Informe número 47 - My coins collection updated to 2009

My collection

The list of 364 countries/territories from which I already have coins:

AFARS & ISSAS (French Territories)
AFGHANISTAN (Islamic State)
AFGHANISTAN (Democratic Republic, 1980-1987)
AFGHANISTAN (Kingdom, 1930-1973)
ALBANIA
ALBANIA (Italian occupation, 1939)
ALBANIA (Kingdom, 1928-1939)
ALDERNEY
ALGERIA (French occupation, 1848-1962)
ALGERIA (Republic, since 1962)
ANDORRA
ANGOLA (Peoples Republic, since 1975)
ANGOLA (Portuguese sobereign)
ANGUILLA, Isle
ARGENTINA
ARMENIA
ARMENIA (USSR)
ARUBA
AUSTRALIA
AUSTRIA
AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS (1781-1786)
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE
AZERBAIJAN
AZORES, Isles (autonomous region since 1976)

BAHAMAS, Isles
BAHRAIN
BANGLADESH
BARBADOS
BELARUS
BELGIUM
BELIZE
BENIN
BERMUDA
BHUTAN
BIAFRA
BOHEMIA & MORAVIA
BOLIVIA
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
BOTSWANA
BRAZIL
BRITISH EAST CARIBBEAN TERRITORIES
BRITISH GUIANA (1905-1955)
BRITISH HONDURAS
BRITISH WEST AFRICA
BRUNEI
BUENOS AYRES (Eastern Argentina, 1821-1861)
BULGARIA
BULGARIA (Kingdom, 1908-1946)
BURMA (MYANMAR)
BURUNDI

CAMBODIA
CAMEROUN
CAMEROUN (French Protectorate)
CANADA
CAPE VERDE
CAYMAN, Islands
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
CENTRAL AFRICAN STATES (1973-1986)
CEYLON
CHAD
CHILE
CHINA (Republic, 1912-1929)
CHINA (People's Republic)
CHINA-TAIWAN (Republic)
COLOMBIA
COLOMBIA-LAZARETO
COMOROS
CONGO (BELGIAN)
CONGO (Democratic Republic)
CONGO (People's Republic)
COOK ISLANDS
COSTA RICA
CRETE, Isle
CROATIA
CUBA
CURACAO
CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC
CZECHOSLOVAKIA

DENMARK
DJIBOUTI
DOMINICA, Isle
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

EAST AFRICA (German Protectorate)
EAST AFRICAN STATES
EAST AFRICA & UGANDA
EAST CARRIBEAN STATES
ECUADOR
EGYPT (since 1971)
EGYPT (United Arab Emirates, 1958-1971)
EGYPT (Kingdom 1922-1952)
EGYPT (British Protectorate, 1914-1922)
EGYPT (Ottoman occupation, XIXth century)
EL SALVADOR
EQUATORIAL AFRICAN STATES (1960-1973)
ERITREA
ESSEQUIBO & DEMERARY
ESTONIA
ETHIOPIA
EUROPEAN UNION (Euro, Spain)
EUZKADI (Basque Country)

FALKLAND (MALVINAS), Islands
FAEROE, Islands
FIJI
FINLAND
FRANCE
FRANCE (Vichy)
FRENCH COLONIES (1825-1844)
FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA
FRENCH INDO-CHINA
FRENCH OCEANIA
FRENCH POLYNESIA
FRENCH WEST AFRICA

GABON
GAMBIA
GARDINER, Islands
GEORGIA
GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
GERMANY
GERMANY (Empire)
GERMANY (Frankfurt 1833-1866)
GERMANY (Hesse-Darmstadt)
GERMANY (Nassau)
GERMANY (Prussia)
GERMANY (Weimar)
GERMANY (WWI Occupation)
GERMANY (Third Reich)
GHANA
GIBRALTAR
GREAT BRITAIN
GREECE
GREECE (Kingdom, 1832-1924)
GREENLAND
GRENADA, Isle (1967-1974)
GUADALUPE, Isle
GUATEMALA
GUERSEY, Isle
GUINEA
GUINEA-BISSAU
GUINEA EQUATORIAL
GUINEA PORTUGUESE
GUYANA
GUYANA-CAYENNE (French Overseas Dept.)

HAITI
HAWAII (U.S.A.)
HONDURAS
HONG KONG
HUTT RIVER Province (West Australia)
HONG KONG (China)
HUNGARY
HUNGARY (Kingdom)

ICELAND
INDIA
INDIA (British)
INDIA (Portuguese)
INDIA (Netherland)
INDONESIA
IONIAN, Islands (British Rule, 1815-1864)
IRAN (Pahlevi dynasty, 1925-1979)
IRAN (since 1980)
IRAQ (Republic, since 1963)
IRAQ (Kingdom, 1920-1958)
IRELAND
IRELAND (NORTH)
ISRAEL
ITALY (since 1946)
ITALIA (Kingdom, 1848-1946)

JAMAICA
JAPAN
JERSEY
JORDAN

KATANGA
KAMPUCHEA
KAZAKHSTAN
KENYA
KIRIBATI
KOREA (NORTH)
KOREA (SOUTH)
KUWAIT

LAOS (Peoples Democratic Republic)
LAOS (Kingdom)
LA RIOJA (Northwest Argentina, 1820-1860)
LATVIA
LEBANON
LEBANON (French Protectorate, 1920-1943)
LESOTHO
LIBERIA
LIBYA (1951-1969)
LIBYA (Socialist Peoples Republic, since 1977)
LIECHTENSTEIN
LITHUANIA
LUNDY, Isle (SW England)
LUXEMBOURG

MACAO (Chinese sobereign)
MACAO (Portuguese sobereign)
MACEDONIA
MADAGASCAR (Democratic Republic, since 1975)
MADAGASCAR (Malagasy Republic, 1960-1975)
MADAGASCAR (French occupation, 1896-1958)
MADEIRA, Isle
MALAWI
MALACCA
MALAYA & BRITISH BORNEO
MALAYSIA
MALDIVES, Isle
MALI
MALTA
MAN, Isle
MARSHALL, Isle
MARTINIQUE, Isle
MAURITANIA
MAURITIUS (Republic, since 1968)
MAURITIUS (British Colony, 1923-1968)
MEXICO
MOLDAVIA
MOMBASA (Brit. East. Afric. Co)
MONACO
MONGOLIA
MONSERRAT, Isle
MONTENEGRO
MOROCCO
MOROCCO (French Protectorate)
MOROCCO (Suleiman II, 1792-1822)
MUSCAT & OMAN
MOZAMBIQUE (Popular Republic, since 1975)
MOZAMBIQUE (Portuguese sobereign)

NAMIBIA
NEPAL
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
NETHERLANDS, The
NEW CALEDONIA
NEW FOUNDLAND
NEW GUINEA
NEW HEBRIDES, Isle
NEW ZEALAND
NICARAGUA
NIGERIA
NIUE
NORWAY
NORWAY (WWII nazi occupation)

OMAN

PAKISTAN
PALAU, Isle
PALESTINE (British Mandate, 1922-1948)
PANAMA
PAPUA-NEW GUINEA
PARAGUAY
PERU
PHILIPPINES
PHILIPPINES - CULLION Islands
PIRATES, Isle
PITCAIRN, Isle
POLAND (since 1990)
POLAND (Peoples Republic, 1956-1990)
POLAND (Republic, 1927-1939)
POLAND (Republic, 1920-1927)
PORTUGAL
PULU PENANG, Isle

QATAR
QATAR & DUBAI

RAGUSA (Republic of Dubrovnik, 1272-1808)
REUNION, Isle rodhesiaRHODESIA
RHODESIA & NYASALAND
RHODESIA SOUTHERN
ROMANIA (Kingdom, 1881-1946)
ROMANIA (Popular Republic, 1948-1965)
ROMANIA (Socialist Republic, 1965-1989)
ROMANIA (since 1989)
RUSSIA (Empire)
RUSSIAN FEDERATION (since 1992)
RWANDA
RWANDA-URUNDI

SAARLAND
SAHARA ARABE
ST. HELENA, Isle
ST. LUCIA, Isle
ST. PIERRE & MIQUELON
ST. THOMAS PRINCE
SAN MARINO
SARAWAK (1870-1946)
SAUDI ARABIA
SCOTLAND
SEBORGA (Principality)
SERBIA
SERBS-CROATS-SLOVENES KINGDOM (1918-29)
SEYCHELLES (Republic, 1977-1996)
SEYCHELLES (British dependency, 1970-1976)
SEYCHELLES (British dependency, 1961-1970)
SIERRA LEONE
SINGAPUR
SLOVAKIA
SLOVENIA
SOLOMON, Isle
SOMALIA
SOMALILAND (French)
SOMALILAND (Italian)
SOUTH-AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC (since 1994)
SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC (1880-1902)
SOUTH ARABIA (YEMEN)
SOUTH GEORGIA & SOUTH SANDWICH, Islands
SOVIET UNION
SPAIN (Kingdom, 1785-1931)
SPAIN (Second Republic, 1931-1939)
SPAIN (State, 1938-1977)
SPAIN (State, 1977-1981)
SPAIN (Kingdom, since 1981)
SPITZBERGEN (SVALBARD), Isles
SRI-LANKA
STRAIT'S SETTLEMENTS
SUDAN
SUMATRA (Acheh)
SUMATRA (British East India Co., 1801-1824)
SURINAM
SWAZILAND
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
SYRIA
SYRIA (French Protectorate)

TAJIKISTAN
TANZANIA
THAILAND
TIBET
TIMOR (East)
TOGO
TOGO (Autonomous Republic, 1956-1960)
TOKELAU
TONGA
TRANSDNIESTRA
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
TRISTAN DA CUNHA, Isle
TUNISIA
TUNISIA (French Protectorate)
TURKEY (Ottoman Empire)
TURKEY (Republic)
TURKMENISTAN
TURKS & CAICOS
TUVALU

UGANDA
UKRAINE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
URI (1600-1811, Swiss Canton...)
UNITED STATES of AMERICA
URUGUAY
UZBEKISTAN

VANUATU
VATICAN (City, since 1929)
VATICAN (Papal State, untill 1870)
VENEZUELA
VIETNAM (NORTH)
VIETNAM (SOUTH)
VIRGEN, Isle

WALES
WEST AFRICAN STATES
WESTERN SAMOA

YEMEN
YUGOSLAVIA
YUGOSLAVIA (Kingdom, 1929-1945)

ZAIRE
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE
ZANZIBAR

Informe número 46 - Coinage metals & abbreviations

Coinage metals and their abbreviations

Common Elements Used for Coins and Medals
Al- aluminium
AB- aluminium-bronze
Ar- aureate
Br- bronze
Bs- brass (yellow copper)
bS- brass plated steel
B-S- brass clad steel
CAN- copper-aluminium-nickel
CN- copper-nickel
cn-Bs- copper-nickel clad Brass
CNZ- copper-zinc-nickel
cS- copper plated steel
Cu- copper
CuXX- XX per cent copper plus...
CZ- copper-zinc alloy Ni- nickel
NB- nickel-bronze
NBs- nickel-brass
Ni- nickel
nS- nickel plated steel
n-S- nickel clad steel
Sm- magnetic stainless steel
St- stainless steel
Zn- Zinc
ZnXX- XX per cent zinc plus...

Informe número 45 - Roman Numerals

Roman Numerals

History and use:

The system of number symbols created by the Romans had the merit of expressing all numbers from 1 to 1,000,000 with a total of seven symbols. The Romans depicted numbers using seven letters of the alphabet as numerals:

I = 1
V = 5
X = 10
L = 50
C = 100
D = 500
M = 1000

Roman numerals are still used today, more than 2000 years after their introduction. The history of Roman numerals is not well documented and written accounts are contradictory. Roman numerals are read from left to right. It is likely that counting began on the fingers and that is why we count in tens.

A single stroke I represents one finger, five or a handful could possibly be represented by V and the X may have been used because if you stretch out two handfuls of fingers and place them close the two little fingers cross in an X. Alternatively, an X is like two Vs, one upside down.

In medieval texts and some early printed books, the numerals are written in lower case letters and "u" was frequently substituted for "v". In the final position of the numeral, "j" could be used instead of "i". So 18 could be written "xuiij" rather than XVIII.

Although the Latin for 100 is centum and for 1000 is mille, scholars generally do not think that C is 100 and M is 1000 because they are the initial letters of centum and mille.

The use of "D" could be a representation of a "C" with a vertical line through it representing half. Others suggested that M arose out of the use of "( )" symbols to multiply by 1000. This theory is supported by the use of "( I )" for 1000 and "I )" for 500. These could easily become corrupted or abbreviated into M or D which they resemble.

Forming numbers:

At their simplest, numbers are formed by stringing the letters together to add up to the number required. Like this:

II = 2
XXX = 30
XII = 12
CXXIII = 123

The rule is to use the biggest numeral possible at each stage, so 15 is represented by XV not VVV nor XIIIII. It follows from this rule that numerals always go from left to right in descending order. This could still lead to some very long strings.

For example, using this rule 99 would be LXXXXVIIII. So at some point a new rule was invented. A smaller value letter to the left of a larger value one is subtracted. So 4 becomes IV - which is 5 minus 1 - not IIII.

There are three rules about these smaller numerals which are placed to the left of a bigger one and subtracted:

I) Only I, X, and C can be used in this way; V, L, and D cannot and, of course, M cannot because it is the biggest numeral anyway.

II) Only one smaller number can be placed to the left. So 19 can be depicted XIX but 18 cannot be written XIIX.

XIIX would have a certain ambiguity to it as it could be construed as 11+9= 20 rather than 10-2+10=18.

III) The subtracted number must be no less than a tenth of the value of the number it is subtracted from. So an X can be placed to the left of a C or an L but not to the left of an M or a D. Another way of looking at this rule is that each power of ten is dealt with separately. So 49 is XL IX (without the spaces: XLIX), not IL.

The subtractive principle was familiar to the Romans as it was used in their calendar. Days were counted as so many before certain fixed points in the month. For example, the 9th of March was VII Id. that is the seventh day before the Ides on the 15th day (note that the Romans counted the Ides as the first day, so the 9th is the seventh NOT the sixth as you might expect).

Nowadays, we also use a subtractive principle in time when we say quarter to eight or five and twenty to nine.

These rules limit the usefulness of the subtraction rule in reducing the length of Roman numerals. Although the year 2000 is quite neat at MM, 1999 is something else...

The strict rules about Roman numerals have been used only relatively recently.

In earlier periods, although the subtractive principle was used, it seems that it was an alternative rather than compulsory and other forms such as VIIII for 9 and even IIXX for 18 are found. At any date exceptions can be found, and there are examples from different periods in Rome itself:

The Colosseum - constructed between 70 and 80 AD and known as the Flavian Amphitheatre - seated 55,000 people. The audience entered through 80 arches which were numbered 1 to 76 - the four principal entrances were unnumbered. Each spectator had a ticket bearing one these numbers and entered through the corresponding arch. It is said they could all enter within ten minutes. Only 33 doorways remain and they are numbered 23 to 54 with one unnumbered entrance. The numbers do not use the contraction IV or IX. Thus arch 29 is XXVIIII and arch 54 is LIIII. However, the contraction for 40 - XL - is used and so door 44 is XLIIII.

Roman numerals today:

The spreadsheet package Microsoft Excel has a function to depict numbers in Roman form. To get classical Roman numbers, conforming to the rules on these pages, use =ROMAN(n) where "n" is your number. There are four other versions of the function using progressively weirder versions of 'Roman' numbers. The fourth, ROMAN(n,4) giving what Microsoft calls the "simplified" version. None of these four has any validity in terms of what real users of Roman numerals did and seem to have been dreamed up by programmers in Gatesville.

For live conversion of real numbers into genuine Roman numerals ROMAN(A1) where A1 is the reference to the cell containing the number you want to convert.

Excel will not display numbers in Roman format without converting them to text. But another software package, Fireworkz for Windows, will do so, allowing live working spreadsheets in Roman numerals.

Use of Roman numerals:

Roman numerals are still used today and can be found in many places. They are still used in most all cases for the copyright date on films, television programmes, and videos - for example MCMLXXXVI. They are also used to show the hours on some analogue clocks and watches. Here, though, the four is always depicted as IIII not as IV.

That is said to be because the four strokes of IIII balance the VIII which is opposite to it on the left side of the face. One exception is one of the most famous clocks in the world - Big Ben in the Clock Tower in the Palace of Westminster where the British Houses of Parliament are located. The numerals are in lower case, gothic script and the 4 is depicted as "iv". Intel, the computer chip maker, called its Pentium processor the Pentium IV.

Roman numerals can be used for the preliminary pages of book before the main page numbering gets under way. Here they numerals normally use lower case letters so pages i, iv, xi and so on. The Olympic Games are numbered using Roman numerals. The 1996 Olympic Games at Atlanta in the USA were called the XXVI Olympic Games showing that it is the 26th games of the modern era since the first in 1896. The 1998 Winter Games in Nagano were the XVIII Winter Games. When counting Olympic Games the ones cancelled during war in 1916, 1940, and 1944 are included.

Monarchs are usually numbered in Roman - eg. King Edward VII of England, Louis XIV of France. Popes are also numbered using Roman numerals eg. John Paul II. This form is also sometimes seen in naming eldest sons in family dynasties where successive generations bear the same first name.

Roman numerals are found in numbering paragraphs in complex documents to clarify which are main sections and which subsections so II.3.iv.(5). They are used for similar reasons to show the volume number of periodicals eg vol.VI no.5.

Before the 18th century they were widely used for the publication date on printed books. Since that time they are still sometimes found on special editions. The New York Times still does this on its front page - eg. VOL. CXLVII, No.51,305.

You will sometimes find the first and second world wars referred to as World War I and World War II or even WWI and WWII.

They can still be seen on public buildings, monuments and gravestones, sometimes when the inscription is in Latin but often just to give the date a certain gravity. On gravestones, as well as the date of death, Roman numerals can be used for the age of the deceased.

Up until the eighteenth century Roman numerals were used in Europe for book-keeping even though the arabic numerals we use today were known and in use from around 1000 AD. There are said to be two reasons for this:

I) Adding and subtracting are very easy with Roman numerals.

II) Arabic numerals can more easily be mistaken or forged - a 0 can look very like a 6 or an 8 or a 9 or be turned into one by a single stroke.

The Roman system's one drawback, however, is that it is not suitable for rapid written calculations. Although simple arithmetic is easier with Roman numerals, multiplication and division, fractions, and more advanced mathematics are difficult and arabic numerals slowly
replaced Roman ones in everyday life.

Informe número 44 - Numeral Systems

Numeral Systems

Various notational systems (number systems) have been or are being used in mathematics to represent the abstract quantities called numbers.

A number system is defined by the base it uses, the base being the number of different symbols required by the system to represent any of the infinite series of numbers. Thus, the decimal system in universal use today (except for computer application) requires ten different symbols, or digits, to represent numbers and is therefore a base-10 system.

Throughout history, many different number systems have been used; in fact, any whole number greater than 1 can be used as a base. Some cultures have used systems based on the numbers 3, 4, or 5.

The Babylonians used the sexagesimal system, based on the number 60, and the Romans used (for some purposes) the duodecimal system, based on the number 12.

The Mayas used the vigesimal system, based on the number 20.

The binary system, based on the number 2, was used by some tribes and, together with the system based on 8, is used today in computer systems.

The earliest forms of number notation were simply groups of straight lines, either vertical or horizontal, each line corresponding to the number. Such a system is inconvenient when dealing with large numbers, and as early as 3400 BC in Egypt and 3000 BC in Mesopotamia a special symbol was adopted for the number 10.

The addition of this second number symbol made it possible to express the number 11 with 2 instead of 11 individual symbols and the number 99 with 18 instead of 99 individual symbols. Later numeral systems introduced extra symbols for a number between 1 and 10, usually either 4 or 5, and additional symbols for numbers greater than 10.

In Babylonian cuneiform notation the numeral used for 1 was also used for 60 and for powers of 60; the value of the numeral was indicated by its context. The Egyptian hieroglyphic system used special symbols for 10, 100, 1000, and 10,000.

The ancient Greeks had two parallel systems of numerals. The earlier of these was based on the initial letters of the names of numbers: The number 5 was indicated by the letter Pi; 10 by the letter Delta; 100 by the antique form of the letter H; 1000 by the letter Chi; and 10,000 by the letter Mu.

The later system, which was first introduced about the 3rd century BC, employed all the letters of the Greek alphabet plus three letters borrowed from the Phoenician alphabet as number symbols. The first nine letters of the alphabet were used for the numbers 1 to 9, the second nine letters for the tens from 10 to 90, and the last nine letters for the hundreds from 100 to 900. Thousands were indicated by placing a bar to the left of the appropriate numeral, and tens of thousands by placing the appropriate letter over the letter M.

The late Greek system had the advantage that large numbers could be expressed with a minimum of symbols, but it had the disadvantage of requiring the user to memorize a total of 27 symbols.

The decimal system is believed to have originated in counting on the fingers, using both hands as the most convenient method. Arabic numerals are 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

Roman numerals are I, II, III, IV, etc. Both the Arabic and the Roman symbols are believed to be related to this method: 1 or I is one finger, 2 or II is two fingers, and 3 or III is three fingers. The word "digit" is from the Latin digitus, meaning "finger".

Some of the symbols are less easily explained, but V seems to be the open hand, and X seems to be two open hands. The Roman system has no symbol for zero, and in the Arabic system zero is much more recent than the other symbols. The Maya, who were skilled in mathematics, had a symbol for zero.

Some languages show traces of reckoning by units other than ten, e.g., 8, 12, 20. In the case of 20, the toes as well as the fingers may have been used in counting.

Informe número 43 - Hebrew Numerals

Hebrew Numerals

The Hebrew Alphabet:

The Hebrew use a different alphabet than English. The Hebrew alphabet is often called the 'alefbet', because of its first two letters. Note that Hebrew is written from right to left, rather than left to right as in English, so "Alef" is the first letter of the 'alefbet' and "Tav" is the last. The picture below illustrates the 'alefbet', in Hebrew alphabetical order:

If you are familiar with Greek, you will no doubt notice substantial similarities in letter names and in the order of the alphabet.
Note that there are two versions of some letters. "Khaf", "Mem", "Nun", "Pe" and "Tzade" all are written differently when they appear at the end of a word than when they appear in the beginning or middle of the word. The version used at the end of a word is referred to as Final "Khaf", Final "Mem", etc. The version of the letter on the left is the final version. In all cases except Final "Mem", the final version has a long tail. The "Kh" and the "Ch" are pronounced as in German or Scottish, a throat clearing noise, not as the "ch" in "chair".

Numerical Values:

Each letter in the 'alefbet' has a numerical value. These values can be used to write numbers, as the Romans used some of their letters (I, V, X, L, C, M) to represent numbers.

"Alef" through "Yod" have the values 1 through 10. "Yod" through "Qof" have the values 10 through 100, counting by 10s. "Qof" through "Tav" have the values 100 through 400, counting by 100s. Final letters have the same value as their non-final counterparts.
The number 11 would be rendered "Yod-Alef", the number 12 would be "Yod-Bet", the number 21 would be "Kaf-Alef", the word Torah (Tav-Vav-Resh-He) has the numerical value 611, etc.
The only significant oddity in this pattern is the number 15, which if rendered as 10+5 would be a name of God, so it is normally written "Tet-Vav" (9+6).

The order of the letters is irrelevant to their value; letters are simply added to determine the total numerical value. The number 11 could be written as "Yod-Alef", "Alef-Yod", "Heh-Vav", "Dalet-Dalet-Gimel" or many other combinations of letters.

Coins dating and the conversion from hebrew calendar to christian calendar:

Modern Israel's coins carry hebrew dating formed from a combination of the 22 consonant letters of the hebrew alphabet and read from rigth to left. The hebrew new year falls in september or october by christian calendar reckoning.
The hebrew calendar is 3,760 years greater than the christian dating. For example, 1992 is 5752 according to the jewish calendar. So... the hebrew calendar dates back more that five milleniums (5,000).

In the israeli coins from 1981 full dates appear on the coins, but sometimes are assumed in the dating of coins, and in general as well. Thus, the year 5735 (1975) for example, apears as 735 (and not 5,735) with the two first caracters from the rigth indicating the number of years in hundreds ("tav"=400 + "shin"=300), The next is "lamed" (= 30) followed by a separation mark which has the appearance of double quotation marks, then "he" (= 5).

In total: 400+300+30+5=735. Very simple...:)

The separation mark, generally similar to a double quotation marks, serves the purpose of indicating that the letters form a number, not a hebrew word.

Informe número 42 - Arabic Numerals

Arabic Numerals

The common system of number notation in use in most parts of the world today is the Arabic system. This system was first developed by the Hindus and was in use in India in the 3rd century BC. At that time the numerals 1, 4, and 6 were written in substantially the same form used today. The Hindu numeral system was probably introduced into the Arab world about the 7th or 8th century AD. The first recorded use of the system in Europe was in AD 976.

The important innovation in the Arabic system was the use of positional notation, in which individual number symbols assume different values according to their position in the written numeral. Positional notation is made possible by the use of a symbol for zero. The symbol "0" makes it possible to differentiate between 11, 101, and 1001 without the use of additional symbols, and all numbers can be expressed in terms of ten symbols, the numerals from 1 to 9 plus 0. Positional notation also greatly simplifies all forms of written numerical calculation.

Countries in the Arabic sphere generallly date their coins to the Hejira date (AH=Anno Hegirae). Hejira is the name of the Mohammedan era, which commenced on July 16, 622 of the Christian era (AD=Anno Domini) when the prophet Mohammed fled from Mecca, escaping to Medina to avoid persecution from the Koreish tribesmen. Based on a lunar year, is 11 days shorter.

Follow the instructions and you'll see how easy is to indentify your coins, even if you don't know a single arabic word. You just have to memorize the following number and everything will be ok.

While Arabic letters are written from right-to-left, numbers in Arabic are written from left-to-right. For example: the following number is "120", not "021".

In the Arabic world the Hejira date may be indicated in Arabic numerals and the Christian date in Western numerals, or both dates represented in either form. Some coins carry dates according to both locally observed and Christian eras.

Some countries, such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, use the Western "Arabic" numerals, for example, 1984 instead of:

Informe número 41 - Dating modern Japanese coins

Dating modern Japanese coins

The Japanese counting system and number-related expressions are one of the difficult parts of learning Japanese. Numbers in Japanese can either be written in the usual "European" fashion (0...9), or using kanji. 0...9 is more often used when writing horizontally, kanji when writing vertically, although there are plenty of exceptions to both. When using kanji to write numbers, a positional system is employed. 25 is "two ten five", 1246 is "thousand two hundred four ten six", etc. Note that there is a character and word for 10,000 (man), but not for a million. To say a million, you have to say "one hundred ten-thousand".

The following number are the basic numbers used in dating Japanese coins:

Modern, post-WWII coins are quite easy to date. Japan does not use the calendar year of minting, but rather the year of reign of the emperor. To begin with, we must look at the emperors of this time frame, and understand their years of reign.

Hirohito, who used the regal name Showa, ruled from 1926 until 1989.
Akihito, who used the regal name Heisei, has ruled since 1989.

1926 would be Showa yr. 1,
1927 would be Showa yr. 2, etc.
1989 was Showa yr. 64.
1989 was also Heisei yr. 1, as he ascended the throne in that year.
1990 would be Heisei yr. 2, etc.

To read the date:

Find the legend (usually on the lower side of the reverse, under the English value on all except the 5 yen, which does not have an English value). This legend will contain either 4,5, or 6 Japanese characters. Reading the normal western style of left to right, the first 2 characters are the regal name of the emperor, either Showa or Heisei. The last character on the right is irrelevant (it means year). The characters in the middle are the important ones for dating.

Read the numbers left to right:

If there is only a single number, (between 2 and 10*), then that is the actual year of reign, and would mean that the coin is a Heisei issue. There is a special character for yr 1, which means "first".

If there are 2 numbers, and the first number is 10, then add the second number to it to get the year, such as 10 1 would be 11 (2001 is Heisei yr 13).

If there are 2 numbers, and the second number is 10, then multiply the first number by 10, such as 4 10 would be 40.

If there are 3 numbers, the second number should always be 10. Multiply the first number by 10, and add the third number, such as 4 10 5 would be 45 (4 x 10 + 5).

To determine the actual year of minting, it must first be determined under which emperor the coin was minted. Currently, that is not a problem since the years do not overlap. Current Japanese coins were begun in 1948, Showa yr 23.

If the coin is dated above 23, then it is a Showa issue. If the coin is a Showa issue, add the year of reign to 1926, and subtract 1. For example, Showa year 55 would be 1980: 1926 + 55 -1.

If it is dated under 11, then it is a Heisei issue. If the coin is a Heisei issue, add the year of reign to 1989, and subtract 1. For example, Heisei year 8 would be 1996: 1989 + 8 - 1.