[MR] Roman Numerals

[Joseph FitzStefan]

 Remember that Romans used a lot of abbreviations. If you wrote in Latin on a regular basis you would use lots of them too. So IV looked a lot like an abbreviation for IVPITER. Many people would have been hesitant to invoke Jupiter on a regular basis. So IIII would have been preferred over IV. This is why you will often see, for instance, a clock face with IIII for 4 and yet IX for 9. IX does not look like an abbreviation for anything. 
 Josep leCappeller

		
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