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Learning to read Amharic numerals on Ethiopian coins
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<p>[QUOTE="The Eidolon, post: 4624965, member: 102103"]I have a few modern Ethiopian coins, so I thought I'd try learning how to read off the </p><p>dates. <a href="https://omniglot.com/language/numbers/amharic.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://omniglot.com/language/numbers/amharic.htm" rel="nofollow">Here's</a> one of the references I used. As far as I understand, there is no number for zero used. There is a separate number for each multiple of ten, which doesn't necessarily resemble the corresponding 1s digit. So 20 = ፳, its own single symbol, which is not similar to 2 = ፪ etc. Numbers helpfully have brackets above and below </p><p>them, which make them easier to distinguish from words. Thousands and hundreds are </p><p>represented by a tens multiple plus a units digit, followed by the character for 100: ፻.</p><p><br /></p><p>So for the top two coins, the dates are both ፲፱፻፴፮, which is the characters for:</p><p>10, 9, 100, 30 and 6. That indicates 19 100s + 30 + 6 = 1936. The Ethiopian </p><p>calendar is a Christian calendar, but it differs from the Gregorian calendar by being </p><p>7 or 8 years later in its starting date, which is based on the Annunciation. So 1936 in </p><p>the Ethiopian calendar is 1944 AD. The Ethiopian calendar starts around September, and</p><p>is a solar calendar. Because the New Year dates don't line up, the difference is 7 years</p><p>behind from Sep - Dec, and 8 years from Jan - Sep or so. But for most coins you can </p><p>just add 8 to the Ethiopian year to get the AD year.</p><p><br /></p><p>The third coin is dated ፲፱፻፷፱, which is = (10 + 9)*100 + 60 + 9 = 1969 = 1977 AD.</p><p>The coins are clockwise from top L: <a href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5946.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5946.html" rel="nofollow">5 Santeem</a>, 1944; <a href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5947.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5947.html" rel="nofollow">10 Santeem</a> 1944; <a href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4759.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4759.html" rel="nofollow">50 Santeem</a> 1977. I'm still a complete beginner, so please feel free to point out any errors or </p><p>helpful resources, or to post any other Ethiopian coins!</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1144703[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]1144704[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="The Eidolon, post: 4624965, member: 102103"]I have a few modern Ethiopian coins, so I thought I'd try learning how to read off the dates. [URL='https://omniglot.com/language/numbers/amharic.htm']Here's[/URL] one of the references I used. As far as I understand, there is no number for zero used. There is a separate number for each multiple of ten, which doesn't necessarily resemble the corresponding 1s digit. So 20 = ፳, its own single symbol, which is not similar to 2 = ፪ etc. Numbers helpfully have brackets above and below them, which make them easier to distinguish from words. Thousands and hundreds are represented by a tens multiple plus a units digit, followed by the character for 100: ፻. So for the top two coins, the dates are both ፲፱፻፴፮, which is the characters for: 10, 9, 100, 30 and 6. That indicates 19 100s + 30 + 6 = 1936. The Ethiopian calendar is a Christian calendar, but it differs from the Gregorian calendar by being 7 or 8 years later in its starting date, which is based on the Annunciation. So 1936 in the Ethiopian calendar is 1944 AD. The Ethiopian calendar starts around September, and is a solar calendar. Because the New Year dates don't line up, the difference is 7 years behind from Sep - Dec, and 8 years from Jan - Sep or so. But for most coins you can just add 8 to the Ethiopian year to get the AD year. The third coin is dated ፲፱፻፷፱, which is = (10 + 9)*100 + 60 + 9 = 1969 = 1977 AD. The coins are clockwise from top L: [URL='https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5946.html']5 Santeem[/URL], 1944; [URL='https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5947.html']10 Santeem[/URL] 1944; [URL='https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4759.html']50 Santeem[/URL] 1977. I'm still a complete beginner, so please feel free to point out any errors or helpful resources, or to post any other Ethiopian coins! [ATTACH=full]1144703[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]1144704[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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