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[almost] Interesting Serial Number

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Valued Member
United States
486 Posts
 Posted 12/07/2012  4:13 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Bill Collector to your friends list

I must have misunderstood what a "flipper" note was. I thought it was a number that of course could be read right side up but when held up side down, or "flipped", a different number could be read.

Such as my 000910 right side up would be 016000 up side down.

So if this is not a flipper what is it ?, not that I care that much as I only collect currency not currency numbers but I am curious.
Bill Collector
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United States
1285 Posts
 Posted 12/07/2012  4:49 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Ceylon62 to your friends list
Bill collector,
When I first started collecting fancy sn's I made the same mistake as you...and learnt quite a bit from this discussion back in 2010 on the Canadian side of things.

https://goccf.com/t/74916

Hope you enjoy the reading.

Edit below
For a nerd like ME or Nick...Your 000910 would be a partial ladder
Edited by Ceylon62
12/07/2012 4:55 pm
Valued Member
United States
486 Posts
 Posted 12/07/2012  7:22 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Bill Collector to your friends list

This is starting to sound interesting, not knowing anything about how numbers are collected other than some are just neat like all 1's etc. I was sure that what I had were flippers. I would never had thought of something like this myself because I had no interest in just numbers. I'll check some of my old e mails later tonight an see if I can find where I got that idea from.
Bill Collector
Valued Member
United States
486 Posts
 Posted 12/07/2012  10:41 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Bill Collector to your friends list
Found what I was looking for.
Another collector sent this to me awhile back.

FLIPPER:
Note with a serial number comprised of numerals that can be read upside down as well as right side up, but the serial number itself does not read the same upside down as right side up.

SWIMS:
A note in which the serial number reads the same upside down, as it does right side up.

Somewhere out in cyberspace there's a site that explains this in more detail plus has a lot more info on things like this. I'm going to search for it tomorrow.

If this is correct the notes I have may be flippers, or am I still not getting it right.
Bill Collector
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United States
1397 Posts
 Posted 12/09/2012  08:38 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Nickelman to your friends list
In the years I have been collecting I have never heard the term "swims" before. Now this kind of touches on a pet peeve of mine. As someone who has spent a lot of time scouring ebay trying to find deals to collect/sell I absolutely hate all the junk that one has to endure in that process. It's like that word trinary which is just a way of trying to make a fancy serial number out of a worthless serial number. Now we have the flipper/rotator being one of those as well. I for one don't (and won't) buy it.

[RANT]A flipper/rotator is and will always be a serial number that reads the same right side up and upside down. Swims and trinary are the work of satan![/RANT]
Valued Member
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486 Posts
 Posted 12/09/2012  12:17 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Bill Collector to your friends list
Nickelman,
That was the way it was explained to me.

The word SWIMS is the same forward, backwards, right side up or up side down. A flipper note has a number right side up and a different number up side down, I didn't get this from e bay or invent it myself. Somewhere there is a glossary of terms used by currency collectors, I seen it many years ago but never keep a copy of it as at that time I wasn't interested.

At that time I swore I would never collect currency by "numbers" as I was trying to build a year and type collection in both Large and Small size and did not care what serial number the note had.

Things are different now and being that I'm so far ahead into the series years and type I just may start collecting some by numbers.
I never thought I would say that but times do change.

The friend that sent me the explanation of flipper and swims should be getting back to me today with the accepted glossary of terms that has been used buy currency collectors.
Bill Collector
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United States
486 Posts
 Posted 12/09/2012  1:37 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Bill Collector to your friends list
FOUND IT,
I've been told that this currency glossary is nothing new, it's been around since the 1990's and has been accepted by those that collect currency.

I can see where this could be very helpful to any new currency collector, is there any way this link can be set up as a sticky, it would be a shame to lose it again.
Check it out:
http://www.panix.com/~clay/currency/glossary.html
Bill Collector
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United States
1397 Posts
 Posted 12/09/2012  1:45 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Nickelman to your friends list
I totally get that TBC my rant isn't anything personal.

I can relate it another way. The term binary is a number with a series of ones and zeros. Then binary became a series of numbers that simply had two different digits. So people started using "true binary" to refer to the serial with just ones and zeros. I suppose we could do the same for a flipper and a "true flipper"
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 Posted 12/09/2012  1:52 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Nickelman to your friends list

Quote:
FOUND IT,
I've been told that this currency glossary is nothing new, it's been around since the 1990's and has been accepted by those that collect currency.


Irregardless of how long something has been out I just can't see any value in a serial that even if it can be read upside down is just a worthless number such as 80016980. It's worthless right side up and equally worthless upside down.
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 Posted 12/09/2012  4:35 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Ceylon62 to your friends list
BC, is the collector who sent the info Canadian? Per my understanding, they are the ones who started collecting rotators / flippers / swims etc...

NICK what do you think? My one and only...the embossing is amazing...check it out.

[almost]-Interesting-Serial-Number
Valued Member
United States
486 Posts
 Posted 12/09/2012  4:47 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Bill Collector to your friends list

"Irregardless of how long something has been out I just can't see any value in a serial that even if it can be read upside down is just a worthless number such as 80016980. It's worthless right side up and equally worthless upside down"

Nickelman,
I felt about the same way many years ago, collecting currency because of the number was not the way to collect currency. But now that I have come so far with my currency collection I've found that I'm trying to up grade my collection when there's really no need to, most of it is in XF + + + and has good eye appeal.

As to any number being worthless, yes number 80016980 may not be anything special in itself, but it becomes 08691008 when flipped, so it's a flipper to most collectors that collect such things, and you cant do that with every note or any note that has 7's, 3's 4's etc in the number, so from what I can tell it's worth while to some, just not to you.
Bill Collector
Valued Member
United States
486 Posts
 Posted 12/09/2012  4:54 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Bill Collector to your friends list
Hi Ceylon62,
I'm not sure where he's from, but now I'm told that the glossary has been around since before the internet, it just wasn't as widely spread as it is now.
Nice note, and a flipper also.
Bill Collector
Valued Member
United States
486 Posts
 Posted 12/09/2012  5:34 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Bill Collector to your friends list

Well, guess I'm going to start a numbers collection, will be doing it with $ 1.00 as that should be the most economical way for me to do it. I've never done something like this before so will be using the glossary terms for currency as I need something to go by.

This is what I'm going to attempt to put in the collection with out any concern about the year of issue or type of note as long as it's a small size $ 1.00 in XF + or better.

Am going to try an find at least one of each:
FLIPPER, RADAR, SWIMS, BINARY, BIRTHDAY, BOOKEND, QUAD, REPEATER, SOLID, LOWEST NUMBER I CAN FIND,
HIGHEST NUMBER I CAN FIND, LADDER, etc.

Did I leave anything out.
Bill Collector
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United States
1397 Posts
 Posted 12/09/2012  7:35 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Nickelman to your friends list

Quote:
Well, guess I'm going to start a numbers collection


Another one converted to the dark side


Quote:
NICK what do you think? My one and only


I see your a believer in ones count as well. Too bad the district letter isn't an I then it would be a "complete true flipper"

Edited for punctuation.
Edited by Nickelman
12/09/2012 7:36 pm
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 Posted 12/11/2012  09:22 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Ceylon62 to your friends list
Oh contraire Nick, I will sell / trade that note to the right person. I got it a while back as it was on a $2.

BC... This (fancy sn's) can get technical, stay with the good stuff (chcu) even on the cheap items. My 2 cents.

edit below

Quote:
Did I leave anything out.


YES...PI....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi.....

Edited by Ceylon62
12/11/2012 09:28 am
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