$20 radar "rotator"?

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

         

Hi collectors,

I found in the RBC bank machine a $20 radar UNC with the serial number 8986898.  I heard few months ago about a new category of radar who (in future) may insert in the Charlton catalogue.  Is this a rotator radar?  Did someone have more information about the quantity of this kind of radar are inside in the full series (10M).  Is this the same value of a regular radar (3 digits)? Thank you.

I highly doubt that your note is a "rotator" note.  I assume that the middle digit would have to read right-side up and upside-down (either zero or eight), and the first three and last three digits would have to read the same right-side up and upside-down, in order for it to be a "rotator".

Later on, Jonathan  

...

I'm confused....

0 .. upside down is still 0
8 .. upside down is still 8
9 .. upside down is 6
6 .. upside down is 9

seems that if we restrict rotation radars (dumb idea but its out there) to only 8's and 0's .. and 1's?? although a one with serif's upside down is
not really a number..

Who decides the criteria for this kinda stuff anyway??

0088800 upside down is 0088800

0096900 upside down is 0069699 a perfectly good number..

So does this mean a "special criteria" for a "special criteria"? very odd...

I'm guessing that this "Rotator" stuff will not be in high demand..and that most radar collectors will simply shrug their shoulders at it....as a radar collector with over 200 radars in my collection...it has zero appeal to me...

I wrote an article on the subject and it was published in the June 2004 issue of the Canadian Paper Money Society Newsletter.  For those of you who do not have access to the newsletter, the article is published on my website at the following URL:
http://www.bwjm.ca/pub_rotators.asp

I would encourage you all to read the article as many if not all of your questions are answered in there.

...

Please correct me if I am wrong, but that is 14 notes only that are Radars AND Rotators.

Well if you insist...
You missed 0880880 in your list.  The full list is as follows:
0000000
0008000
0080800
0088800

0800080
0808080
0880880
0888880

8000008
8008008
8080808
8088808

8800088
8808088
8880888
8888888
For a grand total of 16 including the specimen note.  Otherwise, you seem to have a good handle on the subject, Hudson.

So? you double the premium for a solid 8 simply because it can be read upside down?

I'm open to persuasion that this is a "valid" point in collecting..but so far; all it is is an oddity.

lets face it...in a series of a million notes

9874123 only appears ONCE..does that make it any more valuable than
6138473 ??

I think not...semantics and "rationalizations" aside..if you enjoy collecting these..and its fascinating..then all the better..

I'm still not convinced its a valid criteria within the hobby though..but then again...I'm not convinced that collecting money is part of a sane and rational way of life LOL

I make no assumptions as to the value of rotator notes.  A 1973 $1 rotator note was recently listed on eBay for USD$40.00 (in UNC, if I recall correctly) and it went unsold.  I knew about the auction in advance and I chose not to bid on the item.  My point is that I am not trying to suggest that these notes are more valuable than others.

What I am trying to get across is that rotator notes are simply yet another group of notes that can be collected.  Rotator notes are really not much different from radar notes, ladder notes, solids, low-numbers, high-numbers, etc.  They are merely another kind of pattern found in the numbers on banknotes.  Once the pattern had been discovered, some leg-work was done to get an idea of how many there are.

@ Steve11: You're a very outspoken radar collector... tell me... what's the fascination about these "radar" notes?  You double the value for a note simply because it can be read as the same number back and forth?  I'm open to persuatsion that this is a "valid" point in collecting, but so far, all it is is an oddity.  Semantics and "rationalizations" aside... if you enjoy collecting these, and it's fascinating, then all the better.  I'm still not convinced it's a valid criteria in the hobby though.

I don't mean to mock you, but your argument can very easily be applied to radar notes.  The same questions you ask and the points you make can be said of radar notes and their applicability to the hobby of collecting paper money.

So then this brings me full circle... Just like radar notes, ladder notes and solid numbers, rotator notes are just another of several "specializations" in the hobby.  Indeed, this is a specialization that is just beginning to emerge.  It should not be met with skepticism and mockery, but with interest, inquisitiveness and most importantly, open minds.

Whether or not these notes will one day be valued more than their common cousins is something that only time will tell.  I think it is far to early to even begin guessing.  The market must be observed for a while before any sort of pricing information should be included in a catalogue.  (A description, mind you, is perfectly fine).

...