Never heard of a dealer charging more for low serial number pieces--the dealer pays the same price for each piece, no matter what the number is.

As to why a lower number is worth more than a higher number on the secondary market, it may be just bragging rights. I've placed bids on eBay on lower-numbered pieces just because I'm partial to double- or single-digit pieces. If I won the auction, the higher-numbered piece then became a salable piece. Whether my having single- or double-digit pieces will enhance their price when my children sell them after I'm gone remains to be seen. In the meantime, I'm tickled knowing that I have a number of low-numbered pieces.

Sandy