Daily Ancestorcts.
Cts. is short for cents, used beside dollars in estate sales, receipts and tax lists: $4.25 may be written 4 dolls. 25 cts.
Cts. means cents. After the dollar became the national money, clerks wrote amounts in dollars and cents, sometimes as 4 dolls. 25 cts. or in two columns headed $ and cts.
In some places, especially early on, old pounds and shillings stayed in use beside dollars, so a single estate file can switch between £ s. d. and $ cts.
As seen in a recordLine in an estate sale bill
To 1 cow, 12 dolls. 50 cts.
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "cts.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/cts. Last checked 2026-10-01.