diff --git a/doc/axiom.md b/doc/axiom.md
index c2cf20c..b115efd 100644
--- a/doc/axiom.md
+++ b/doc/axiom.md
@@ -57,9 +57,9 @@ the `:where` triples are all equivalent.
 
 ## Variables
 
-Examples: `?var`
+Examples: `?var`, `$var`
 
-Variables are written as symbols prefixed with a question mark `?`. Translating to SPARQL does not change the variable other than stringifying it.
+Variables are written as symbols prefixed with a question mark `?` or dollar sign `$`. The sigil is not part of the variable name, so `?var` and `$var` identify the same variable. Translating to SPARQL preserves the sigil and otherwise only stringifies the symbol.
 
 ## Blank Nodes
 
diff --git a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/impl/format.cljc b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/impl/format.cljc
index 4c9b847..64930b2 100644
--- a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/impl/format.cljc
+++ b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/impl/format.cljc
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
     (str kns ":" kname)))
 
 (defn format-var-symbol
-  "Return the var `v-sym` as a string of the form `?var`."
+  "Return the var `v-sym` as a string of the form `?var` or `$var`."
   [v-sym]
   (str v-sym))
 
diff --git a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/impl/validation.cljc b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/impl/validation.cljc
index bdfb195..5bccee0 100644
--- a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/impl/validation.cljc
+++ b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/impl/validation.cljc
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
   [c]
   #?(:clj (int c) :cljs (.charCodeAt c)))
 
-#?(:clj (def ^:private qmark-range [(char->int \?)]))
+(def ^:private var-sigil-range (mapv char->int [\? \$]))
 #?(:clj (def ^:private uscore-range [(char->int \_)]))
 #?(:clj (def ^:private hyphen-range [(char->int \-)]))
 #?(:clj (def ^:private bslash-range [(char->int \\)]))
@@ -188,9 +188,11 @@
     (re-pattern (format "<%s*>" iri-banned))))
 
 (def var-regex
-  (let [var-start (ranges->regex-charset var-start-range)
+  (let [var-sigil (ranges->regex-charset var-sigil-range)
+        var-start (ranges->regex-charset var-start-range)
         var-body  (ranges->regex-charset var-body-range)]
-    (re-pattern (format "\\?%s%s*"
+    (re-pattern (format "%s%s%s*"
+                        var-sigil
                         var-start
                         var-body))))
 
@@ -259,8 +261,8 @@
                      `(.set ~r#)))
                  cp-ranges#)))))
 
-#?(:clj (def ^{:private true :tag BitSet} qmark-bitset
-          (unicode-bitset qmark-range)))
+#?(:clj (def ^{:private true :tag BitSet} var-sigil-bitset
+          (unicode-bitset var-sigil-range)))
 #?(:clj (def ^{:private true :tag BitSet} uscore-bitset
           (unicode-bitset uscore-range)))
 #?(:clj (def ^{:private true :tag BitSet} hyphen-bitset
@@ -376,9 +378,9 @@
        (loop [idx 0]
          (cond
            (>= idx ccnt)
-           (<= 2 ccnt) ; Need to have initial qmark + at least one start char
+           (<= 2 ccnt) ; Need to have a sigil + at least one start char
            (= idx 0)
-           (recur-if (in-bitset? qmark-bitset vs idx)
+           (recur-if (in-bitset? var-sigil-bitset vs idx)
                      (inc idx))
            (= idx 1)
            (recur-if (in-bitset? var-start-bitset vs idx)
@@ -578,7 +580,7 @@
      :cljs (boolean (re-matches bnode-regex bnode-str))))
 
 (defn valid-var-symbol?
-  "Is `var-sym` a symbol that starts with `?`?"
+  "Is `var-sym` a symbol that starts with `?` or `$`?"
   [var-sym]
   (valid-var-str? (str var-sym)))
 
diff --git a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/protocol.cljc b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/protocol.cljc
index 0fe11f6..01e38e4 100644
--- a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/protocol.cljc
+++ b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom/protocol.cljc
@@ -29,12 +29,17 @@
     "Convert the prefixed IRI `this` into its string representation."))
 
 (defprotocol Variable
-  "A SPARQL variable (e.g. `?var`)."
+  "A SPARQL variable (e.g. `?var` or `$var`)."
   (-valid-variable? [this]
     "Return `true` if `this` is a valid variable of its type.")
   (-format-variable [this]
     "Convert the variable `this` into its string representation."))
 
+(defn variable-name
+  "Return the name of `variable` without its leading `?` or `$` sigil."
+  [variable]
+  (subs (-format-variable variable) 1))
+
 (defprotocol BlankNode
   "A SPARQL blank node (e.g. `_:b0`)."
   (-valid-bnode? [this]
diff --git a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/error.cljc b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/error.cljc
index 036f8b7..6a018c1 100644
--- a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/error.cljc
+++ b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/error.cljc
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
             [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.aggregate :as va]
             [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.bnode     :as vb]
             [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.scope     :as vs]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.variable  :as vv]
             #?@(:clj [[clojure.core :refer [format]]]
                 :cljs [[goog.string :as gstring]
                        [goog.string.format]])))
@@ -157,8 +158,8 @@
   (let [[nots ins] (split-with #(= ::vs/var-not-in-scope (:kind %))
                                scope-errs)
         var-coll   (if (not-empty nots)
-                     (->> nots (mapcat :variables) distinct sort)
-                     (->> ins (map :variable) distinct sort))
+                     (->> nots (mapcat :variables) vv/distinct-vars sort)
+                     (->> ins (map :variable) vv/distinct-vars sort))
         var-count  (->> var-coll count)
         var-strs   (->> var-coll (map str))
         var-str    (join-str-coll var-strs)]
@@ -195,7 +196,7 @@
              (plural-s wild-count)
              index-str
              (plural-has wild-count)))
-      (let [var-coll (->> errs (mapcat :variables) distinct sort)
+      (let [var-coll (->> errs (mapcat :variables) vv/distinct-vars sort)
             var-count (->> var-coll count)
             var-strs  (->> var-coll (map str))
             var-str   (join-str-coll var-strs)]
diff --git a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/select.cljc b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/select.cljc
index 1671da3..0576e8e 100644
--- a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/select.cljc
+++ b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/select.cljc
@@ -1,21 +1,24 @@
 (ns com.yetanalytics.flint.spec.select
   (:require [clojure.spec.alpha :as s]
-            [com.yetanalytics.flint.spec.axiom :as ax]
-            [com.yetanalytics.flint.spec.expr  :as es]))
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.axiom.protocol :as p]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.spec.axiom     :as ax]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.spec.expr      :as es]))
 
 (defn- no-duplicate-vars?
   [var-or-exprs]
   (boolean (reduce (fn [seen [k x]]
                      (case k
                        :ax/var
-                       (if (contains? seen x)
-                         (reduced false)
-                         (conj seen x))
+                       (let [vname (p/variable-name x)]
+                         (if (contains? seen vname)
+                           (reduced false)
+                           (conj seen vname)))
                        :select/expr-as-var
-                       (let [v (-> x second second second)]
-                         (if (contains? seen v)
+                       (let [v     (-> x second second second)
+                             vname (p/variable-name v)]
+                         (if (contains? seen vname)
                            (reduced false)
-                           (conj seen v)))))
+                           (conj seen vname)))))
                    #{}
                    var-or-exprs)))
 
diff --git a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/aggregate.cljc b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/aggregate.cljc
index 5be545f..551fbea 100644
--- a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/aggregate.cljc
+++ b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/aggregate.cljc
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 (ns com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.aggregate
-  (:require [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.variable :as vv]
-            [com.yetanalytics.flint.util              :as u]
-            [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.util     :as vu]))
+  (:require [com.yetanalytics.flint.axiom.protocol     :as p]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.variable  :as vv]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.util               :as u]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.util      :as vu]))
 
 ;; In a query level which uses aggregates, only expressions consisting of
 ;; aggregates and constants may be projected, with one exception.
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@
         (reduce (fn [[valid-vars bad-vars] [k x]]
                   (case k
                     :ax/var
-                    (if-not (valid-vars x)
+                    (if-not (valid-vars (p/variable-name x))
                       [valid-vars (conj bad-vars x)]
                       [valid-vars bad-vars])
                     :select/expr-as-var
@@ -38,10 +39,10 @@
                         [valid-vars (concat bad-vars bad-expr-vars)]
                         ;; Somehow already-projected vars are now valid,
                         ;; at least according to Apache Jena's query parser
-                        [(conj valid-vars v) bad-vars]))))
+                        [(conj valid-vars (p/variable-name v)) bad-vars]))))
                 [group-by-vars []]
                 sel-clause)]
-    (not-empty bad-vars)))
+    (some-> bad-vars vv/distinct-vars not-empty)))
 
 (defn- validate-agg-select
   [[[_select-k select] loc]]
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@
                          (->> ?group-by
                               (map vv/group-by-projected-vars)
                               (filter some?)
+                              (map p/variable-name)
                               set)
                          #{})
         [sel-k sel-v]  select-cls]
diff --git a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/scope.cljc b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/scope.cljc
index f786ad6..4699ac8 100644
--- a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/scope.cljc
+++ b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/scope.cljc
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 (ns com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.scope
   (:require [clojure.zip :as zip]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.axiom.protocol    :as p]
             [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.variable :as vv]
             [com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.util     :as vu]
             [com.yetanalytics.flint.util              :as u]))
@@ -29,8 +30,9 @@
         prev-elems   (-> loc
                          zip/up ; :where/special
                          zip/lefts)
-        scope        (set (mapcat vv/get-scope-vars prev-elems))]
-    (when (contains? scope bind-var)
+        scope        (set (mapcat vv/get-scope-vars prev-elems))
+        scope-names  (set (map p/variable-name scope))]
+    (when (contains? scope-names (p/variable-name bind-var))
       (in-scope-err-map bind-var scope loc :where/bind))))
 
 (defn- validate-select
@@ -49,10 +51,15 @@
         where-vars   (-> where second vv/get-scope-vars)
         group-vars   (some-> ?group-by vv/group-by-projected-vars)
         prev-vars    (mapcat vv/get-scope-vars prev-elems)
-        scope        (set (concat where-vars group-vars prev-vars))]
-    (if-some [bad-expr-vars (not-empty (filter #(not (scope %)) expr-vars))]
+        scope        (set (concat where-vars group-vars prev-vars))
+        scope-names  (set (map p/variable-name scope))]
+    (if-some [bad-expr-vars (->> expr-vars
+                                 (remove #(contains? scope-names
+                                                     (p/variable-name %)))
+                                 vv/distinct-vars
+                                 not-empty)]
       (not-in-scope-err-map bad-expr-vars scope loc :select/expr-as-var)
-      (when (contains? scope bind-var)
+      (when (contains? scope-names (p/variable-name bind-var))
         (in-scope-err-map bind-var scope loc :select/expr-as-var)))))
 
 (defn- validate-node-locs
diff --git a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/variable.cljc b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/variable.cljc
index f906592..57302ee 100644
--- a/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/variable.cljc
+++ b/src/main/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/variable.cljc
@@ -1,6 +1,20 @@
 (ns com.yetanalytics.flint.validate.variable
-  (:require [com.yetanalytics.flint.util :as u]
-            [com.yetanalytics.flint.spec.expr :as es]))
+  (:require [com.yetanalytics.flint.axiom.protocol :as p]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.util           :as u]
+            [com.yetanalytics.flint.spec.expr      :as es]))
+
+(defn distinct-vars
+  "Return the distinct variables in `vars`, comparing their SPARQL names while
+   retaining the first encountered representation of each variable."
+  [vars]
+  (second
+   (reduce (fn [[seen ret] v]
+             (let [vname (p/variable-name v)]
+               (if (contains? seen vname)
+                 [seen ret]
+                 [(conj seen vname) (conj ret v)])))
+           [#{} []]
+           vars)))
 
 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
 ;; Expression variables
@@ -45,7 +59,7 @@
   (invalid-agg-expr-vars valid-vars x))
 
 (defmethod invalid-agg-expr-vars :ax/var [valid-vars [_ v]]
-  (if-not (valid-vars v) [v] []))
+  (if-not (valid-vars (p/variable-name v)) [v] []))
 
 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
 ;; GROUP BY projection variables
diff --git a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom_test.cljc b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom_test.cljc
index 5d2a4f9..0c9f8a0 100644
--- a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom_test.cljc
+++ b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/axiom_test.cljc
@@ -34,7 +34,16 @@
     (is (= "foo:bar" (p/-format-prefix-iri :foo/bar))))
   (testing "Variables"
     (is (p/-valid-variable? '?foo))
-    (is (= "?foo" (p/-format-variable '?foo))))
+    (is (p/-valid-variable? '$foo))
+    (is (= "?foo" (p/-format-variable '?foo)))
+    (is (= "$foo" (p/-format-variable '$foo)))
+    (is (= "foo"
+           (p/variable-name '?foo)
+           (p/variable-name '$foo)))
+    (let [custom-var (reify p/Variable
+                       (-valid-variable? [_] true)
+                       (-format-variable [_] "$custom"))]
+      (is (= "custom" (p/variable-name custom-var)))))
   (testing "Blank Nodes"
     (is (p/-valid-bnode? '_bar))
     (is (= "_:bar" (p/-format-bnode '_bar))))
@@ -303,7 +312,7 @@
                     {:prefixes {:xsd (java.net.URI. "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#")
                                 :foo (java.net.URI. "http://foo.org/")}
                      :select   ['?x]
-                     :where    [['?x :foo/time (java.time.Instant/EPOCH)]]})
+                     :where    [['?x :foo/time java.time.Instant/EPOCH]]})
                    (flint/format-query
                     {:prefixes {:xsd (java.net.URI. "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#")
                                 :foo (java.net.URI. "http://foo.org/")}
diff --git a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/error_test.cljc b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/error_test.cljc
index c6e55c5..6b174f9 100644
--- a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/error_test.cljc
+++ b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/error_test.cljc
@@ -181,6 +181,10 @@
                 v/collect-nodes
                 vs/validate-scoped-vars
                 err/scope-error-msg)))
+    (is (= "1 variable in 2 `expr AS var` clauses was already defined in scope: ?x!'"
+           (err/scope-error-msg
+            [{:kind ::vs/var-in-scope :variable '?x}
+             {:kind ::vs/var-in-scope :variable '$x}])))
     (is (= "1 variable at index 0 in 1 `expr AS var` clause was already defined in scope: ?x!'"
            (->> '[{:delete [[?x ?y ?z]]
                    :where  [[?x ?y ?z]
@@ -227,6 +231,9 @@
                 v/collect-nodes
                 va/validate-agg-selects
                 err/aggregate-error-msg)))
+    (is (= "1 variable was illegally used in SELECTs with aggregates: ?y!"
+           (err/aggregate-error-msg
+            [{:kind ::va/invalid-aggregate-var :variables ['?y '$y]}])))
     (is (= "2 variables at index 0 were illegally used in SELECTs with aggregates: ?y and ?z!"
            (->> '[{:delete [[?x ?y ?z]]
                    :where  {:select   [?x ?y ?z]
diff --git a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/format/axiom_test.cljc b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/format/axiom_test.cljc
index 64b49fb..449b457 100644
--- a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/format/axiom_test.cljc
+++ b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/format/axiom_test.cljc
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
            (f/format-ast-node {} [:ax/prefix-iri :bar])))
     (is (= "?xyz"
            (f/format-ast-node {} [:ax/var '?xyz])))
+    (is (= "$xyz"
+           (f/format-ast-node {} [:ax/var '$xyz])))
     (is (= "_:b0"
            (f/format-ast-node {} [:ax/bnode '_b0])))
     (is (= "[]"
diff --git a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/axiom_test.cljc b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/axiom_test.cljc
index 0534fdf..bceeac7 100644
--- a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/axiom_test.cljc
+++ b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/axiom_test.cljc
@@ -36,10 +36,11 @@
 
 (deftest string-validation-gentest
   (testing "variables"
-    (let [var-prop (make-prop (fn [s] (symbol (str "?" s)))
-                              v/var-regex
-                              v/valid-var-symbol?)]
-      (is (:pass? (tc/quick-check 100 var-prop)))))
+    (doseq [sigil ["?" "$"]]
+      (let [var-prop (make-prop (fn [s] (symbol (str sigil s)))
+                                v/var-regex
+                                v/valid-var-symbol?)]
+        (is (:pass? (tc/quick-check 100 var-prop))))))
   (testing "blank nodes"
     (let [bnode-prop (make-prop (fn [s] (symbol (str "_" s)))
                                 v/bnode-regex
@@ -112,20 +113,22 @@
 
 (deftest string-validation-unit-test
   (testing "variable strings"
-    (multilingual-test
-     (fn [x] (v/valid-var-symbol? (symbol (str "?" x)))))
-    (are [x] (not (v/valid-var-symbol? (symbol (str "?" x))))
-      "???"
-      "foo bar"
-      "foo.bar"
-      ".foobar"
-      "foo'bar"
-      "foo#bar"
-      (str "foo" (char 0x037E) "bar")
-      (str \u0308)
-      "·t"
-      biang-biang-noodles)
+    (doseq [sigil ["?" "$"]]
+      (multilingual-test
+       (fn [x] (v/valid-var-symbol? (symbol (str sigil x)))))
+      (are [x] (not (v/valid-var-symbol? (symbol (str sigil x))))
+        "???"
+        "foo bar"
+        "foo.bar"
+        ".foobar"
+        "foo'bar"
+        "foo#bar"
+        (str "foo" (char 0x037E) "bar")
+        (str \u0308)
+        "·t"
+        biang-biang-noodles))
     (is (v/valid-var-symbol? '?1234567890))
+    (is (v/valid-var-symbol? '$1234567890))
     (is (not (v/valid-var-symbol? 'foo)))
     (is (not (v/valid-var-symbol? '？foo))))
   (testing "blank node strings"
@@ -239,9 +242,12 @@
       (is (not (s/valid? ax/prefix-iri-spec :*)))))
   (testing "variables"
     (is (s/valid? ax/variable-spec '?foo))
+    (is (s/valid? ax/variable-spec '$foo))
     (is (not (s/valid? ax/variable-spec "?foo")))
+    (is (not (s/valid? ax/variable-spec "$foo")))
     (is (not (s/valid? ax/variable-spec 'foo)))
-    (is (not (s/valid? ax/variable-spec `?foo))))
+    (is (not (s/valid? ax/variable-spec `?foo)))
+    (is (not (s/valid? ax/variable-spec `$foo))))
   (testing "blank nodes"
     (is (s/valid? ax/bnode-spec '_))
     (is (s/valid? ax/bnode-spec '_foo))
diff --git a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/select_test.cljc b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/select_test.cljc
index ac97fff..4b7c5a2 100644
--- a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/select_test.cljc
+++ b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/spec/select_test.cljc
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@
 (deftest invalid-select-test
   (testing "Invalid SELECT clauses"
     (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[?x ?x])))
+    (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[?x $x])))
     (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[?x ?y [2 ?y]])))
+    (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[?x ?y [2 $y]])))
     (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[?x [2 ?y] ?y])))
-    (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[[2 ?y] [3 ?y]])))))
+    (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[?x [2 ?y] $y])))
+    (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[[2 ?y] [3 ?y]])))
+    (is (not (s/valid? ss/select-spec '[[2 ?y] [3 $y]])))))
diff --git a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/aggregate_test.cljc b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/aggregate_test.cljc
index 8477d4a..630978c 100644
--- a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/aggregate_test.cljc
+++ b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/aggregate_test.cljc
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
 
 (deftest helper-test
   (testing "helper multimethods"
+    (testing "to compare variables by SPARQL name"
+      (is (= '[?x $y]
+             (vv/distinct-vars '[?x $x $y ?y]))))
     (testing "to find GROUP BY projected vars"
       (is (= []
              (vv/group-by-projected-vars
@@ -30,8 +33,12 @@
               '[:expr/terminal [:ax/var ?x]])))
       (is (= []
              (vv/invalid-agg-expr-vars
-              #{'?x}
+              #{"x"}
               '[:expr/terminal [:ax/var ?x]])))
+      (is (= []
+             (vv/invalid-agg-expr-vars
+              #{"x"}
+              '[:expr/terminal [:ax/var $x]])))
       (is (= ['?x]
              (vv/invalid-agg-expr-vars
               #{}
@@ -44,7 +51,7 @@
                               [:expr/args [[:expr/terminal [:ax/var ?x]]]]]])))
       (is (= []
              (vv/invalid-agg-expr-vars
-              #{'?x}
+              #{"x"}
               '[:expr/branch [[:expr/op str]
                               [:expr/args [[:expr/terminal [:ax/var ?x]]]]]]))))))
 
@@ -81,6 +88,20 @@
               (s/conform qs/query-spec)
               v/collect-nodes
               va/validate-agg-selects)))
+    (is (nil?
+         (->> '{:select   [$x]
+                :where    [[?x ?y ?z]]
+                :group-by [?x]}
+              (s/conform qs/query-spec)
+              v/collect-nodes
+              va/validate-agg-selects)))
+    (is (nil?
+         (->> '{:select   [?x]
+                :where    [[?x ?y ?z]]
+                :group-by [$x]}
+              (s/conform qs/query-spec)
+              v/collect-nodes
+              va/validate-agg-selects)))
     (is (nil?
          (->> '{:select   [[(sum ?x) ?x2] [(str ?x2) ?x3]]
                 :where    [[?x ?y ?z]]
@@ -149,6 +170,16 @@
                 v/collect-nodes
                 va/validate-agg-selects
                 (map #(dissoc % :path)))))
+    (is (= [{:kind ::va/invalid-aggregate-var
+             :variables ['?z]}]
+           (->> '{:select   [[(str ?z) ?str]
+                             [(str $z) $str2]]
+                  :where    [[?x ?y ?z]]
+                  :group-by [?x]}
+                (s/conform qs/query-spec)
+                v/collect-nodes
+                va/validate-agg-selects
+                (map #(dissoc % :path)))))
     (is (= [{:kind ::va/invalid-aggregate-var
              :variables ['?z]}]
            (->> '{:select [[("<http://custom.agg>" ?x) ?sum] [(str ?z) ?str]]
diff --git a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/scope_test.cljc b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/scope_test.cljc
index e2b673f..d1b156b 100644
--- a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/scope_test.cljc
+++ b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint/validate/scope_test.cljc
@@ -223,6 +223,20 @@
                    (s/conform qs/query-spec)
                    v/collect-nodes
                    vs/validate-scoped-vars)))
+    (is (nil? (->> '{:select [[(+ $x 1) ?sum]]
+                     :where  [[?x ?y ?z]]}
+                   (s/conform qs/query-spec)
+                   v/collect-nodes
+                   vs/validate-scoped-vars)))
+    (is (= [{:kind       ::vs/var-not-in-scope
+             :variables  ['?u]
+             :scope-vars #{'?x '?y '?z}
+             :path       [:query/select :select :select/var-or-exprs :select/expr-as-var]}]
+           (->> '{:select [[(+ ?u $u) ?sum]]
+                  :where  [[?x ?y ?z]]}
+                (s/conform qs/query-spec)
+                v/collect-nodes
+                vs/validate-scoped-vars)))
     (is (= [{:kind       ::vs/var-not-in-scope
              :variables  ['?u '?v]
              :scope-vars #{'?x '?y '?z}
@@ -279,6 +293,25 @@
                 (s/conform qs/query-spec)
                 v/collect-nodes
                 vs/validate-scoped-vars)))
+    (is (= [{:kind       ::vs/var-in-scope
+             :variable   '$x
+             :scope-vars #{'?x '?y '?z}
+             :path       [:query/select :select :select/var-or-exprs :select/expr-as-var]}]
+           (->> '{:select [[2 $x]]
+                  :where  [[?x ?y ?z]]}
+                (s/conform qs/query-spec)
+                v/collect-nodes
+                vs/validate-scoped-vars)))
+    (is (= [{:kind       ::vs/var-in-scope
+             :variable   '$y
+             :scope-vars #{'?x '?y '?z}
+             :path       [:query/select :where :where-sub/where :where/special :where/bind]}]
+           (->> '{:select [?x]
+                  :where  [[?x ?y ?z]
+                           [:bind [3 $y]]]}
+                (s/conform qs/query-spec)
+                v/collect-nodes
+                vs/validate-scoped-vars)))
     (is (= #{{:kind       ::vs/var-in-scope
               :variable   '?x
               :scope-vars #{'?x '?y '?z '?w}
diff --git a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint_test.cljc b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint_test.cljc
index 44b9ccd..3f64f8b 100644
--- a/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint_test.cljc
+++ b/src/test/com/yetanalytics/flint_test.cljc
@@ -74,6 +74,18 @@
   (make-format-pretty-tests (fn [ups] (format-updates ups :pretty? true))
                             "dev-resources/test-fixtures/inputs/update-seq/"))
 
+(deftest dollar-variable-integration-test
+  (testing "Dollar-prefixed variables through the public API"
+    (is (= "SELECT ($x AS ?same) WHERE { ?x a $o . } GROUP BY ?x VALUES $o { 1 }"
+           (format-query '{:select   [[$x ?same]]
+                           :where    [[?x :a $o]]
+                           :group-by [?x]
+                           :values   {$o [1]}})))
+    (is (= "DELETE { $x a ?o . } INSERT { ?x a $new . } WHERE { ?x a $o . }"
+           (format-update '{:delete [[$x :a ?o]]
+                            :insert [[?x :a $new]]
+                            :where  [[?x :a $o]]})))))
+
 (deftest exception-tests
   (testing "API functions throwing exceptions"
     (is (= ::flint/invalid-query