The use of the word zeln is dominant because of its pragmatic function: Zeln is first and foremost the emphatic and public attribution of distinction, beauty, bravery, freedom etc. Zeln is always an act of direct communication from one person to the other. The act of tallying with notches, the material notation that complements spoken means of counting used to check and relativise the results, is recounted and analysed here. The success of notch-based communication is always dependent on the social situation. A notch is nothing without the presence of those who possess it.