title: Sorting '£' (pound symbol) in sql
body: <p>I am trying to sort <code>£</code> along with other special characters, but its not sorting properly.</p>
  
  <p>I want that string to be sorted along with other strings starting with special characters. For example I have four strings: </p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><code>&amp;!@#</code> </li>
  <li><code>££$$</code> </li>
  <li><code>abcd</code> </li>
  <li><code>&amp;#$%</code>. </li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Now its sorting in the order: <code>&amp;!@#, &amp;#$%, abcd, ££$$</code>. <br/>
  I want it in the order: <code>&amp;!@#, &amp;#$%, ££$$, abcd</code>.</p>
  
  <p>I have used the function order by <code>replace(column,'£','*')</code> so that it sorts along with strings starting with <code>*</code>. Although this seems to work while querying the DB, when used in code and deployed the <code>£</code> gets replaced by <code>ï¿½</code>, i.e. <code>(replace(column,'ï¿½','*')</code> in the query, and doesn't sort as expected.</p>
  
  <p>How to resolve this issue? Is there any other solution to sort the pound symbol/£? Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>