Reckoning board

Short description: Counting device

The reckoning board, also called a memory board or hole board, could be used on its own as a basic counting device or used with an abacus for engineering.

There were two types of reckoning board. The older type was a simple 10 × 10 grid of holes. A peg would be inserted into a hole and moved along, starting from the top and working downwards. It was used as a memory aid when counting certain units. For every sack of grain or bar of steel, the peg would be moved forward and after a day or a week, the total number counted could be seen.

The more advanced type had columns of holes, with the columns indicating place value.

See also

• Counting board
• Cribbage board
• Sand table

References

• Alex Grandell, "The Accounting Historians Journal" Spring 1977.
• Damerow, Peter (1996). Abstraction and representation: essays on the cultural evolution of thinking. Springer. ISBN 978-0-7923-3816-1.