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The idea that coins should bear a date of mintage referencing the time passed since the birth of Christ was not widespread in Europe until the mid-to-late 16th century, and was not even universal in Europe until the early 19th century as certain Italian issues, notably several from Venice, remained undated until that time. While a Christian monk living in North Africa, Dionysus Exiguus, formulated the Anno Domini calendar in the 6th century, it was not until seven hundred years later when European coinage was dated, first by a Danish coin from the bishopric of Roskilde in 1234 (seven pieces current extant, all in museums – see photo #2)
The topic is something I've wondered about for years.
I've collected/dated a few Imperial Roman coins and my favorite is a silver washed coin minted under the reign of Probus. Silver wash was where they minted a copper coin then clad each side with silver... think of the modern American dime.
A few extracts from the Wikipedia rticle:
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The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus, who used it to compute the date of the Christian Easter festival, and to identify the several Easters in his Easter table, but did not use it to date any historical event.
The Anglo-Saxon historian the Venerable Bede, who was familiar with the work of Dionysius, used Anno Domini dating in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, finished in 731.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, popes continued to date documents according to regnal years for some time, but usage of AD gradually became more common in Roman Catholic countries from the 11th to the 14th centuries.
525A.D.? I would never have guessed it was as late as that. Which makes me wonder just how accurate Dionysius Exiguus was in calculating that it was exactly 525 years since the birth of Christ!
525A.D.? I would never have guessed it was as late as that. Which makes me wonder just how accurate Dionysius Exiguus was in calculating that it was exactly 525 years since the birth of Christ!
It gets better the farther back you go.
Ramses II of Egypt.
Ramses II was appointed Prince Regent by his father Seti I. He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1278 BC to 1213 BC for a total of 66 years and 2 months, according to Manetho. He was once said to have lived to be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became Pharaoh in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed his throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu day 27. Ramses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.
I am willing to bet those dates can easily be off by 10 years.
I
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