
TIL there are upper and lower case numerals - lisper
https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/54423/why-dont-upper-case-numbers-exist
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bhaak
I wouldn't call them uppercase and lowercase numerals. That suggest a
functionality of those numerals that isn't true.

The link in the answer shows the correct distinction between them
[http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/book-design-
part-3/](http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/book-design-part-3/) but a only
slightly incorrect TL;DR is oldstyle figures are for numbers in a text flow
and lining is for mathematical use of numbers like in tables or technical
papers.

OTOH there are true uppercase and lowercase numerals. Roman numerals:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerals_in_Unicode#Roman_nume...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerals_in_Unicode#Roman_numerals_in_Unicode)

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dghf
> I wouldn't call them uppercase and lowercase numerals. That suggest a
> functionality of those numerals that isn't true.

Well, the terms "uppercase" and "lowercase" come from movable-type printing.
The individual slugs bearing capital letters were kept in a separate case,
positioned behind and above the case holding the small letters: hence
literally the upper and lower cases.

So, for a font with both titling and old-style figures, _if_ the titling
figures were kept in the same case as the capital letters and the old-style
figures in the same case as the small letters, then referring to them as
uppercase and lowercase respectively would be technically correct.

But I don't know whether that's the practice.

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eddyg
Drawing of printer's "upper case" and "lower case" (although unfortunately it
does not show titling and old-style figures in the different cases):

[http://imgur.com/gallery/fAvUg](http://imgur.com/gallery/fAvUg)

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dghf
The Wikipedia article on old-style figures [0] gives the impression there was
something of a religious war between their proponents and the proponents of
titling figures when the latter were first introduced (with words like
'preposterous' being thrown about), so maybe it was rare or even unknown for
fonts to contain both before the advent of digital typesetting.

In the drawing you link to, are those small caps on the left side of the upper
case?

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_figures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_figures)

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cooper12
Like always on stack exchange, the accepted answer is not the best one. The
other answers are better in that they explain that our numeral system has a
different origin and development from our alphabet. Not all languages have two
cases for their script, it's really as simple as that. Oldstyle numerals
versus lining is mainly a typographic distinction rather than anything as
meaningful as the usage of case in English for nouns and acronyms. (it's
similar to small caps vs regular ones)

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IshKebab
No there aren't, it's just a different style. Capital letters are different.
For example you wouldn't mix old and new-style digits in the same number like
you would with capital and lowercase letters.

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speps
Title should be : "Why don't upper case numbers exist?". We're not on
/r/todayilearned...

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xattt
The migration from Reddit is showing.

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fredley
I have been frustrated by fonts before that had the numbers all over the place
- I had no idea that they were just lower case, or that there was a 'fix'!

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SnacksOnAPlane
There are. This is an uppercase 7: & and this is an uppercase 8: *.

