Your thinking along the right lines in both cases.

Originally in cast collectibles (not HLs), the first pieces out of molds were the sharpest. But HL only makes from 6-18 pieces from a mold before using another mold.

It's mostly one-upsmanship. Perhaps it might be thought that "...since I have a low number piece, I was smart to get in earlier on these."

Anyway some people like to collect 2 digit pieces because they are harder-to-find, others want to collect numbers ending in zero, etc. Just something to make one's collection that much more unique.

Nothing wrong with it, of course. (How could I say otherwise since I fell into a situation while visiting dealers in Oregon in Jan 97 that enables me to get #26 in each new issue -- and A26 in each new open edition.)

I think it's unique to have all matched 2-digit numbers.