Or is it just non standard to go beyond that large of a number?
In: Mathematics
Other comments have technically explained the reason why it’s specifically 3,999,999.
I want to focus on the fact that even if the Romans invented new symbols, there would still be a (higher) limit for the numbers that could be represented.
Let’s say that the Roman emperor decided that the letter Z is worth 4 million, then the highest number would be 15,999,999, but it would still be finite.
A positional numeral system, such as the Arabic numerals that we use, allows you to not have any restriction, and provided that you have enough paper you could technically write any finite number with only the symbols 0123456789.
This is because, for example, the symbol “2” can mean two, twenty, two hundred, two thousand, etc… depending on WHERE it is. So to write a bigger number you just need to move to the left, and not to invent a new symbol.
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