Most people refer to these bills as 'binary' (even though the numbers may be something other than 0's and 1's), so keep that in mind as you are searching for information or bills for sale.
I am trying to put together a set with of 2 and 8. I started out trying to build a set of actual binary 0's and 1's. I picked those because I actually have 00000001 that I found in circulation many years ago. I bought a few notes of 0's and 1's but quickly realized two things: 1) that is an impossible set to put together because you'll never find 00000000, 2) any note that has 7 zeros is going to be priced WAY out of my league.
I got an unc. strap from the bank that was numbered 82222201-82222300. So it had 82222222, 82222228, 82222282, 82222288. So that it where I started.
I've been working on it for about 3 years and right now have about 35 bills. I think there are a total of 256 bills that I need.
I'm only doing $1 bills. I've passed on a number of different denominations. I figure that will be hard enough to put together without getting concerned with Federal Reserve district, block letter, or series. I've got a number of different series including a silver cert. Give me a few more years and may be picking up anything I get.
With the exception of that strap, I've only found one binary bill in circulation, so frankly I don't think you're going to be able to put a set together from circulation.
I have passed on a few other $1's that I think are priced too high. Unless it is a good number, I don't want to pay more than about $10. A good number would be a radar (a palindrome) or a bill with a lot of one number in a row (82222288). The problem is that there are only 256 bills that you are looking for out of 96,000,000 bills printed, so you only have a 1 in 375,000 chance of finding one. Most people don't even look at the numbers on a bill, so most binary bills are just in ciruculation and get worn out. If you pass on a bill, what are the odds that you are ever going to see that number again?
There are a few currency dealers on the web that sell them (
http://www.tickleyourfancycurrency.com/) is one that I've purchased from. Wheresgeorge.com has a discussion forum for buying and selling bills.
Most of my bills I have purchased off of
ebay. Here's a few hints:
set up a saved search for "binary" in the paper money section and have the results emailed to you daily. Check them at least every few days. If a bill comes up and you miss it, who knows when you'll get it again?
also do searches by 'solid' and 'radar' in the paper money section. Often sellers won't put the phrase 'binary' in the listing, they will say it is 'almost solid' or 'near solid'. They also sometimes list that it is a 'radar' but forget to mention that it is a 'binary' (that seems like selling a house that has "beautifully manicured front lawn" but not mentioning that the backyard includes a boat dock for the lake).
Keep in mind that your solid bills (22222222) are going to be A LOT (over $1000).
Here are some thoughts I've had:
You can't put a set together that 0's because you'll never get 00000000.
7's and 8's (I think in some cultures) are "lucky" numbers. Solid or near solid bills will be more expensive than other numbers.
9's are not an easy set to put together -
The highest bill printed in a normal printing run is 96000000. The BEP does print special runs higher than that, but in general not often. You're probably not going to find 99XXXXXX, 99XXXXX9, 99XXXX99, etc. Anything above 96000000 is going to be rare and expensive.
Posted 05/27/2010 07:31 am
