Roman Numerals---Three Different Answers

[E. Bashir]

None of these three is correct.  The Roman numeral system uses the
principles of both subtraction and addition.  The basic symbols are:

I  = 1
V  = 5
X  = 10
L  = 50
C  = 100
D  = 500
M  = 1000

Thus 986 should be:

CMLXXXVI

(1000-100) + 50 + (3 x 10) + 5 + 1




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Elena Bashir, Ph.D.                     3070 Frieze Bldg.
Lecturer in Urdu and Hindi              The University of Michigan
Dept. of Asian Languages and Cultures   Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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On Wed, 27 Oct 1999, Kailash Srivastava wrote:

> The following are three different replies to my question as to how Romans
> wrote 986!!!
>
> CMIICVI

> CMDCCCVI
>
> CMVCCCVI
>
> Was it possible to write the same number in three different ways?
>
> Thanx/Kailash
>
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