A very large dataset of handwritten Farsi digits is introduced. Binary images of 102,352 digits were extracted from about 12,000 registration forms of two types, filled by B.Sc. and senior high school students. These forms were scanned at 200 dpi with a high speed scanner. A method for finding variety of handwritten digits in a typical dataset is proposed. Based on this method, training and test subsets are provided to facilitate sharing of results among researchers as well as performance comparison. Ó 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.