BITD(back-in-the-day), there were fewer options for storing data. Dates were generally stored either as 6-digits or 3, 2-digit fields. Fields were not changed when that data was ported to a SQL DB.

However, anything more recent should not be storing data incorrectly. A date should be a date or datetime data type. Editing should occur in the UI or the reports and not the database. Storing money with the currency sign the database is not necessary. Data warehouses may do that, though.

The closer you are to matching the datas intended use and its type, the better off you will be. It takes more time but it's worth it in the long run.