Posted 10/23/2008 12:56 am
Humans have an amazing ability to spot patterns amongst random numbers. As a collector, you're welcome to keep any "pattern" that takes your fancy.
But as far as "adding value", some "patterns" are better than others. Solids (222222), radars (321123), repeaters (131313) are the most sought after; "low numbers" (anything with more than half zeroes at the front, such as 000032) semi-solids (222333), ladders (234567) and other "patterns" (eg. 224466) and anything that's "almost a pattern" (such as 131317) normally less so.
Cultural background can also play a factor in the desirability of a number; to a Westerner, "777777" would be highly desirable, but to someone of Chinese background, "888888" would be highly desirable, whereas "444444" certainly would not be.
If you ever find something that you think might be a "special" number and are wondering if it's "worth keeping", it can be helpful to think from a buyer's perspective. If you saw that note in a coin dealer's shop window, or on ebay, how much above face or catalogue value would you be prepared to pay to own it? If the answer is "not very much", then that's probably the answer everyone else would give, too.
But as far as "adding value", some "patterns" are better than others. Solids (222222), radars (321123), repeaters (131313) are the most sought after; "low numbers" (anything with more than half zeroes at the front, such as 000032) semi-solids (222333), ladders (234567) and other "patterns" (eg. 224466) and anything that's "almost a pattern" (such as 131317) normally less so.
Cultural background can also play a factor in the desirability of a number; to a Westerner, "777777" would be highly desirable, but to someone of Chinese background, "888888" would be highly desirable, whereas "444444" certainly would not be.
If you ever find something that you think might be a "special" number and are wondering if it's "worth keeping", it can be helpful to think from a buyer's perspective. If you saw that note in a coin dealer's shop window, or on ebay, how much above face or catalogue value would you be prepared to pay to own it? If the answer is "not very much", then that's probably the answer everyone else would give, too.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
