IIII instead of IV

[zeltus]

>Talking of which, why exactly do clocks with latin numerals have IIII instead of IV? 

It's a purely aesthetic thing... clock makers in 17-something or-other decided it gave the clock face a more balanced look. Or rather, they felt that IV left the face lop-sided, so they invented IIII

I have a feeling that the Romans themselves weren't all that numerate with their own symbology and would and could make up numbers occsaionally, pretty much like this.

HTH