What does the $ actually stand for?
I knew some parts of the story but it never occurred to me that peso means weight (of gold or silver) as in “you are worth your weight in gold.”
Venezuelan coinage has similar stories. “Real” in Spanish means both real and regal. The Bolivar is worth two reales, two royals. The Venezuelan quarter is called a “medio” half a royal, while the “locha” a quarter of a Bolivar is called a “cuartillo,” a small quarter.
RobWords has lots of interesting stories about languages.
The Captain