NUMISMATIC ITEMS DATED BY MONTH

The longest running series of month-dated coins must surely be Parthian tetradrachms, extensively discussed in books like David Sellwood's "Coinage of Parthia" and in Fabrizio Sinisi's Vol.7 of the more recent "Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum". Although not contiguous, this series of month-dated pieces runs from the mid-late 1st cent BC to the early 3rd cent AD. Unfortunately, most specimens have a flan which is too small for the design, in consequence of which the month at the bottom is often not visible.

The Parthian calendar, like a number of other calendars past and present, operated on the basis of a 19-year-cycle, that period having long been known to correspond very nearly to an exact integer number (235) of lunar months. The practice was to intersperse seven leap years of thirteen lunar months as evenly as possible amongst twelve ordinary years of twelve lunar months; which leaves the question as to which years had the extra month. Without these tetradrachms it would probably have been all but impossible to answer, but there are nearly enough embolismic {leap month} issues that the pattern can be established.

There are other numismatic items which display not only the month but a day within the month; the most prolific probably being the communion tokens of Scotland. Where they do, however, this will nearly always be the date of foundation of the church or accession of the minister rather than the actual date of issue. There is also a solitary token in the British 17th century series, for William Wimble of Newington Butts {Williamson's Surrey 197} which displays a full date, 3 June 1652, on the reverse. The reason for this is, I believe, still unknown.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
IRISH GUN MONEY (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n45a35.html)

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