Staring at your Mac’s keyboard in a panic, desperately hunting for the pound symbol — just as you’re about to order much-needed Morris Marina parts or invoice that client in Aberdeen? Find out here how to insert the pound currency symbol ( £ ) on your Mac — whether you prefer a keyboard shortcut, the Character Viewer or trusty copy-and-paste.
First, in Terms of Donkeys
Pliny the Elder, ever the ancient chronicler, wrote about the origin of Roman coinage:
libralis adpendebatur assis
Let’s translate: libralis means “of the libra” the Roman pound weight; adpendebatur is “was weighed” (third person passive imperfect); and assis… well, surely Pliny meant asinus, the donkey. So…
The pound was measured in terms of donkeys.
So close! Tempting as it may be to imagine a donkey-based economy, Pliny actually refers to the as, copper coin that weighed exactly one Roman libra — about 328.9 grams. That weighty reference is where both the pound as a unit of currency and its stylized L symbol (for libra) come from.
Now, want to type that venerable symbol on your Mac? Let’s find out how!
How to Insert the Pound Currency Symbol ( £ ) on a Mac
Using the Keyboard
Time needed: 1 minute
To type the pound currency symbol (£) using the keyboard on a Mac using macOS:
- Position the text cursor where you want to insert the pound sign.
Here’s where: For British pounds, put currency symbol in front of the numbers, separated by a narrow non-breaking space (or no space at all).
- Press Option 3 (U.S.-English keyboard layout) or Shift 3 (British English keyboard layout).
All £ in the pocket?
Tips help fuel these email and tech how-tos.
The Pound Sign Using Various Mac Keyboard Layouts
| Language | £ Symbol Key Combination |
|---|---|
| US-English | Option 3 |
| British English | Shift 3 |
| Estonian | Option 2 |
| French | Shift ` |
| French (Canada) | Option 3 |
| French (Switzerland) | Shift $ |
| German | Option Shift 4 |
| German (Switzerland) | Shift $ |
| Hawaiian | Option 3 |
| Irish | Shift 3 |
| Italian | Shift 3 |
| Maori | Option 3 |
| Portuguese | Option 4 |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Option 3 |
| Romaji | Option 3 |
| Romanian | Option 3 |
| Russian | Option Shift 3 |
| Serbian | Option 7 |
| Turkish (Q) | Option 2 |
| Welsh | Shift 3 |
To find the key combination for producing the pound sign on your keyboard layout:
- Open Keyboard Viewer on the Mac.
- Press the Shift and Option keys, alone as well as in combination, always looking for £ on the keyboard to identify the key combination to press.
Just so: If you spot the pound sign before pressing either Option or Shift, do press the corresponding key on its own to insert the symbol, of course.
More money: How to Type the Euro Symbol ( € ) on a Mac Keyboard
Using Emoji Panel or Character Viewer to Produce the Pound Currency Symbol
To input the currency symbol for pound using emoji panel or Character Viewer on a Mac:
- Position the text cursor where you want to insert the pound symbol.
- Open Character Viewer or emoji pane.
Here’s how: You can choose Edit | Emoji & Symbols from the menu.
Mac keyboard shortcut: Pressing 🌐︎ or Fn E will also open the emoji panel or Character Viewer. - Type pound sign in the search field.
- Double-click the pound symbol or the full-width pound symbol to insert it.
Also with an emoji panel: How to Type the Pound Symbol ( £ ) on a Windows PC
On Linux? How to Enter the Pound Sign ( £ ) on Linux
Copying and Pasting the Pound Symbol
To copy the pound symbol for pasting anywhere on a Mac, use the table below:
Pound sign £ |
Full-width pound sign ￡ | |
Pound banknotes 💷 |
How to Insert the Pound Currency Symbol ( £ ) on a Mac: FAQ
Is there an emoji for the British pound?
Yes.
You can use the £ banknotes emoji for the pound sign. To insert it,
- search for pound banknotes in emoji panel or Character Viewer (see above) or
- copy the emoji for pasting above.
Can I use the pound symbol ( # ) for British pounds?
No.
The sign for hash # (or octothorpe) is called “pound symbol” because it is commonly used to refer to mass — such as pounds (lb.) of weight. Do not use the # symbol for currencies, as this will easily confuse the reader.
Can I insert the pound sign directly using Unicode?
Yes.
To input the £ sign directly using Unicode on your Mac:
- Turn on and switch to Unicode Hex Input.
- Press and hold the Option key.
- Now type 0 0 A 3 for £.
More broadly typing: Type F F E 1 for the fully-width pound sign ( ￡ ). - Let go of Option.
When should I use the full-width pound sign?
Use the full-width pound sign ￡ in text-only tables that use a proportional font to keep vertical alignment even with future edits and different line lengths (or multiple pound symbols on a line).
Theory and practice: In practice, you will often have better results using the regular pound sign with a proportional typeface. The full-width symbol may occupy up two em’s and throw alignment out of whack.
Full-Width Pound Sign Example
Here’s the breakdown
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Puch 500 (1958) ￡ 15,000.00
Rear-view mirror ￡ 95.00
Pound sign ￡ 307.00
═════════════════════════════════
￡ 15,402.00
(Tested with macOS Tahoe 26.0 and Sequoia 15.5; first published May 2025, last updated November 2025)