this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2024
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The reason clocks use it, is to not make it look visually unbalanced. Most often they write 4 as IIII. I find it infuriating to break such a simple rule though.
But also, I've never ever seen VIIII.
Julius Caesar's memoir of war in Gaul makes use of VIIII, for instance. You're right that it's much rarer, but was still used contemporarily and in modern times.