if you have a #macbook with a uk keyboard you need to press (right) ALT 3 to get a # symbol

if you have a macbook with a uk keyboard you need to press (right) ALT 2 to get a € and (right) ALT 3 to get a # in a vmware fusion or oracle virtualbox gnu/linux VM

thanks to

http://superuser.com/questions/373026/how-to-input-hash-symbol-to-terminal