An ‘excellent’ puzzle

Yesterday was my birthday.  For the first time in twenty years, the Roman numeral and the Hindu-Arabic numeral for my age are the same length.  How old am I, and when will this happen again?

Edit: As noted correctly in the comments, I am now 40 (XL) and the next time will be when I am 51 (LI).

Author: schrisomalis

Anthropologist, Wayne State University. Professional numbers guy. Rare Words: http://phrontistery.info. Blog: http://glossographia.com.

13 thoughts on “An ‘excellent’ puzzle”

  1. A quick think suggests you are 40 (XC), 20 years ago you were 20 (XX) and this will happen again when you are 49 (IC).

    Happy Birthday!

        1. I meant L, rather than C. You mean IL isn’t used for 49? Hmmm… Time to think a bit more slowly.
          (Sorry for repeat comment, the first version went wrong).

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