A quarter past V

So I thought I'd just do an FYI post about Roman numerals. Just 'cuz.

It is believed that Roman numerals originated from tally sticks. The Roman numeral I was one tally, a II was two tallies, etc. Every fifth tally was made different to make counting easier. The five was Λ or V (possibly representing a hand).

When writing numbers out you could write eight as IIIIΛIII, or abreviate it as ΛIII since the Λ implies four previous notches. Same with four, which could be written as IIII or IV. (In fact IIII was preferred since IV was the first two letters of IVPITER (Jupiter), a pagan god).

Since the number system developed independent of the alphabet, its symbols originally were not Roman letters. Fifty could be written as N, И, K, or Ψ. By Augustus, this had become an inverted T, and it was only a matter of time before it transitioned to L.

Clock faces with Roman numerals--curiously enough--use IIII for 4 o'clock rather than IV. There are a number of plausible explanations for this (though I only list a few):

1) The four characters of IIII create visual symmetry with the VIII on the opposite corner of the clock face.

2) The I symbol would be the only symbol in the first four hours, the V only in the next four, and the X symbol only in the last four.

3) The number of symbols on the clock totals twenty Is, four Vs, and four Xs: so clock makers needed only a single mold with five Is, a V, and an X...cast four times to make a clock.

There are other reasons listed of course. The ideas of symmetry are very impressive, from an aesthetical and mathematical point of view. However, the cynic in me likes the third explanation: that even at the height of the glorious Roman Empire, lazy people were looking to save a buck. Or...a denarius.