How to Type the Pound Sign (£)

Quick Reference

£ vs. # — Which "Pound Sign"?

In American English, "pound sign" usually means the number sign # (U+0023) — as in "press the pound key" on a phone. It's typed with Shift + 3 on a US keyboard. In British English the same character is called the hash. If you are writing instructions for an international audience, "number sign" or "hash (#)" avoids the confusion.

• £ — pound sterling, U+00A3
• # — number sign / hash / "pound" (US), U+0023
• ₤ — lira sign, U+20A4 (historically used for the Italian lira; not a substitute for £)
• lb — abbreviation for the pound as a unit of weight (from Latin *libra*)

Writing Amounts in Pounds

• Placement: UK style puts £ before the number with no space — £5, £1,250.00, £2.5m.
• Pence: amounts under a pound are usually written as 75p rather than £0.75 in everyday text.
• Currency code: use GBP in tables, invoices and international contexts — GBP 1,250.00 or 1,250.00 GBP.
• Other pounds: the £ sign is also used for currencies pegged to sterling, such as the Gibraltar and Falkland Islands pounds, and appears in names like the Egyptian pound (often written E£).

Office & Mobile

• Excel / Google Sheets: apply a currency format (Format → Number → Currency, choose £) instead of typing the symbol, so values stay numeric. =UNICHAR(163) returns £ as text.
• Word / Google Docs: Insert → Symbol (Word) or Insert → Special characters (Docs), search "pound".
• iPhone / iPad: on the numbers keyboard, press and hold $ to choose £, €, ¥ and other currency signs.
• Android (Gboard): £ is on the first symbols page (tap ?123); you can also long-press $.

Technical Details

Related Symbols