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Show Origin of the Dollar Mark. - Very few persons knew the origin of the peculiar mark used to designate the dollar. The prevailing opinion is that it is a monogram of the letters, U.S., the contraction of the words United States; but the mark is also to be found on the Spanish dollars of great age. An expert now states that the mark originally was a representation of the pillars of Hercules. On the old Spanish dollars these pillars are to be found, and around each is a scroll with the inscription, "plus ultra" The scrolls are supposed to be emblematic of the two serpents sent by Juno to destroy Hercules in his cradle, according to the legend told in classical mythology. |