Why isn't there any space between currency and amount?
There is a space between the quantity and unit for physical quantities, e.g.; Jupiter's broad magnetic field is 14 times as strong as the Earth's, ranging from 4.2 gauss (0.42 mT) at the equator to 10–14 gauss (1.0–1.4 mT) at the poles.
Example from a Wikipedia article:
The consultancy business was sold to IBM for approximately US$3.9 billion in cash and stock.
Add comment viewed 581 times Latest activity about 1 year ago
donald remero
[ Moderator ]
Excellent question.
When symbols are used, there is no space between the number and the symbol. Examples using the symbols for feet and inches, degrees and minutes, percentage, dollars, and pounds would be thus:
9' 11" | 30° 36" S | 98% | $123.72 | £200
When abbreviations are used, the intervening space is employed.
Thus, for francs and deutsche marks, you would write:
Fr 828.99 | DM 5 million
When a clarifying distinction, such as "US", is added to the dollar sign, it is treated as a prefix (or in some cases a suffix) to the symbol and is considered to be part of the symbol itself. The Chicago style guide also treats "centigrade" and "Fahrenheit" this same way, that is, with no intervening space. Thus:
US$3.9 million | 37°C | 98.6°F
Why exactly are symbols treated differently than the names of units and abbreviations of the names of units? There's probably not much of an answer beyond "It's just convention," a cultural choice that has emerged over time and has been repeated predictably to the point where we simply say "It's just the way it's done."
