Roman Numerals: Not a Secret Code

Recently, a Facebook acquaintance, after reading some of the memoir episodes from this site, duly informed me she doesn’t understand Roman numerals.

Really? Huh!

Since she’s only a few years younger than me (and a Gen-Xer), her declaration mildly surprised me. I thought my generation knew Roman numerals, mostly because I distinctly recall many of the clocks in elementary and middle school using Roman numerals.

Maybe it was just those schools and not a widespread phenomenon. That wouldn’t be surprising. When we are young, we assume how we are and how our life is, is the same for everyone else. It isn’t until we’re older that we realize there are appreciable differences. I didn’t see this until I was in my twenties and managing a particular pizza chain restaurant. My naïve and sheltered self assumed we were all equally smart.

Nope. Not even fucking close. The general public is dumber than a bag of dead wet cats. I’m sure that realization will be an eventual episode of the memoirs, so we’ll skip the nitty-gritty details in the interim.

Sufficed to say, even at this late age, I often assume we all had similar experiences during our formative years. Cursive is one example. I’m comfortably sure we all learned that in third grade. Or learning to drive a manual transmission (or stick shift, if you like) in Driver’s Ed. Or even Driver’s Ed itself, which apparently isn’t a thing anymore! No kidding! Kids today do nothing more than watch a bunch of videos, take a driving test that doesn’t include three-point turns or parallel parking, and BOOM! Instant driver’s license! No wonder Millennials and Gen-Z are responsible for the majority of automobile accidents!

Anyways, knowledge of Roman numerals clearly falls into that dark, deadly pit of assumption I often fall into . My head-scratching friend on Facebook shined a little light into that bottomless pit.

I love Roman numerals (and the Latin language). I use them constantly in my writing to specify chapters and subchapters. They’re also used to show the episode number with the memoir chapters. So now I’m going to school all y’all on Roman numerals.

Roman numerals originated, as the name might suggest, in ancient Rome. The first usage of the symbols began showing up between 900 and 800 B.C. There are seven basic symbols: I, V, X, L, C, D, and M.

The numerals developed out of a need for a standard counting method essential to communications and trade. Counting on one’s fingers got out of hand, so to speak, when one reached ten. So, they devised a counting system based on a person’s hand.

A single line, or “I,” referred to one unit or finger; the “V” represented five fingers, specifically, the V-shape made by the thumb and forefinger. “X” equaled two hands. (See how an X could be two Vs touching at their points?)

Larger Roman numerals developed from other symbols.

M = 1,000 – Originally, the Greek letter phi – Φ – represented this value. It was sometimes designated as a C, I, and backward C, like this: CIƆ – which sort of looks like an M. It’s only a coincidence that mille is the Latin word for a thousand.

D = 500 – The symbol for this number was originally IƆ – half of CIƆ.

C = 100 – The original symbol was probably theta – Θ – and later became a C. It only coincidentally stands for centum, the Latin word for a hundred.

L = 50 – This value was initially represented by a superimposed V and I, or by the letter psi – Ψ – which flattened out to look like an inverted T and eventually came to resemble an L.

We still use Roman numerals in some contexts today. For example, some analog clock faces use Roman numerals. Since they’re commonly used in clock faces, most people are familiar with Roman numerals up to twelve. On movies and T.V. shows, they often show the copyright date in Roman numerals, so the year 2020 would be MMXX, or 2 x 1000 and 2 x 10.

Where else might you see this ancient number system used?

• Numbering in books for the introductory pages before the primary text or within documents.
• Often the date of completion on buildings and monuments uses this format.
• Since the fifth event, the NFL Super Bowl games have been numbered using Roman numerals. In 2023, it will be LVII = 57.
• Monarchs and Popes with the same name are numbered with Roman numerals, like Pope Benedict XVI.
• Sometimes children named after their relatives are distinguished this way, such as John Smith II.
• The two World Wars are often numbered WWI and WWII.

Ready to learn the basics? Here we go. Numbers are represented by combining these letters.

Numbers are represented by joining the letters in different combinations.

Example: I = 1, II = 2, III = 3, XX = 20

Adding the same symbols together simply adds to their value, so it’s the same rule as addition: 1+1+1 = 3 or 10+10 = 20.

Adding different symbols makes other numbers. The larger number will appear first.

Example: VI = 6 VII = 7, XI = 11, XXI = 21, XXV = 25

Roman numerals are often written in order from the biggest value number to the smallest.

No more than three identical letters ever appear consecutively. Symbols are subtracted. We subtract the small number if a smaller number is placed before a larger one.

Example: IV = 4 (5-1) and IX = 9 (10-1)

The subtraction rule is used in these six examples:

I is placed before V and X: IV (4) and IX (9).

X is placed before L (50) and C (100): XL (40) and XC (90).

C is placed before D (500) and M (1000): CD (400) and CM (900).

Still confused? It’s okay. It takes a bit of getting used to.

When converting Roman numerals to standard numbers, it’s simplest to break them into thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones and write each in turn.

For example, let’s break down 1984 into Roman numerals.

Separate 1984 into 1000, 900, 80, and 4, then do each conversion

• 1000 = M
• 900 = CM
• 80 = LXXX
• 4 = IV

1000 + 900 + 80 + 4 = 1984, so 1984 = MCMLXXXIV

So what about numbers greater than 1000, you ask? The Romans covered that too.

Numbers greater than 1,000 are formed by placing a dash over the symbol, meaning “times 1,000”, but these are not commonly used:

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here’s a basic cheat sheet:

Or, if you’re feeling even more overwhelmed, use an online converter.

Hopefully, you’ve learned a thing or two today you may not have previously known. I’m thrilled I could be your instructor in this regard, and it warms my heart to be able to share this bit of information and history with you.

No, not really. This is pure filler. I couldn’t care less.

Love ya, mean it!