands grew prosperous throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants and pirates; the end of slavery in the 19th century led to economic emigration. Cape Verde recovered as an important commercial center and stopover for shipping routes.
Incorporated as an overseas department of Portugal in 1951, the islands continued to campaign for independence, peacefully achieved in 1975. Since the early 1990s, Cape Verde has been a stable representative democracy, remains one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa. Lacking natural resources, its developing economy is service-oriented, with a growing focus on tourism and foreign investment, its population of around 540,000 is of mixed European, Moorish and African heritage, predominantly Roman Catholic, reflecting the legacy of Portuguese rule. A sizeable diaspora community exists across the world outnumbering inhabitants on the islands; the name "Cape Verde" has been used in English for the archipelago and, since independence in 1975, for the country. In 2013, the Cape Verdean government determined that the Portuguese designation Cabo Verde would henceforth be used for official purposes, such as at the United Nations in English contexts. Cape Verde is a member of the African Union.
The name of the country stems on the Senegalese coast. In 1444, Portuguese explorers had named that landmark as Cabo Verde, a few years before they discovered the islands. On 24 October 2013, the country's delegation announced at the United Nations that the official name should no longer be translated into other languages. Instead of "Cape Verde", the designation "Republic of Cabo Verde" is to be used. Before the arrival of Europeans, the Cape Verde Islands were uninhabited; the islands of the Cape Verde archipelago were discovered by Genoese and Portuguese navigators around 1456. According to Portuguese official records, the first discoveries were made by Genoa-born António de Noli, afterwards appointed governor of Cape Verde by Portuguese King Afonso V. Other navigators mentioned as contributing to discoveries in the Cape Verde archipelago are Diogo Gomes, Diogo Dias, Diogo Afonso and the Italian Alvise Cadamosto. In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded a settlement they called Ribeira Grande.
Ribeira Grande was the first permanent European settlement in the tropics. In the 16th century, the archipelago prospered from the Atlantic slave trade. Pirates attacked the Portuguese settlements. Francis Drake, an English privateer, twice sacked the capital Ribeira Grande in 1585 when it was a part of the Iberian Union. After a French attack in 1712, the town declined in importance relative to nearby Praia, which became the capital in 1770. Decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis. Cape Verde's early prosperity vanished. However, the islands' position astride mid-Atlantic shipping lanes made Cape Verde an ideal location for re-supplying ships; because of its excellent harbour, the city of Mindelo, located on the island of São Vicente, became an important commercial centre during the 19th century. Diplomat Edmund Roberts visited Cape Verde in 1832. With few natural resources and inadequate sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew discontented with the colonial masters, who refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy.
In 1951, Portugal changed Cape Verde's status from a colony to an overseas province in an attempt to blunt growing nationalism. In 1956, Amílcar Cabral and a group of fellow Cape Verdeans and Guineans organised the clandestine African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, it demanded improvement in economic and political conditions in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea and formed the basis of the two nations' independence movement. Moving its headquarters to Conakry, Guinea in 1960, the PAIGC began an armed rebellion against Portugal in 1961. Acts of sabotage grew into a war in Portuguese Guinea that pitted 10,000 Soviet Bloc-supported PAIGC soldiers against 35,000 Portuguese and African troops. By 1972, the PAIGC controlled much of Portuguese Guinea despite the presence of the Portuguese troops, but the organization did not attempt to disrupt Portuguese control in Cape Verde. Portuguese Guinea declared independence in 1973 and was granted de jure independence in 1974. A budding independence movement — led by Amílcar Cabral, assassinated in 1973 — passed on to his half-brother Luís Cabral and culminated in independence for the archipelago in
Banco Nacional Ultramarino
Banco Nacional Ultramarino was a Portuguese bank with operations throughout the world in Portugal's former overseas provinces. It ceased existence as an independent legal entity in Portugal following its merger in 2001 with Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the government-owned savings bank; the Chinese name's meaning is Great West Ocean Bank or Atlantic Bank. The bank continues operations today under the Banco Nacional Ultramarino brand in Macau, a Chinese Special Administrative Region and former Portuguese colony, where it is licensed to issue Macanese pataca banknotes. Banco Nacional Ultramarino was established in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1864 as a bank of issue for Portuguese overseas territories; the next year it opened branches in Luanda and Praia, Cabo Verde. Three years after that, in 1868, BNU opened branches in São Tomé and Príncipe and Lourenço Marques, Mozambique. In 1901 BNU lost its banking monopoly, but retained its note-issuing monopoly in the countries in which BNU operated; the next year, BNU opened branches in Bolama, Portuguese Guinea.
Just before World War I, in 1912, BNU opened branches in Dili, East Timor, in Brazil. 1919 - BNU established a representative office in Stanleyville and a branch in Paris. 1920 - BNU established a representative office in Bombay. 1926 - BNU lost its note-issuing monopoly in Angola with creation of Banco de Angola. BNU transferred its branch in Stanleyville to Banco de Angola. 1929 - BNU established Anglo-Portuguese Colonial and Overseas Bank, its subsidiary in London, converted its branch in Paris to a subsidiary, Banque Franco-Portugaise d’Outre-Mer. In 1952 BNU closed its branches in India. In 1965 BNU, Banco Português do Atlântico, Banco de Angola, the South African company, General Mining and Finance, founded Bank of Lisbon and South Africa; this was renamed Mercantile Lisbon Bank. In the 1970s, BNU bought a stake in Banque Interatlantique in Luxembourg, established a representative office in London. In 1974 the Portuguese government nationalized BNU, following the Carnation Revolution. Thereafter, in 1975, local governments nationalized BNU's interests in Mozambique, which became Banco de Moçambique, in São Tomé and Príncipe, which became National Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe.
In 1993, the government split National Bank into a central bank, Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe, a commercial bank, Banco Internacional de Sao Tome e Principe. In Cape Verde, BNU's interests became Bank of Cape Verde. In 1993, the government spun off the commercial banking operations into a new bank, Banco Comercial do Atlantico. 1988 - Portuguese Government-owned Caixa Geral de Depósitos became the majority shareholder of BNU, with the Republic of Portugal the sole other shareholder. 1991 - BNU opened a branch in London. 1993 - BNU opened a branch in Zhuhai, a Special Economic Zone of China. 1993 - Caixa Geral de Depósitos became the majority shareholder in Banque Franco-Portugaise d’Outre-Mer. In 2002, CGD closed the bank by merging its operations into CGD's branch in Paris. 1995 - The Chinese government confirmed that BNU would remain a note issuer in Macao until at least 2010. 1999 - BNU opened representative offices in Mumbai and Panjim, a branch in Dili, Timor Leste. 2000 - BNU reached an agreement with the Administration of Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, under which BNU remains an Agent of the Treasury.
2001 - BNU and Caixa Geral de Depósitos merged through incorporation of BNU into Caixa Geral de Depósitos. A. but remained wholly owned subsidiary of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, retaining until 2010 its functions as a note issuer and Agent of the Treasury. 2002 - Caixa Geral acquired majority ownership of the South African focused bank holding company - Mercantile Lisbon Bank Holdings Limited, now known as Mercantile Bank Holdings Limited, which operates the Mercantile Bank. The Monetary Authority of Macao has authorized two banks to issue banknotes denominated in Macanese pataca, the Bank of China and Banco Nacional Ultramarino S. A. CGD's subsidiary in Macau. Owing to Macau's Portuguese colonial past, the languages on the banknotes feature Portuguese as well as Chinese; the Banco Nacional Ultramarino introduced its first pataca notes in 1906, in denominations of 1, 5, 50 and 100 pataca. The next year it introduced 25 pataca notes; the BNU began to issue lower-value notes with 5, 10 and 50 avo notes in 1920, 1 and 20 avo notes in 1942.
In 1944, it introduced a 500 pataca note. After 1952, coins replaced denominations below 10 patacas; the bank discontinued the 25 pataca note in 1958. Previous note designs included the coat of arms of Portugal; the current issue of BNU banknotes is: The 2005 series of BNU was printed by Hong Kong Note Printing Limited - Hong Kong. Macanese pataca Mercantile Bank Holdings Limited Caixa Geral de Depósitos Banco Nacional Ultramarino branch in Macao Banknotes issued in Macao by the Banco Nacional Ultramarino
Portuguese escudo
The Portuguese escudo is the currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the euro on 1 January 1999 and its removal from circulation on 28 February 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos; the word escudo means "shield". Amounts in escudos were written as escudos $ centavos with the cifrão as the decimal separator; because of the conversion rate of 1000 réis = $1, three decimal places were used. Escudo gold coinage was introduced in 1722 with denominations including 1⁄2 escudo, 2, 4, 8 escudos, were minted during the 18th century; the escudo was again introduced on 22 May 1911, after the 1910 Republican revolution, to replace the real at the rate of 1,000 réis to 1 escudo. The term mil réis remained a colloquial synonym of escudo up to the 1990s. One million réis was called one conto de réis, or one conto; this expression passed on to the escudo, meaning 1,000$. The escudo's value was set at 675$00 = 1 kg of gold. After 1914, the value of the escudo fell; this was altered to 110$00 to the Pound Sterling in 1931.
A new rate of 27$50 escudos to the U. S. dollar was established in 1940, changing to 25$00 in 1940 and 28$75 in 1949. During World War II, escudos were sought after by Nazi Germany, through Swiss banks, as foreign currency to make purchases to Portugal and other neutral nations. Inflation throughout the 20th century made centavos worthless by its end, with fractional value coins with values such as 0$50 and 2$50 withdrawn from circulation in the 1990s. With the entry of Portugal in the Eurozone, the conversion rate to the euro was set at 200$482 to €1; the escudo was used in the Portuguese mainland, the Azores and Madeira, with no distinction of coins or banknotes. In Portugal's African colonies, the escudo was used up to independence, with Portuguese and sometime local coins circulating alongside banknotes of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino, rather than those of the Bank of Portugal used on the mainland. For more details, see the escudos of Angola, Cape Verde, Portuguese Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Only Cape Verde continues to use the escudo. In Macau, the currency during the colonial period was, as it is the pataca. Timor-Leste adopted the escudo whilst still a Portuguese colony, having earlier used the pataca. Portuguese India adopted the escudo; the gold escudo mintage period for each denomination was different: 1⁄2 escudo through 1821, 2 escudos through 1789, 4 escudos through 1799. The eight-escudo coin was only struck between 1722 and 1730. Between 1912 and 1916, silver ten-, twenty- and fifty-centavo and one-escudo coins were issued. Bronze 1 and 2 centavos and cupro-nickel 4 centavos were issued between 1917 and 1922. In 1920, bronze 5 centavos and cupro-nickel 10 and 20 centavos were introduced, followed, in 1924, by bronze 10 and 20 centavos and aluminium-bronze 50 centavos and 1 escudo. Aluminium bronze was replaced with cupro-nickel in 1927. In 1932, silver coins were introduced for 5 and 10 escudos; the 2 1⁄2 and 5 escudos were minted until 1951, with the 10 escudos minted until 1955 with a reduced silver content.
In 1963, cupro-nickel 2 1⁄2 and 5 escudos were introduced, followed by aluminium 10 centavos, bronze 20 and 50 centavos and 1 escudo in 1969. Cupro-nickel 10 and 25 escudos were introduced in 1977, respectively. In 1986, a new coinage was introduced, it consisted of nickel-brass 1, 5 and 10 escudos, cupro-nickel 20 and 50 escudos, with bimetallic 100 and 200 escudos introduced in 1989 and 1991. Coins in circulation at the time of the changeover to the euro were: 1 escudo 5 escudos 10 escudos 20 escudos 50 escudos 100 escudos 200 escudos Coins ceased to be exchangeable for euro on December 31, 2002. Another name for the 50-centavo coin was coroa. Long after the 50-centavo coins disappeared, people still called the 2$50 coins cinco coroas. People still referred to escudos at the time of the changeover in multiples of the older currency real. Many people called the 2$50 coins dois e quinhentos, referring to the correspondence 2$50 = 2500 reis. Tostão is yet another multiple of real; the Casa da Moeda issued notes for 5, 10 and 20 centavos between 1917 and 1925 whilst, between 1913 and 1922, the Banco de Portugal introduced notes for 50 centavos, 1, 2 1⁄2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 escudos.
Fifty-centavo and 1-escudo notes ceased production in 1920, followed by 2 1⁄2, 5 and 10 escudos in 1925 and 1926. Five-thousand-escudo notes were introduced in 1942; the last 20- and 50-escudo notes were printed dated 1978 and 1980 with 100-escudo notes being replaced by coins in 1989, the same year that 10,000-escudo notes were introduced. Banknotes in circulation at the time of the changeover to the euro were: 500 escudos 1,000 escudos 2,000 escudos 5,000 escudos 10,000 escudos The last series of escudo banknotes can be returned to the central bank Banco de Portugal and converted to euros until 28 February 2022. Escudo banknotes celebrated notable figures from the history of Portugal; the final banknote series featured the Age of Discovery, with João de Barros, Pedro Álvares Cabral, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Henry the Navigator. The last 100-escudo banknote represented the famous Portuguese writer and poet. Conto was the unofficial multiple of the escudo: 1 conto meant 1,000$00, 2 contos me
International status and usage of the euro
The international status and usage of the euro has grown since its launch in 1999. When the euro formally replaced 12 currencies on 1 January 2002, it inherited their use in territories such as Montenegro and replaced minor currencies tied to the pre-euro currencies, such as in Monaco. Four small states have been given a formal right to use the euro, to mint their own coins, but all other usage has been unofficial outside the eurozone. With or without an agreement these countries, unlike those in the eurozone, do not participate in the European Central Bank or the Eurogroup, its international usage has grown as a trading currency, acting as an economic or political alternative to using the United States dollar. Its increasing usage in this sense has led to its becoming the only significant challenger to the US dollar as the world's main reserve currency. Several European microstates outside the EU have adopted the euro as their currency. For EU sanctioning of this adoption, a monetary agreement must be concluded.
Prior to the launch of the euro, agreements were reached with Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City by EU member states allowing them to use the euro and mint a limited amount of euro coins to be valid throughout the Eurozone. However, they cannot print banknotes. All of these states had had monetary agreements to use yielded eurozone currencies; the Vatican and San Marino had their currencies pegged to the Italian lira and Monaco used the Monegasque franc, pegged to the French franc. Between 2010 and 2012, new agreements between the EU and Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City came into force. A similar agreement was negotiated with Andorra and came into force on 1 April 2012. Andorra did not have an official currency. Prior to 2002, it used both the French franc and Spanish peseta as de facto legal tender currencies, though they never had an official monetary arrangement with either country, switched to the euro when it was introduced on 1 January 2002. After years of negotiations over concerns with banking secrecy, the EU and Andorra signed a monetary agreement on 30 June 2011 which made the euro the official currency in Andorra and allowed them to mint their own euro coins as early as 1 July 2013, provided they comply with the agreement's terms.
However, the first Andorran euro coins did not enter into circulation until January 2015. Outside the EU, there are three French territories and a British territory that have agreements to use the euro as their currency. All other dependent territories of eurozone member states that have opted not to be a part of EU with Overseas Country and Territory status, use local currencies which are pegged to the euro or US dollar; as non-sovereign entities, dependent territories which have adopted the euro are not permitted to mint euro coins like the European microstates, nor do they get a seat in the European Central Bank or the Eurogroup. France is responsible for ensuring that the laws governing the EMU apply in their territories which use the euro; the first OCTs to adopt the euro through a monetary agreement were the French overseas territories of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, located off the coast of Canada, Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. They both adopted the euro on 1 January 1999 when the currency was first introduced at the electronic level.
Mayotte subsequently held a referendum in 2009 in which it decided to become an integral part of France. Its status was changed from an OCT to an OMR, where EU laws apply without separate agreements, on 1 January 2014, which rendered the previous monetary agreement unnecessary. On 22 February 2007, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin were politically separated from the French Outermost region Guadeloupe to form two new French overseas collectivities; this caused their status in the EU to be in legal limbo until ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon reaffirmed both territories remained in the EU. The euro continued to be used in both territories throughout this time without incident; when Saint Barthélemy subsequently became an overseas territory of the European Union on 1 January 2012, changing its status to an OCT, the territory had to sign a monetary agreement to continue using the euro. With the adoption of the euro by Cyprus per 1 January 2008, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which had used the Cypriot pound decided to adopt the euro.
The base areas are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, an EU member state which itself does not use the euro, but these bases are outside of the EU and under military jurisdiction. Their laws and currency have been aligned with those of the Republic of Cyprus, leading to the euro's adoption in the two areas. Montenegro and Kosovo have used the euro since its launch, as they used the German mark rather than the Yugoslav dinar. Unlike the states above, they do not have a formal agreement with the EU to use the euro as their currency, have never minted marks or euros. There were political concerns that Serbia could use the currency to destabilise these territories so they received Western help in adopting and using the mark, they switched to the euro. In North Kosovo, populated by the Serbian minority, the Serbian dinar, which replaced the Yugoslav dinar, continues to be used despite its lack of recognition or use elsewhere in Kosovo
Cifrão
The cifrão is a currency sign similar to the dollar sign but always written with two vertical lines:. It is the symbol of the former Portuguese currency and other past Brazilian currencies such as the Brazilian real and is the official sign of the Cape Verdean escudo, it was used by the Portuguese escudo before its replacement by the euro and by the Portuguese Timor escudo before its replacement by the Indonesian rupiah and the US dollar. In Portuguese and Cape Verdean usage, the cifrão is placed as a decimal point between the escudo and centavo values; the name originates in the Arabic cifr. Support for the symbol varies; as of 2010, the Unicode standard considers the distinction between one- and two-bar dollar signs a stylistic distinction between fonts, has no separate value for the cifrão. Mac OS X supplies the following fonts containing distinct cifrão signs: regular-weight Baskerville, Big Caslon, Bodoni MT, Brush Script MT, Garamond, STFangsong, STKaiti, STSong, it can be input by typing lowercase j in Bookshelf Symbol 7.
In LaTeX, with the textcomp package installed, the cifrão can be input using the command \textdollaroldstyle. Because of the current difficulty supporting the character, $ is employed in its place for official purposes. In Mexico and Chile, it was used for dollars, to distinguish from local currency which used the peso sign. However, the present convention in these countries is to use the peso symbol for dollars and specify USD after the currency. RKM code
, $,[1] or Esc[citation needed]
Cabo Verde
