Editing Pentadic numerals (section)

== Positional notation ==
[[Image:Pentadic-Runic-Numerals-Edward Larsson 1885.jpg|frame|right|Edward Larsson's notes from [[1885]] show the use of "pentadic" runic numerals to replace the [[Arabic numeral]]s in representing dates.]]

In some peculiar instances runic numbers have been used as numerals in an base-ten positional system, similar to the Arabic numbers. It is unknown if this use existed before the 19th century.

The oldest authenticated use is in the notes of an 18-year-old journeyman tailor, Edward Larsson, the contain the date 1885 in runes. A copy of the note was published by the [[Institute for Dialectology, Onomastics and Folklore Research in Umeå]] in 2004.

This positional notation however appears on two unrelated sets of rune stones allegedly discovered in [[North America]]. The first is the [[Kensington Runestone]] found in 1898, the second are the three [[Spirit Pond runestones]] found in 1971. Both refer to pre-Columbian [[Norse exploration of the Americas]] but are modern day hoaxes. <ref>{{cite journal |first=Helmer |last=Gustavson |title=The non-enigmatic runes of the Kensington stone |volume=2004 |issue=3 |journal=Viking Heritage Magazine |publisher=Gotland University |quote=[...] every Scandinavian runologist and expert in Scandinavian historical linguistics has declared the Kensington stone a hoax [...]}}<br>- {{cite book |last=Wallace |first=B |title=The Quest for America |editor=Ashe G |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |year=1971 |pages=154–174 |chapter=Some points of controversy |isbn=0-269-02787-4 |display-editors=etal}}<br>- {{cite book |last=Wahlgren |first=Erik |title=The Vikings and America (Ancient Peoples and Places) |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=1986 |isbn=0-500-02109-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/vikingsamerica00wahl}}<br>- {{cite journal |author=Michlovic, MG |title=Folk Archaeology in Anthropological Perspective |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=31 |issue=11 |year=1990 |pages=103–107 |doi= 10.1086/203813 |s2cid=144500409}}<br>- {{cite journal |author=Hughey M, Michlovic MG |title=Making history: The Vikings in the American heartland |journal=Politics, Culture and Society |volume=2 |year=1989 |pages=338–360 |doi=10.1007/BF01384829 |issue=3 |s2cid=145559328 }}</ref><ref name="americanheritage">Snow, Dean R. (October/November 1981). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929120900/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1981/6/1981_6_102_print.shtml "Martians & Vikings, Maldoc & Runes"]. ''[[American Heritage Magazine]]'' '''32'''(6). Archived from [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1981/6/1981_6_102_print.shtml the original] on September 29, 2007.</ref><ref name=haugen>[[Einar Haugen|Haugen, Einar]] (1974). "The Rune Stones of Spirit Pond, Maine". ''Visible Language'' '''8'''(1).</ref>