Unclear handwritten ID numbers

They turned out to be 4s. :expressionless:

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Noooo :scream::joy:

I always write my IDs as far away from the address/stamp field as possible, purely for that reason. It would be sad to see a card derailed by a detail like that haha.

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I know I shouldn’t say this, but I hate that. :no_mouth:

How did you register it? :astonished:

I found that depending on the way I turned the card against the light I could see the numbers written in red :sweat_smile:

Wow, that’s unfortunate. I write my postcard IDs on two separate places, but I’m always afraid something like that would happen to both at the same time.

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I do that too! One time I forgot though, I wrote the card in the post office while waiting in line and completely forgot about it. But the postcrosser found me and asked for the ID (imagine my embarrassment) :flushed: :sweat_smile:

That looks similar to a mainland China handwriting too!

That’s exactly what I mean! I’m speechless that people don’t think that that might happen when they write the ID there.

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Those are my perfectly normal 1s, now I feel like I have a bad handwriting, which I never thought I had :frowning:

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Writing numbers is something that is not difficult, however cultural differences and handwriting style can alway’s give some issues in this perspective. And the same is also applicable for letters. However when it involves letters there is interpretation of the word or text possible! Numbers are exact and that results in to discussion how to write them.

So here a small example how i write numbers:

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Me too! :disappointed:

It’s funny, the examples discussed here. Having moved country as a student I don’t even notice the ‘triangle’ issue for ones and sevens, but have to admit that I have now adopted to write ones mostly as a single line but sevens always have a crossbar.
What I struggle with regarding postcard IDs is not when the sender has written numbers with slightly different conventions, but when the handwriting is so ‘relaxed’ that I have no clue. Random squiggles… Often I will manage to guess, several attempts, but at times I need to ask for help from Postcrossing.
But I ask myself - WHY would anyone who has taken the care to choose and write a card, which they want to be received, be SO SLOPPY writing the ID. I just don’t get it.
Finally my latest bugbear: the ID number written next to the stamp near the top right. You can guarantee that the cancel will totally obscure it…

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You don’t have “bad” handwriting per se, it’s just the way you’ve (presumably) been taught. But to the rest of the world it doesn’t look like a 1, it looks like a triangle without a base. For instance, look at the 1 on your computer keyboard. It’s a 1. :slightly_smiling_face:

It’s happened again (and I had to hunt for ages to find this thread).

Scan

The first squiggle doesn’t look like ANY number to me, and the squiggles after the 9 look like closed-up 2s. I haven’t registered this card yet, as I’m still trying to figure out what the numbers are.

Figure out? :laughing:

mhm , hard one I´d guess it is 72922

I’m going to say all the unidentifiable numbers are 8s.

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From the Netherlands I guess. Must be 78988 then.

78988

I’ve just tried to register it and went for 8s.

They are 8s. To me, none of them look like 8s, and the first one like no known number in the history of the universe. (Not that I know all numbers in the history of the universe, please don’t take that as a prompt.)

After a polite thank you for the nice card, I’m afraid I said something about not understanding the number/s and that I had to ask for help. Maybe that will help improve subsequent number-writing?

A trick I use, that only helps with the first couple of numbers:

Go to the country page and check the recently registered cards. With @SailingBy 's card above, say the choice is between 72… and 78… . If the recently registered cards are only 72… or 73… you know this card is probably not 78…

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