It looks to me like the letter O was used in place of the second numerical zero in the lower serial number. Is this the case or are my eyes/brain playing tricks on me?
I saw what you were talking about at first but the longer I looked at it the more normal it looked, I think its an illusion... This sounds silly but I think it may be because the colors inside the 0's are different and that makes them seem slightly different sizes...? The human brain is a weird thing lol
That is a zero and it looks that way because of the C in front of it. Your eyes play tricks on you and this is a good one.
You've got it exactly right. The serial numbers are dark against a lighter background. The second 0 has a lighter background inside and darker background on either side; this blends with the outer edges of the left and right sides of the numeral, and makes it look wider. For the first 0, it's the opposite, with a dark interior and light exterior; this makes that numeral look narrower. Seeing the two side-by-side, your brain thinks they must be different characters. Measure them, though, and you'll find they're the same size and shape.
Aligning a pencil horizontally along the bottoms of the paired zeroes... The bottom of the '2nd' zero appears to be higher than the bottom of the first zero... thus my pencil slants ever so slightly to the upper right. Aligning the bottoms of all four zeroes works, too.
Right in the money for a normal bill, maybe if you stair at it long enough it might give you the desired result..LOL