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How does a vinculum change the value of a Roman numeral?
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numerals and numeral systems
Examples of ancient symbols for the numbers 1 and 10.
In the context of Roman numerals, a vinculumāalso referred to as a virgulaāis a horizontal bar placed over a numeral to indicate that its value should be multiplied by 1,000.1
For example, if a bar is placed over the numeral V (which represents 5), the resulting value becomes 5,000. This method was developed toward the end of the Roman Republic to facilitate the representation of larger numbers, and its use persisted into the Middle Ages. Additionally, the vinculum also came to be used to represent ordinal numbers.1