What ℔ means
Pounds by weight. ℔ is a barred form of “lb,” linked to the Latin phrase libra pondo, “pound weight.”
In medieval writing, a bar joined the letters into shorthand; ℔ preserves that form in print.
℔ marks weight, not currency
marks money. Both signs connect to Latin libra, but ℔ abbreviates pounds by weight.
When should you use ℔?
For historical typography or discussion of the mark. In a weight note, “lb” or “pounds” reads more clearly.
Historical or typographic; unusual in ordinary weight notes.
Use for pound currency.
Part of the collection
Don't confuse it with
3
lb Plain two-letter abbreviation; ℔ is its barred historical form.
Questions people ask
1Why does ℔ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
More like this
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How to type or find ℔
- Also called
- barred lb
- Search it as
- lb · pound · pounds · libra
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.