Step 1: Determine the UTF-8 encoding bit layout
The character £ has the Unicode code point U+00A3. In UTF-8, it is encoded using 2 bytes because its codepoint is in the range of
0x0080to0x07ff.
Therefore we know that the UTF-8 encoding will be done over 11 bits within the final 16 bits and that it will have the format:110xxxxx 10xxxxxx
Where thexare the payload bits.UTF-8 Encoding bit layout by codepoint range Codepoint Range Bytes Bit pattern Payload length U+0000 - U+007F 1 0xxxxxxx 7 bits U+0080 - U+07FF 2 110xxxxx 10xxxxxx 11 bits U+0800 - U+FFFF 3 1110xxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 16 bits U+10000 - U+10FFFF 4 11110xxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 21 bits Step 2: Obtain the payload bits:
Convert the hexadecimal code point U+00A3 to binary:
10100011. Those are the payload bits.Step 3: Fill in the bits to match the bit pattern:
Obtain the final bytes by arranging the paylod bits to match the bit layout:
11000010 10100011
POUND SIGN·U+00A3
£
Character Information
Code Point
U+00A3
HEX
00A3
Unicode Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane
Category
Currency Symbol
Character Representations
Click elements to copy| Encoding | Hex | Binary |
|---|---|---|
| UTF8 | C2 A3 | 11000010 10100011 |
| UTF16 (big Endian) | 00 A3 | 00000000 10100011 |
| UTF16 (little Endian) | A3 00 | 10100011 00000000 |
| UTF32 (big Endian) | 00 00 00 A3 | 00000000 00000000 00000000 10100011 |
| UTF32 (little Endian) | A3 00 00 00 | 10100011 00000000 00000000 00000000 |
HTML Entity
£
URI Encoded
%C2%A3
Description
The Unicode character U+00A3, commonly known as the Pound Sign (£), plays a significant role in digital text communication, particularly when representing monetary values for the British pound sterling. However, its usage extends beyond currency representation to serve various purposes such as referencing items in lists and emphasizing words within conversations. It may also be used as a placeholder or to denote an unspecified unit of measurement. Culturally, the Pound Sign holds significant importance in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations due to its association with their respective currency systems. Despite occasional confusion with the hash mark (#) or number sign (U+0023), it stands distinct as a unique symbol within typography. In technical terms, the Pound Sign falls under the Latin-1 Supplement Unicode block (U+A0-U+FF), which encompasses characters ranging from 128 to 255 that serve various text formatting and typographical purposes. This block was designed to extend the basic Latin character set, adding essential symbols like pilcrows and en dashes for proper document formatting. The Pound Sign (U+00A3) is a vital component of clear communication and an aesthetically pleasing visual experience within digital text documents across diverse applications and contexts.
How to type the £ symbol on Windows
Hold Alt and type 0163 on the numpad. Or use Character Map.