Just a quick question.. The description for U+0024 (DOLLAR SIGN) states that the glyph may contain one or two vertical bars. Is there a codepoint specifically for the traditional double-bar form, or any plan to include one in the future?
No.
I was taught at school that the double-bar form was used when Australia switched to decimal currency in 1966, and that it was incorrect to write the single-bar form when referring to Australian dollars.
It would be interesting if you could document that.
I guess the single-bar form had taken over due to the lack of support from type-faces and computing devices, although it's still quite common to see it in Australian publications, especially in large fonts (headlines, advertising, etc).
It looks like actual practice is what you describe: the free alternation between the form without change in meaning.
If we were to add a code point we would get into the situation that the free alternation would suddenly become a matter of content difference (not just a choice in presentation). In other cases where the majority of users freely alternate, but there is indication that some subset of users need to maintain a form distinction we have used standardized variants. This has been done mostly for mathematical symbols.
In theory, this could be done here as well, but any thoughts in that direction would need to be preceded by clear and compelling evidence of an actual requirement. The case of an official preference that has never been widely adhered to -- which is what you have described -- would probably not qualify as grounds for taking any action.
A./
