A currency symbol is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currency's name, especially in reference to amounts of money.

Although many former currency symbols were rendered obsolete by the adoption of the euro, having a new and unique currency symbol – implementation of which requires the adoption of new Unicode and type formats – has now become a status symbol for international currencies. The European Commission considers the global recognition of the euro sign € part of its success. In 2009, India launched a public competition to replace the ₨ ligature it shared with neighbouring countries. It finalised its new currency symbol, ₹ (₹) on 15 July 2010. It is a blend of the Latin letter 'R' with the Devanagari letter 'र' (ra).