240
There were 240 pence in a pound before British decimalisation in 1971.
- Even
- Composite
Where 240 fits
Why 240 is special
Twelve pence to a shilling and twenty shillings to a pound gave 240 — a number chosen because it divides evenly in far more ways than 100 does, which mattered when splitting sums by hand. The system ran for over a thousand years before being replaced in a single day.
Same number, different meanings
How 240 is understood across different contexts — never implying one meaning because of another.
- Mathematics
Twelve pence to a shilling and twenty shillings to a pound gave 240 — a number chosen because it divides evenly in far more ways than 100 does, which mattered when splitting sums by hand. The system ran for over a thousand years before being replaced in a single day.
- Technology & computing
The Volvo 240 was produced from 1974 to 1993 with minimal change and was marketed on safety and durability. It was used as a benchmark in early United States crash test programmes.
- Finance & economics
Twelve pence to a shilling and twenty shillings to a pound put 240 pence in a pound, and 240 divides evenly in far more ways than 100 does — which mattered when sums were split by hand rather than calculated. The system ran for more than a thousand years and was replaced on a single day in February 1971.
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (20)
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 20, 24, 30, 40, 48, 60, 80, 120, 240
- Prime factorisation
- 2^4 × 3 × 5
- Digit sum
- 6
- Digital root
- 6
Representations
- Decimal
- 240
- Scientific notation
- 2.400 × 10^2
Roman numerals
C C X L
CCXL uses the subtractive pair XL: ten before fifty — fifty minus ten.
Binary
1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
1 × 128 + 1 × 64 + 1 × 32 + 1 × 16 + 0 × 8 + 0 × 4 + 0 × 2 + 0 × 1 = 240
Octal
3 6 0
3 × 64 + 6 × 8 + 0 × 1 = 240
Hexadecimal
f 0
f × 16 + 0 × 1 = 240
Read as powers of two: 128 + 64 + 32 + 16 = 240.
In historical numeral systems
Egyptian
2 coils of rope, 4 hobbles
2 × 100 + 4 × 10 = 240. The signs are simply repeated and added; where they sit on the line is a matter of layout, not value.
Babylonian
4 vertical wedges (sixties place), empty units place
4 × 60 + 0 = 240. Places are separated by a space on the tablet, with the higher place written first. The second place is empty, and this is precisely the case the early system could not write unambiguously — the same wedges alone would also read as 1.
Greek (Ionic)
sigma, then mu, marked as a numeral
sigma-mu + keraia
sigma + mu written in descending order and added — the letters carry their values wherever they stand, so this is addition, not place value.
Hebrew numerals
resh, then mem
resh-mem
resh (200) + mem (40) = 240, written in descending order.
Maya
2 bars + 2 dots (upper, twenties place) over shell (zero) (lower, units place)
12 × 20 + 0 = 240. Places stack vertically with the smallest at the bottom, so the upper group is worth twenty times the lower.
Systems that simply cannot reach this value are left out. Where a script needs a font most readers do not have, the reading is given instead of the glyphs — see number systems for each system in full.
Other mathematical patterns
- Abundant number
- Highly composite number
- Harshad (Niven) number
Related numbers & connections
Both were sold on structural safety and longevity at a time when most manufacturers treated safety as an option.
View 900 →Technology & computing
The Volvo 240 was produced from 1974 to 1993 with minimal change and was marketed on safety and durability. It was used as a benchmark in early United States crash test programmes.
DocumentedTechnology & computingGeography: SwedenPeriod: 1974–1993
Finance & economics
Twelve pence to a shilling and twenty shillings to a pound put 240 pence in a pound, and 240 divides evenly in far more ways than 100 does — which mattered when sums were split by hand rather than calculated. The system ran for more than a thousand years and was replaced on a single day in February 1971.
DocumentedFinance & economicsGeography: United KingdomPeriod: until 15 February 1971
Common questions
Is 240 a prime number?
No, 240 is not prime.
What are the factors of 240?
The factors of 240 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 20, 24, 30, 40, 48, 60, 80, 120, 240.
What is 240 in Roman numerals?
240 in Roman numerals is CCXL. XL is subtractive: ten before fifty — fifty minus ten. Written additively it would be CCXXXX, which Roman inscriptions used freely — the strict subtractive form is a later convention.
About this page's data
Mathematical facts:computed directly from the number's value — nothing to source or verify externally.
Contextual records: 2 reviewer-confirmed records, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026