When and where did the dollar sign come into being?

Answer 1

This link or links if I find more may help

From the last site, it appears the the dollar sign came from pesos:
"Professor Cajori contends that the dollar sign is an abbreviation for "pesos." Bear in mind that the Spanish dollar, also known as the peso de 8 reales, was the principal coin in circulation in the U.S. up until 1794, when we began minting our own dollars. In handwriting, "pesos" was usually abbreviated lowercase "ps," with S above and to the right of the P and with the hook on the latter written with one or two deep strokes. As time went on, the P and the S tended to get mashed together and the result was $"

Answer 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_sign

here is a start at investigation.