437
Code page 437 is the original IBM PC character set.
- Odd
- Composite
Where 437 fits
Why 437 is special
Beyond the alphabet, 437 contained box-drawing characters, card suits and smiling faces, which is why pre-graphical software could draw windows and menus out of text. Those same characters are why old files opened today show borders as strings of accented letters.
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (4)
- 1, 19, 23, 437
- Prime factorisation
- 19 × 23
- Digit sum
- 14
- Digital root
- 5
Representations
- Decimal
- 437
- Scientific notation
- 4.370 × 10^2
Roman numerals
C D X X X V I I
CDXXXVII uses the subtractive pair CD: a hundred before five hundred — five hundred minus a hundred.
Binary
1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
1 × 256 + 1 × 128 + 0 × 64 + 1 × 32 + 1 × 16 + 0 × 8 + 1 × 4 + 0 × 2 + 1 × 1 = 437
Octal
6 6 5
6 × 64 + 6 × 8 + 5 × 1 = 437
Hexadecimal
1 b 5
1 × 256 + b × 16 + 5 × 1 = 437
Read as powers of two: 256 + 128 + 32 + 16 + 4 + 1 = 437.
In historical numeral systems
Egyptian
4 coils of rope, 3 hobbles, 7 strokes
4 × 100 + 3 × 10 + 7 × 1 = 437. The signs are simply repeated and added; where they sit on the line is a matter of layout, not value.
Babylonian
7 vertical wedges (sixties place), 1 corner wedge + 7 vertical wedges (units place)
7 × 60 + 17 = 437. Places are separated by a space on the tablet, with the higher place written first.
Greek (Ionic)
upsilon, then lambda, then zeta, marked as a numeral
upsilon-lambda-zeta + keraia
upsilon + lambda + zeta written in descending order and added — the letters carry their values wherever they stand, so this is addition, not place value.
Hebrew numerals
tav, then lamed, then zayin
tav-lamed-zayin
tav (400) + lamed (30) + zayin (7) = 437, written in descending order.
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
- Deficient number
- Semiprime
Related numbers & connections
Two generations of Windows text encoding — the original IBM PC set with its box-drawing characters, and the Latin-1 extension that replaced it and still causes mojibake.
View 1252 →Numbers Around Us
- appears alongside1252
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
Technology & computing
Code page 437 included box-drawing characters, card suits and faces alongside the alphabet, which is how software drew menus and borders before graphics were standard. Those same bytes are why old text files opened today show borders as strings of accented letters.
DocumentedTechnology & computing
Common questions
Is 437 a prime number?
No, 437 is not prime.
What are the factors of 437?
The factors of 437 are 1, 19, 23, 437.
What is 437 in Roman numerals?
437 in Roman numerals is CDXXXVII. CD is subtractive: a hundred before five hundred — five hundred minus a hundred. Written additively it would be CCCCXXXVII, 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: 1 reviewer-confirmed record, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026