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Collecting ‘Lucky’ Number Notes in Asia
By Kelvin Cheung
Lucky number banknotes have always been a popular collecting theme in the Far East. When I started to collect banknotes in earnest in the early 2000’s I always sought them out as a priority. The first thing all burgeoning collectors must be clear on is what defines a ‘lucky’ number?
Definition and types:
In my opinion, the traditional lucky numbers are number 1’s, solid 1’s to solid 9’s, 1 million (or equivalent of the last note in the prefix run) and the ascending/descending serial numbers that start with ‘1’ and ‘9’ respectively (123456/654321 and not 234567/765432). This makes a total of 13 notes within a prefix run.
In recent years, however, the local market has evolved to include the following fancy/semi lucky number varieties:
‘Low numbers’ – usually defined as number 000100 or below, or under ‘1000’ if the prefix run is large.
‘Step by step’ – usually considered a complete or partial set of numbers with an increasing number of a single number, e.g. 000008, 000088, 000888, 008888, 088888 and 888888.
'Rising number’ – a single digit moving up the print run e.g. 000008, 000080, 000800, 008000, 080000 and 800000.
‘Leopard numbers’- the last three digits are the same, irrespective of the first three e.g. 357888, 543777. A sub variety includes ‘double leopard’ numbers when the first 3 digits are the same and the last 3 digits are the same e.g. 111999, 444888.
‘Lion numbers’ – the last four digits are the same, irrespective of the digits in front e.g. 136666, 459999
‘Dinosaur number’ – the last five digits are the same, and the same principle as the above.
‘Radar number’ when the numbers are a mirror reflection of each side as if there is a mirror at the centre of the number group e.g. 912219, 123321 etc.
Advanced collectors will also include the prefix as part of the lucky numbers too such as: - collecting solid number notes with the prefix letters being the same e.g. RR666666 as opposed to RS666666. - matching the prefixes and serial numbers between different notes e.g. RR666666 on a $10 and a $20
Using the prefix as part of the number e.g. BB888888 will be seen as ‘eight 8s’, GG666666 will be seen as ‘eight 6s’. The prefix itself is sometimes a collecting theme as a ‘replacement’, ‘first prefix’, ‘first sub-series’ etc. But this topic is beyond the scope of this article. The above all command a healthy premium over notes with ‘normal’ serial numbers.
What is point? The most obvious answer to this question is value. Traditionally, lucky numbers command a very large premium compared to that of a normal note.
For example, Spink China sold a 1985 $1000 with the serial number ZZ000001 in January 2017 for HKD$300,000 compared to $15000 for a note with a normal serial number.
However, within the traditional lucky numbers a large difference exists.
The list below gives a ranking from most to least desired numbers for notes of the same value issued in the same year and in the same condition.
888888 – the most desired since the pronunciation of ‘8’ in Chinese is similar to ‘wealth’
1000000 – Valuable because it is the only note with a 7 digit serial number and no longer issued in Hong Kong
000001 – The smallest number and ‘number 1’
999999 – 9’s are popular because the pronunciation is the same as ‘forever’ which extrapolates to longevity
333333 – 3’s are popular because the pronunciation is similar to that for ‘life’
666666 – 6’s translates to ‘liu liu da shun’ (liu is the pronunciation for 6 and the phrase loosely means the six harmonies). Explanations for this saying could be one of the following:Traditionally harvest is over by the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. This means agricultural workers are free to visit to their relatives in different places resulting in joyful reunions.An ancient Chinese text ‘Zuo Zhuan’ states peace in society can be achieved through the ‘six harmonies’ e.g. Monarch’s benevolence, Offi cial’s adherence to law and duty, Family patriarch’s love for the family/clan, Children’s fi lial piety to elders, Elder brother’s love for the young and a Younger brother’s respect for the elders.
555555 – no special meaning but the large the digit the better
777777 – Not popular because the pronunciation for ‘7’ is similar to ‘misery’
444444 – Not popular because the pronunciation for ‘4’ is similar to ‘death’
123456, 654321 – I can only guess these are not popular because they are not as aesthetically pleasing as they others.
‘Lucky’ numbers create a new cohort of collectors and since prices have risen steadily over the last 10 years or so new collectors have started to buy the fancy numbers as they are still relatively cheap.
This ‘market within a market’ is healthy as it enables novice collectors to collect economically and gradually advance to serious collecting.
Having more and more young collectors join in this hobby is a good sign for the future of collectables.
I hope this article serves as a basic introduction to ‘number’ collecting in the Far East with a definition of what they are, why there is a growing market and the reasons for differences in price.
As prices for good quality, vintage banknotes are growing beyond the reach of some people, having a new collector’s market in lucky/fancy serial numbers is important for the future of our hobby.
This is very evident in the charity sales conducted by our London team for the Bank of England, Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank. The banks have very kindly provided us with special number banknotes for auction and the high prices reached were, in part, due to Far Eastern bidders.
收藏亚洲地区幸运号码纸钞浅谈
张庭炜 医生 著
幸运号码钞票一直是亚太地区受欢迎的收藏主题。当我在2000年初开始收藏纸币时，我一直把它们列为收藏的首选。而对于新进藏家而言，首要任务是先了解何为幸运号码。
定义及种类：
个人认为，传统的幸运号码是1号、全1号到全9号、100万号（或等同前字冠最后数字）和分别以1和9开头的上升/下降号码 （123456或654321而不是234567及765432），亦即是每字冠包含13张幸运号码钞票。
然而近年来，本地市场亦衍生出不同花式/半幸运号码，包括以下：
小号：通常定义为号码000100或以下，若该字冠发行量较大，则定义为1000号以下；
步步高：通常指同一数字在整套或部分中连续地增加，如000008、000088、000888、008888、088888、888888；
趣味跳位号：同一字冠里，数字沿个位、十位、百位……移动，如000008、000080、000800、008000、080000及800000；
豹子号：钞票号码最后三位数字相同，无需理会头三位数字，如357888、543777。除此之外还有双豹子号，即头三位数字相同，以及最后三位数字相同，如111999、444888；
狮子号：钞票号码最后四位数字相同，无需理会头两位数字，如 136666、459999；
恐龙号：钞票号码最后五位数字相同，原理同上；
雷达号：钞票号码左右对称，如镜子置中反射，如 912219、123321等。
资深藏家还会把字冠当作幸运号码的一部分，如收集相同字冠字母及同号之钞票，如 RR666666，而非RS666666，有些更会收集不同面值而相同字冠字母及同号之钞票，如RR666666的10元及 20元。
有些藏家会视字冠为号码的一部分，例如BB888888会称为“八条八”，GG666666会称为“八条六”。字冠亦是钱币收藏主题之一，如补号、首字轨、first sub-series等，但这些已超出本文探讨范围。以上提及的钞票比普通号码钞票拥有更高价值。
但为什么幸运号码如此重要？主要是因为它能影响钞票的价值。
传统上，幸运号码钞票的价值明显比普通钞票更高。例如，斯宾克中国在2017年1月拍出了一枚1985年的1000元钞票，号码为ZZ000001，售价为30万港元，而同款钞票的普通号码只为15000港元。
但是，传统的幸运号码中，不同数字亦存有很大差异。以下的列出在相同发行日、相同面值及相同品相的前提下，不同幸运号码的排名（由最受欢迎至不受欢迎顺序排列）。
888888：中文的“8”与“发”同音，寓意发财；
1000000：稀有号码，这是唯一一个七位数的钞票号码，香港已停止发行；
000001：最小之号码及第一号；
999999：中的9亦是受欢迎号码之一，因与久发音相同，寓意长久、长寿；
333333：中的3号，因与生发音相同，寓意生机、生命；
666666：中的6有六六大顺之意思（大概意思是指六和）。这句话有两种注释：传统上，在中国北方的一些地区，有六月六，走罢麦的俗语。因为六月六日的前后，小麦收割完毕，正是农闲阶段，也是农人回乡探亲的好时机，所以六六大顺就有生活丰富美满之意思。此外，据中国名书《左传》，通过六和可以达至社会和平：君义，臣行，父慈，子孝，兄爱，弟敬，此数者累谓六顺也；
555555：没有特别含意，只是数字愈大愈好；
777777：不受欢迎之号码，因7与凄发音近似；
444444：同为不受欢迎之号码，因4与死同音；
123456、654321：个人推断，这些号码不如以上号码美观，故稍欠吸引力。
幸运号码带来了一个新的收藏家群组。幸运号码钞票在过去十年间价格稳步上扬，新进藏家能够以相对廉宜的价格开始购入有趣号码钞票。这个市场中的市场发展相当健康，主要因为新进收藏家可以较低成本购买收藏品，并逐渐开始更认真的收藏。
越来越多的年轻藏家加入，这对收藏品市场未来而言是个好兆头。我希望这篇文章能够为大家概括介绍了幸运号码的定义、其潜力所在及价格差异的原因。
由于价格高昂，部分人士无法接触古代钞票的买卖，而发展一个有新收藏家参与的幸运号码钞票市场，对钱币收藏的未来非常重要。这清楚反映在斯宾克伦敦团队为英格兰银行、苏格兰银行及克莱兹代尔银行举行的慈善拍卖会。 银行非常慷慨，为我们提供特别号码钞票作为拍品。这些钞票最终以高价成交，部分原因是因为下标者是亚洲人。
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发表于 2018-3-20 09:42:23
发表于 2018-3-20 09:48:02
