Come along with me on a mental trip back in time to the days of ancient Rome. Let’s stop in at Antonio’s for a pizza and something cold to drink. It will be my treat because I have a toga-bag full of old coppers that will more than pay for the meal. Your part can be to add up the bill and figure in the tip.
Are you ready? The pizzas cost XIV coppers each, your drink was VII and mine was VI, the bread sticks were IX. We should leave at least a 15% tip. What? You say you can’t compute in Roman numerals. Well don’t feel bad. Very few people could add large sums even back in Roman days. Multiplication was even worse. Just how much is MDLIX times MCMLXIV? If you ever though that “new math” was a problem, you should have been around for some of the “old math.” That was really a nightmare.
There was no easy alternative for anyone who couldn’t figure sums in Roman numerals. The basic problem was that there is no “zero” in that system. To make matters worse paper, as we know it today, was not yet invented and the ancients had to scratch their writing into whatever flat surface they had at hand. No one could have envisioned the modern calculator in his or her wildest dreams. The scholars who did work with numbers back in those dark days had to do math the hard way, and yet somehow the system survived for hundreds of years.
No one knows how long Roman numerals were used to compute sums of numbers. Surely a change, however gradual, must have begun as soon as people realized that some systems used by other countries were far superior and more convenient than anything known to the Greeks and Romans. Arabic numbers had a “zero” or “cipher” as it was called, and when used in conjunction with their other numbers made computations a snap. That is why we all still use Arabic numbers today throughout the world.
Rechentisch/Counting board
In England and Central Europe, right up to the 17th century, people who had to work with numbers and money often resorted to using what was called a “counting board” to figure sums. The counting board was nothing more than a design scratched on a tabletop, or flat board with squares measured off in segments. Three or more rows were arranged horizontally and several more vertically, like a chessboard. Depending on sums to be calculated, the rows could be designated as units, tens, hundreds and thousands, or even pennies and pounds. Calculations were made by moving a series of markers to the appropriate squares in a method similar to using an abacus.
Together, the counting board and the abacus formed the basis for all computations that were not based on Arabic numbers. Counting board markings on tables in stores were so common in England that they gave rise to our word “counter” as a place for doing business and paying for merchandise. The title Chancellor of the Exchequer referred to a government official who was skilled at using the checkerboard counter to verify accounts.
The general method of reckoning sums on the board was to pile coins in the appropriate spots to represent various sums, and then shift them around to add or even multiply the total by other sums. The final configuration was an accurate computation of the total. One problem however was that there were often not enough coins available to fill the necessary squares. In time special markers in the shape and appearance of coins were made for use as substitutes for real money.
Jeton, Dordrecht 1588, the invincible Armada destroyed
In England, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, from about 1300 to 1600, pieces know as casting counters, jetons or rechenpfennig were made as substitutes for coins to be used on their counting boards. Many of these are elaborately engraved with charming designs, and are just as attractive as real coins. Some have an alphabet inscribed on one side as a teaching aid. All are now avidly collected as part of the numismatic history of that bygone era that was so vastly different from all we know today. In a sense computing jetons were the calculators of four hundred years ago and they should be treasured and appreciated as such.
Managing Your Collection — Buying, Selling, Holding
There is a responsibility attached to owning a valuable coin collection. Whether it is a carefully formed collection that you put together over many years, a casual accumulation of pieces taken from circulation, or something that has been bequeathed, you have a very real duty to carefully conserve and provide for the future of those treasures.
Protecting a valuable coin collection from physical damage or harm is but one aspect of taking care of your numismatic holdings. At some time or other you will have to make a decision about the future of those coins. Are they to be held and made part of your estate? Should they be donated to a museum? Do you want to continue adding to the collection? Or is it time to sell some or all of your coin holdings?
The easiest course of action is to do nothing…. but that usually is the most costly decision. No decision is actually a decision to hold on for a bit longer. In the end everyone must make a commitment to Buy, Sell or Hold. It is inevitable. The question, then, is what is the best course of action for each individual to meet his or her objectives and needs.
Professional coin dealers are trained to help customers with just such decisions. They fully understand current market conditions and the advantages of buying, selling or holding rare coins. They can provide advice about where and how to liquidate a collection. They understand about auction sales, donations, storage and care of all kinds of coins and paper money. If you have such questions, it could pay to call on the services of a professional to provide reliable answers.
Oak Display Box
The most critical aspect of holding on to a collection of rare coins is paying heed to proper storage. Despite their tough metallic appearance, coins can be easily damaged by careless handling or improper storage. Entire collections have been left worthless because they were not cared for or protected from needless damage. Obviously, coins should not be handled, cleaned or jostled around in any way that would mark, scratch or rub the surface. That can be prevented by normal care and storage in individual envelopes or holders. Then some careful thought must be given to where the coins are being stored.
If your coins are not stored in a bank vault you are going to have to find some very special place for them where they will be safe and secure not only from theft, but from heat and humidity. A coin lost or damaged from any of these threats can never be fully restored. The time to protect your coins is before anything happens to them. Maintaining your collection, and its value, is a responsibility that needs constant attention. Providing for the future of your investment is something that is just as important. Passing a treasured heirloom set of coins on to family members should be a joyous event, not to be spoiled by a caretaker who forgot the rules of Buying, Selling or Holding.