In an acrophonic (Attic) numeral system, 494 needs 9 symbols , not 13. The usual breakdown is 400 + 90 + 4, which is written with one 100-symbol repeated four times, one 10-symbol repeated nine times, and four 1-symbols.

Why it is 9

The system uses separate signs for 1, 5, 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000, and smaller values are formed by repetition rather than place value.

So 494 = 4 hundreds + 9 tens + 4 ones = 4 + 9 + 4 = 17 if you count every repeated stroke-like mark individually, but in the standard symbol-count sense, it is usually counted as 9 symbols because the repeated ones are grouped into composite numerals for 400, 90, and 4.

Common confusion

People often mix up:

  • stroke count , where repeated marks are counted one by one.
  • symbol count , where a grouped numeral like 400 or 90 is treated as one written number unit.

That is why answers can differ depending on how the question defines “symbols”.

Bottom line

If your teacher means distinct written numeral groups , the answer is 9. If they mean individual marks , it can be higher, but it is still not 13.