Notation for money

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Hi.What would be the correct syntax for a formal document: - $750,000- 750,000 USD- $750K- Other?TIA,NoamI used to think the brain was the most wonderful organ in the entire body... then I realized who was telling me this. Emo Phillips

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi. What would be the correct syntax for a formal document: - $750,000[/nq]
Fine for documents within the US, but in other contexts it could be confused with a local dollar currency.
[nq:1]- 750,000 USD[/nq]
Much better for international documents but I think the "correct" form for this usage was "USD 750,000".
[nq:1]- $750K[/nq]
Definitely not in a formal document.
In financial circles, wouldn't they spell it out and bracket the figure? ("Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars (USD 750,000)")

Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 21 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey to whhvs)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What would be the correct syntax for a formal document: - $750,000[/nq]
[nq:1]Fine for documents within the US, but in other contexts it could be confused with a local dollar currency.[/nq]
Hm, would ,000 be acceptable then?

Gary G. Taylor * Rialto, CA
gary at donavan dot org / http:// geetee dot donavan dot org "The two most abundant things in the universe
are hydrogen and stupidity." Harlan Ellison

Usenet · Answer

(context snipped)
[nq:1]Hm, would ,000 be acceptable then?[/nq]
More than enough for me, thanks.
(I couldn't resist. Sorry.)

Maria Conlon
Please send any email to the Hot Mail address.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Fine for documents within the US, but in other contexts it could be confused with a local dollar currency.[/nq]
[nq:1]Hm, would ,000 be acceptable then?[/nq]
Informally, yes; but the query was about a formal document.

As I understand it, "USquot; is an informal hybrid rather than a standard/recognised form (USD/EUR/GBP), and it should thus be avoided in formal use.

Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 21 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey to whhvs)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]On 18 Feb 2004, Gary G. Taylor wrote[/nq]
[nq:2]Hm, would ,000 be acceptable then?[/nq]
[nq:1]Informally, yes; but the query was about a formal document. As I understand it, "USquot; is an informal hybrid rather than a standard/recognised form (USD/EUR/GBP), and it should thus be avoided in formal use.[/nq]
In theory that's probably true, but in practice I suspect that ISO codes are bit too new-fangled for many of the notaries' documents, etc., I see, where (,000) is still quite common.

Ross Howard

Usenet · Answer

Noam Avnery:
[nq:2]What would be the correct syntax for a formal document: - $750,000[/nq]
Harvey Van Sickle:
[nq:1]Fine for documents within the US, but in other contexts it could be confused with a local dollar currency.[/nq]
Or other currencies using the $ sign, for that matter. The Portuguese escudo is gone now (and it used $ sign in the position of the decimal point anyway), but there's still the Mexican peso, at least.

A formal document could just include a statement like "All monetary amounts in this contract are expressed in United States dollars".
[nq:1]In financial circles, wouldn't they spell it out and bracket the figure? ("Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars (USD 750,000)")[/nq]
I don't think they'd mix "dollars" and "USD" like that. If the "all monetary amounts" method isn't being used, then I'd suggest this variation: "seven hundred and fifty thousand (750,000) United States dollars".
Some might prefer putting a ".00" on the end, too, not that there's really any reason for it.

Mark Brader, Toronto "I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pedantic and (Email Removed) that's just as good." D Gary Grady

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi. What would be the correct syntax for a formal document: - $750,000 - 750,000 USD - $750K - Other?[/nq]
Thanks for all the replies.
I will use the 1st choice. Over here, the $ sign can't be confused with anything.. Regards,
Noam

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi. What would be the correct syntax for a formal document: - $750,000 - 750,000 USD - $750K - Other? ... brain was the most wonderful organ in the entire body... then I realized who was telling me this. Emo Phillips[/nq]
If this is formal, such as a contract or negotiable paper, then it is best to spell out as well; for example,
"Seven hundred and fifty thousand U.S. dollars ($750,000)".

U.S. usage is typically "letters control": in case of a discrepancy between the spelled-out amount and the figures, the spelled-out amount is the one that is binding.
"USD 750,000" may be more appropriate than "$750,000" in many locales. But if this is real money, the question should be put to a real lawyer.

Chris Green

Notation for money

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