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- On a Roman numeral clock face, the number 4 is written as ‘IIII’ instead of ‘IV’ as it should be. The reasons for this include:
- In the olden times, ‘IV’ was the sign of Jupiter, so the Romans wrote “IIII” so that the time wouldn’t show as “1 2 3 GOD 5…”
- The ‘IIII’ numeral is to balance out the weight of the clock. The heavier numbers on the left side of the clocks needed to be balanced by the heavier ‘IIII’ rather than the light ‘IV’
- There is a story that a famous clockmaker had constructed a clock for Louis XIV, king of France. The clockmaker had naturally used IV for four. When the clock was shown to the king, he remarked that IIII should have been used instead of IV. When it was explained to him that IV was correct, he still insisted, so that there was nothing to do but change the clock dial. This introduced the custom of using IIII for four. This is probably only a story, however, as IIII occurs long before the time of Louis XIV. And this same story is also told in connection with other monarchs. (Time & Timekeepers, W. I. Milham, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1947, p. 196)
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