I am interested in collecting fancy serial numbers and have been trying to learn more about what actually qualifies as one! It seems like there is a huge disparity between sites about what a fancy serial number is! This is a list of the ones I feel confident really are fancy. Please let me know if I need to add any to this list! Also please correct anything I have listed! 1. Low S/N all "0" with three or less numbers at the end 2. High S/N Begins with multiple high numbers 3. Flippers S/N can be read the same upside down or right side up as in 00690069 4. Repeaters 12341234 5. Super repeaters 23232323 6. Solid S/N 55555555 7. Binary 26626226 8. True Binary 01001110 9. Ladder12345678 or 98765432 10. Radars 14633641 11. Super radar 68888886
There are also Flipper numbers 69669969 - flip the bill upside down and it reads the same. Birthday Serial numbers such as 02091971 That's my B-day Special event dates 07041776 or 17761976 09112020 They are probably considered more as cool than fancy.
@1stSgt22 I think you've pretty much covered it. Some are considered just "cool" but not collectors, like these:
Most collectors I know call "flippers" rotators & they're actually much harder to find than radar-rotators (like 00888800). 00690069 is not a rotator b/c the # must be the same once it has been rotated (& flipped, the number would read 00960096 a different #). In fact a strict rotator serial # like the one below (not a radar) can be really tough since 0,8 & 6 & 9's must be in a specific position to read the same once rotated. Many more radar rotators are spotted than strict rotators since they're easy to miss. Granted, the example from Bahamas is only 6 digits (& longer strings of digits are tougher for special #) it's still hard to come by these combinations. This is the first I have spotted & I have been looking for them for years: I picked this up at my LCS & was pretty surprised to see it. Another special serial numbered note not yet mentioned are million # notes 1000000 (or in the US 10000000) & 20000000 & ... (etc) which can be harder to acquire than your super low #000000001 or 00000002!
If I ever found a rotator/flipper in circulation, and it was a $10 denomination or less, I would keep it. I would not buy a rotator/flipper for anything over face value in order to add it to my collection.
- I hear you Steve. They're really no big deal to me either & that's what I told this collector friend who ranted & raved about them years ago. I would rather have the radar-rotator 00888800 than the 00669900 but its the second one that's supposed to be the really tough # to find (especially in high grades). This partly due to the fact they're often overlooked. I never felt the need to pay the prices these can go for. Radars & special # on $20, or lower, are great but I know lots of collectors who only go for ONES & few who'll go for any denomination. That's why I was pretty happy to get that $1 from Bahamas at a LCS (for less than 1/2 what I could have paid on eBay for a regular SN) b/c I really don't want to spend a premium on a rotator. It was a bit of a shock considering the prices at the LCS too. I also don't think the million # notes are as popular as the super low #1 to #9. I've never seen them marked up as high as the low# but million # notes are always spotted by dealers & it would be impossible to cherry pick one of those.
I think they are cool and I do have a few but to me, none are cooler than face value when you get above 3 digits unless maybe it's a star note too. The ones I have, were all found in the wild.
