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When the year ends with one of the letters of מנצפך - for example 5780 - What is the correct way to write it תש"פ or תש"ף?

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I tried searches of various words in titles at hebrewbooks.org, figuring that one of every twenty books on average (i.e., one per results page on average) would have a publication ending in one of those letters. (Slightly more if you count things like תרחצ.) Alas, the actual frequency seems far less for some reason, and all the ones I've seen so far use words with the appropriate gimatriya rather than alphabetic numerals or have different dates on the title pages than the site claims for them. (I've tried the search terms שמח,‎ כתר, and איש to no avail; you might want to try others.) – msh210♦ Jul 14 '11 at 21:27
Ah, באר yields some results: hebrewbooks.org/8047 uses מ, hebrewbooks.org/887 uses ם, hebrewbooks.org/36246 uses נ, and hebrewbooks.org/47625 uses ן. I quit. – msh210♦ Jul 14 '11 at 21:33
While this doesn't answer the question, it is pretty universal to use regular letters at the end of an acronym (e.g. הכ"מ and חו"מ). That being said, it is also pretty standard to write מנצפ"ך – Menachem Jul 15 '11 at 2:22

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The Lubavitcher Rebbe writes that while he did not receive an explicit instruction, the custom among many old printers (many of whom were big Torah scholars) to write the simple and not the final letter(look in most gemaras on Daf Chof, for example). Practically, most letters that were written in the Chofs (the 60's) were written with a smiple chof.

I've seen others signing with the final letters (see some of the letters of approbation to Artscroll's gemarah which were written in the Nuns).

Incidentally, in gematria, the final letters have their own gematria: chof is 500, mem is 600, nun is 700, pei is 800, and tzaddik is 900.

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The Gematria of the last letters according to many is as follows. Mem is 500, Nun is 600, Tzaddi is 700, Pei is 800, and Chof is 900. – Gershon Gold Jul 14 '11 at 18:58
@Gershon: That's fascinating. Do you have a source for that? The Chumash Shai L'Morah has Chof as 500. – Menachem Jul 14 '11 at 19:14
I am pretty certain the Bnei Yissochor says this, however I will check and let you know. – Gershon Gold Jul 14 '11 at 19:55
The Aruch Hashulchan (photo-offset from the original printing) often uses the final Kaf to indicate halacha #20 in a siman. I admit to finding it a bit jarring sometimes. – JXG Jul 18 '11 at 9:06

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