My reason for creating this thread was to discuss all aspects, but especially how special SN's -- including low SNs (my specialty) -- increase a bill's FMV. More than anything, except big jumps in grades from the 40's to 60's, or the parabolic increases you can see once you move above Grade 65, low/special SN's can really boost the percentage increase in FMV or what you pay for a bill. What I have found that is very interesting is that many unique/pricey bills are combined with low SN's which dramatically increases a bill's cost/FMV. For instance, a Hawaiian Silver Certificate I wanted mostly because of the World War II issue and because of the high PCGS grade also happpened to have a low (< #1,000) SN which really boosted the cost (almost 2x). A few others I wanted also had low SN's (or stars) which boosted the cost a ton. The increase was on the order of 50-100% for most of the stuff I looked at (stuff costing $30 - $300, on average) so unless I wanted to pay up for the low SN, I had to look elsewhere. OTOH, I decided to pay up for some very low SN (< #100) $1 Silver Certificates because the absolute $$$ involved wasn't huge (maybe a few hundred $$$). But with a much smaller universe, the increases for $5 and $10 SC's drove the bills out of my price range. Within the low SN universe, the cost increase for #100-#1,000 is a nice premium but not outlandish unless the bill has other special attributes (the more common the bill, the LESS the premium will be for the low SN). Move under #100, and the premium really moves up to 100% on most stuff as a double-digit SN is attractive. Move under #10 with a SINGLE digit SN, and it's whatever the seller can want/ask/get. If it's #2 or #3 or #4 (have never seen # 00000001), you can easily see a tripling in price for the same bill, same grade, same other features but with a regular SN. Straight numbers -- 33333333, 55555555, etc. -- are also appealing to me but I haven't gotten any as the premiums for these dwarf even the Low SN's. Radars and repeaters and other unique SN's are not something I really look at.
I also like low serial numbered notes. The notes you referenced as Straight numbers, I call Solids. As far as what’s low, everybody seems to have their own opinion depending on their budget and collection. My minimum is 5 leading zeros. I see way more serial number 1’s than any other single digit note, especially when compared to serial number 2. I also see additional premiums paid for low serial numbers on $2 notes, large-size notes, and most denominations other than $1 notes. I feel that Fair Market Value or FMV only applies on direct sales. FMV goes out the window when two or more interested parties participate in an auction venue. Low serial numbers also increase in price when they appear on replacement notes. I know several collectors that specialize in a particular serial number and have many in their collection. CT member @SteveInTampa collects serial # 12.
