I have recently seen a couple of dials which use a nought (a digit zero) in place of XII, whereas the rest of the hour labels are in their usual roman numeral forms. In other words, they run VI, VII...XI, 0, I, II...VI. One dial is from the 1950s and the other from the 1960s. They are both located in Nova Scotia and presumably made in Canada or USA. I don't know the makers of either, but I'm sure they are not made by the same company since the quality and designs are so different.
I've never seen this done on a clock, it's not a bona fide roman number, and I can't think of any reason not to mark it as the 12th hour. Why does 0 appear, and is it common practice to use it? I read in the BSS Glossary that a cross (looking like an Iron Cross, or as five dots) is sometimes used in older sundials to indicate the noon position. Are there any other symbols in use? Cheers, Steve Steve's Site is at http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/steve.lelievre
