Calling all Math Gurus. Can you crunch this teaser?

Each letter in the word 'spearmint' has a value. By adding the value of the letters together compute their total.



CLUES



R A N x T I M = 279,823,411,864.



(rain=270, spin=181, taint=275, near=200, and pine=188

Calling all Math Gurus. Can you crunch this teaser?
First step is to factorise 279,823,411,864 :-)



This gives you 717923 (a Prime)



And 587 x 83 x 2^3 = 389768



We now make an assumption that all our letters are two digit numbers.



So lets say T I M is 389768 Making T=38 I=97 M=68



R A N=717923 R=71 A=79 N=23



Try this on RAIN = 71+79+97+23 =270 so we're on the right track



This will then work on TAINT



From NEAR we can find E 200-23-79-71=27 So E=27



From PINE we can find P 188 - 97 - 23 - 27= 41 so P=41



And from SPIN we can find S 181 - 41 - 97 - 23= 20 so S=20



So SPEARMINT=



20+41+27+79+71+68+97+23+38 =464
Reply:First factor 279,823,411,864 = 717923 x 389768.



So the first word is RAN or TIM. To check this add up the letters in rain, using R = 81, A = 79, I = 97 and N = 23. This comes out to 270 so it works. Now use the word near to get E = 27. Using pine gives P = 41, and using spin gives S = 20. Add up all these values, and you get 464.
Reply:is this more of a challenge to us or are you asking how to do it? I know how to do it but it is a rather long process with alot of linear equations to solve and i'm not too psyched about doing it. If you need to know "how" to do it let us know and i'll start you off on the right track.
Reply:i got 464