Some may still consider that a ladder (see below) and a cool find for circulation, but value for those kind of 'alternate' ladders are much lower than a true ladder. In other words, No to grading but to me is a keeper and potentially can sell if thats what your after vs a nice start for collecting.
Ladder - In a ladder serial number, every digit is one number higher (or lower) than the previous digit. Really the only true ladder is a serial number that contains a letter then 12345678 followed by another letter. The true ladder in its purest form is only printed once for every 96 million notes in a standard print run. True ladders are rare and command a premium.
There are also many other examples of ladders. Some people would consider A00012345A to be a ladder. Others might call D00034567A a ladder which have duplicate numbers. The next closest thing to a true ladder in terms of value is the true reverse, backwards, or step down ladder. It looks like A87654321A in its best form. Reverse ladders are fun, but they are always less desirable than up ladders.
A cheap form of a ladder comes in the "broken" ladder. It reads something like A01200304A. Some people like these, but they are really just more affordable versions of what people really want. Some do collect them and may sell on places like
ebay to those casual collectors for small premium. Some scam artists have recently tried to push the "scrambled ladder." The scrambled ladder consists of 8 unique numbers, like A92378514A.but have no added value normally to true collectors and dealers, maybe only again some very casual buyers who enjoy all kinds of interesting serial number finds.
Steve in Tampa mentioned this before about a broken ladder I thought was funny:
Quote:
Finding a Broken Ladder is the equivalent of finishing 9th out of 10 teams and getting a participation trophy.
Thx Steve for the laugh.
Posted 12/27/2023 6:37 pm
- Mequin 
