What is this year MCMXLVII?

Answer 1

Actually MCMXLVII is correct.

In roman numerals you never have 4 of the same symbol in a row. This means your MDCCCCXXXXVII is wrong both because of the CCCC and the XXXX not MCMXLVII.

M=1000, CM=900, XL=40 and VII=7 so previous answer was correct in that MCMXLVII is 1947, the year that the Air Force was founded.

Want proof that mine is the correct answer just walk into you local recruiters office and look at the plaque.

Previous answer:

1947 but these numerals should be MDCCCCXXXXVII or VLMMII and not MCMXLVII

who ever wrote this is wrong, and doesn't know anything about Roman Numerals.

M=1000, but when you put a lower corrosponding letter in front of another that is highter, you subtract that from the higher one, and so on and so on.

M=1000, then C before M=900, then you have a X which is 10 in front of a L which is 50, so that is 40, then you have a V which is 5 plus II = 2 for total of 1947

Improved answer as follows:

Today we write out 1947 in Roman numerals as MCMXLVII in accordance with the rules made during the Middle Ages but these rules were made up centuries after the decline of the Roman Empire.

However, in the times of the Romans they themselves would have probably calculated 1947 on an abacus counting device as MDCCCCXXXXVII and simplified it to VLMMII in written form.

Notice that the positive numerals are in descending order from left to right while the negative numerals are in descending order from right to left. For example: VLMMII + LIII = VLMMLIIIII = MM

Even today we still continue to write out Roman numerals different to that of how the Romans actually did themselves.

For instance we write out 49 and 99 as XLIX and XCIX respectively but evidence can be found in the Latin language that the Romans wrote out these numbers as IL and IC respectively.

Further evidence of how the Romans actually wrote out their numerals can be found in the ruins of the Coliseum in Rome.