Using hash-mark to mean “pounds” goes back to 1850 at least. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign A few dec

Using hash-mark to mean “pounds” goes back to 1850 at least. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign A few decades ago, it was very common to see at the deli counter, in the handwritten prices on signs jabbed into lunch meats and such. And on the price signs above the vegetable bins at the supermarket. In the US, anyway.