diff --git a/tests/test_numbers.py b/tests/test_numbers.py
index 61fda78..8de6d80 100644
--- a/tests/test_numbers.py
+++ b/tests/test_numbers.py
@@ -1,6 +1,35 @@
-import sys
+import math
+import decimal
 
-from yyjson import Document, ReaderFlags
+import pytest
+
+from yyjson import Document, ReaderFlags, WriterFlags
+
+
+test_numbers = [
+    1,
+    2,
+    -1,
+    -2,
+    1.0,
+    2.0,
+    -1.0,
+    -2.0,
+    2**63,
+    -2**63,
+    -2**63-1,
+    2**64,
+    -2**64,
+    2**64+1,
+    2**128,
+    2**128+1,
+    -2**128,
+    -2**128-1,
+]
+
+
+def is_bignum(num):
+    return -2**63 <= num < 2**64
 
 
 def test_big_numbers():
@@ -10,7 +39,7 @@ def test_big_numbers():
     The test set is from:
         https://blog.trl.sn/blog/what-is-a-json-number/#python-3-8-1
     """
-    test_numbers = [
+    test_str_numbers = [
         "10",
         "1000000000",
         "10000000000000001",
@@ -23,10 +52,148 @@ def test_big_numbers():
         "1E+309",
     ]
 
-    for num in test_numbers:
-        deserialized = Document(num, flags=ReaderFlags.NUMBERS_AS_RAW)
+    for num in test_str_numbers:
+        deserialized = Document(num, flags=ReaderFlags.NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL)
 
         obj = deserialized.as_obj
 
         assert str(obj) == num
         assert Document(obj).dumps() == num
+
+def test_numbers_no_flags():
+    '''
+    Verify expected behavior with no flags - big numbers are converted to
+    python floats.
+    '''
+    for num in test_numbers:
+        obj = Document(num).dumps()
+        assert str(num) == obj
+
+        val = Document(obj).as_obj
+        if is_bignum(num):
+            assert val == num
+            assert isinstance(val, (int, float))
+        else:
+            assert isinstance(val, float)
+
+
+def test_numbers_as_raw():
+    '''
+    Verify expected behavior of NUMBERS_AS_RAW - all numbers are deserialized
+    as python ints/floats.
+    '''
+    for num in test_numbers:
+        obj = Document(num).dumps()
+        assert str(num) == obj
+
+        val = Document(obj, flags=ReaderFlags.NUMBERS_AS_RAW).as_obj
+        assert val == num
+        assert not isinstance(val, decimal.Decimal)
+
+
+def test_numbers_as_decimal():
+    '''
+    Verify expected behavior of NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL - all numbers are
+    deserialized as python decimal.Decimals.
+    '''
+    for num in test_numbers:
+        obj = Document(num).dumps()
+        assert str(num) == obj
+
+        val = Document(obj, flags=ReaderFlags.NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL).as_obj
+        assert val == num
+        assert isinstance(val, decimal.Decimal)
+
+
+def test_big_numbers_as_raw():
+    '''
+    Verify expected behavior of BIGNUM_AS_RAW - numbers GE 2**64 and LT -2**63
+    are deserialized as python ints/floats.
+    '''
+    for num in test_numbers:
+        obj = Document(num).dumps()
+        assert str(num) == obj
+
+        val = Document(obj, flags=ReaderFlags.BIGNUM_AS_RAW).as_obj
+        assert val == num
+        assert not isinstance(val, decimal.Decimal)
+
+
+def test_big_numbers_as_decimal():
+    '''
+    Verify expected behavior of BIGNUM_AS_DECIMAL - numbers GE 2**64 and LT
+    -2**63 are deserialized as python decimal.Decimals.
+    '''
+    for num in test_numbers:
+        obj = Document(num).dumps()
+        assert str(num) == obj
+
+        val = Document(obj, flags=ReaderFlags.BIG_NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL).as_obj
+        assert val == num
+        if is_bignum(num):
+            assert not isinstance(val, decimal.Decimal)
+        else:
+            assert isinstance(val, decimal.Decimal)
+
+
+def test_float_inf_nan():
+    '''
+    Verify expected behavior of deserializing Infinity, -Infinity, and NaN
+    special values.
+    '''
+    inf = float('inf')
+    ninf = float('-inf')
+    nan = float('nan')
+
+    mesg = 'nan or inf number is not allowed'
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc:
+        Document([inf]).dumps()
+    assert exc.type is ValueError
+    assert exc.value.args[0] == mesg
+
+    mesg = 'nan or inf number is not allowed'
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc:
+        Document([ninf]).dumps()
+    assert exc.type is ValueError
+    assert exc.value.args[0] == mesg
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc:
+        Document([nan]).dumps()
+    assert exc.type is ValueError
+    assert exc.value.args[0] == mesg
+
+    obj = Document([inf, ninf, nan]).dumps(flags=WriterFlags.ALLOW_INF_AND_NAN)
+    assert obj == '[Infinity,-Infinity,NaN]'
+
+    mesg = 'unexpected character, expected a valid JSON value'
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc:
+        Document(obj).as_obj
+    assert exc.type is ValueError
+    assert exc.value.args[0] == mesg
+
+    for flags in (
+        ReaderFlags.ALLOW_INF_AND_NAN,
+        ReaderFlags.ALLOW_INF_AND_NAN | ReaderFlags.BIGNUM_AS_RAW,
+        ReaderFlags.ALLOW_INF_AND_NAN | ReaderFlags.NUMBERS_AS_RAW,
+        ReaderFlags.ALLOW_INF_AND_NAN | ReaderFlags.BIG_NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL,
+    ):
+        val = Document(obj, flags=flags).as_obj
+        assert isinstance(val, list)
+        assert len(val) == 3
+        assert isinstance(val[0], float)
+        assert val[0] == inf
+        assert isinstance(val[1], float)
+        assert val[1] == ninf
+        assert isinstance(val[2], float)
+        assert math.isnan(val[2])
+
+    flags = ReaderFlags.ALLOW_INF_AND_NAN | ReaderFlags.NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL
+    val = Document(obj, flags=flags).as_obj
+    assert isinstance(val, list)
+    assert len(val) == 3
+    assert isinstance(val[0], decimal.Decimal)
+    assert val[0] == decimal.Decimal(inf)
+    assert isinstance(val[1], decimal.Decimal)
+    assert val[1] == decimal.Decimal(ninf)
+    assert isinstance(val[2], decimal.Decimal)
+    assert math.isnan(val[2])
diff --git a/yyjson/__init__.py b/yyjson/__init__.py
index aa8bed3..3db9c46 100644
--- a/yyjson/__init__.py
+++ b/yyjson/__init__.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 from cyyjson import Document
 
+READER_RAW_AS_DECIMAL = 0x100
 
 class ReaderFlags(enum.IntFlag):
     """
@@ -23,17 +24,17 @@ class ReaderFlags(enum.IntFlag):
     #: Allow inf/nan number and literal, case-insensitive, such as 1e999, NaN,
     #: inf, -Infinity
     ALLOW_INF_AND_NAN = 0x10
-    #: Alias for `NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL`.
+    #: Read all numbers as Python long integers.
     NUMBERS_AS_RAW = 0x20
     #: Read all numbers as Decimal objects instead of native types. This option
     #: is useful for preserving the exact precision of numbers or for handling
     #: numbers that are too large to fit in a native type.
-    NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL = 0x20
-    #: Alias for `BIG_NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL`.
+    NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL = 0x20 | READER_RAW_AS_DECIMAL
+    #: Read big numbers as Python long integers.
     BIGNUM_AS_RAW = 0x80
     #: Like `NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL`, but only for numbers that are too large to
     #: fit in a native type.
-    BIG_NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL = 0x80
+    BIG_NUMBERS_AS_DECIMAL = 0x80 | READER_RAW_AS_DECIMAL
 
 
 class WriterFlags(enum.IntFlag):
diff --git a/yyjson/document.c b/yyjson/document.c
index 69c6c5f..f582e2c 100644
--- a/yyjson/document.c
+++ b/yyjson/document.c
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@
     self->i_doc = NULL;                                        \
   }
 
-static PyObject *mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_val *val);
-static PyObject *element_to_primitive(yyjson_val *val);
+static PyObject *mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_val *val, bool raw_as_decimal);
+static PyObject *element_to_primitive(yyjson_val *val, bool raw_as_decimal);
 
 static PyObject *pathlib = NULL;
 static PyObject *path = NULL;
@@ -55,11 +55,28 @@ static inline PyObject *unicode_from_str(const char *src, size_t len) {
   return PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8(src, len, NULL);
 }
 
+static bool is_float(const char * str, size_t str_len) {
+  size_t ii = 0;
+
+  for (ii = 0; ii < str_len; ii++) {
+    switch (str[ii]) {
+      case 'e':
+      case 'E':
+      case 'n':
+      case 'N':
+      case '.':
+        return true;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return false;
+}
+
 /**
  * Recursively convert the given value into an equivalent high-level Python
  * object.
  **/
-static PyObject *element_to_primitive(yyjson_val *val) {
+static PyObject *element_to_primitive(yyjson_val *val, bool raw_as_decimal) {
   yyjson_type type = yyjson_get_type(val);
 
   switch (type) {
@@ -100,7 +117,7 @@ static PyObject *element_to_primitive(yyjson_val *val) {
 
       size_t idx = 0;
       while ((obj_val = yyjson_arr_iter_next(&iter))) {
-        py_val = element_to_primitive(obj_val);
+        py_val = element_to_primitive(obj_val, raw_as_decimal);
         if (!py_val) {
           return NULL;
         }
@@ -131,7 +148,7 @@ static PyObject *element_to_primitive(yyjson_val *val) {
         str = yyjson_get_str(obj_key);
 
         py_key = unicode_from_str(str, str_len);
-        py_val = element_to_primitive(obj_val);
+        py_val = element_to_primitive(obj_val, raw_as_decimal);
 
         if (!py_key) {
           return NULL;
@@ -152,12 +169,28 @@ static PyObject *element_to_primitive(yyjson_val *val) {
       return dict;
     }
     case YYJSON_TYPE_RAW: {
-      size_t str_len = yyjson_get_len(val);
-      const char *str = yyjson_get_raw(val);
-      PyObject *uni = unicode_from_str(str, str_len);
-      PyObject *result = PyObject_CallOneArg(YY_DecimalClass, uni);
-      Py_DECREF(uni);
-      return result;
+      if (raw_as_decimal) {
+        size_t str_len = yyjson_get_len(val);
+        const char *str = yyjson_get_raw(val);
+        PyObject *uni = unicode_from_str(str, str_len);
+        PyObject *result = PyObject_CallOneArg(YY_DecimalClass, uni);
+        Py_DECREF(uni);
+        return result;
+
+      } else {
+        size_t str_len = yyjson_get_len(val);
+        const char * str = yyjson_get_raw(val);
+
+        if (is_float(str, str_len)) {
+          PyObject *uni = unicode_from_str(str, str_len);
+          PyObject *result = PyFloat_FromString(uni);
+          Py_DECREF(uni);
+          return result;
+        } else {
+          return PyLong_FromString(str, NULL, 10);
+        }
+
+      }
     }
     case YYJSON_TYPE_NONE:
     default:
@@ -170,7 +203,7 @@ static PyObject *element_to_primitive(yyjson_val *val) {
  * Recursively convert the given value into an equivalent high-level Python
  * object.
  **/
-static PyObject *mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_val *val) {
+static PyObject *mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_val *val, bool raw_as_decimal) {
   yyjson_type type = yyjson_mut_get_type(val);
 
   switch (type) {
@@ -212,7 +245,7 @@ static PyObject *mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_val *val) {
 
       size_t idx = 0;
       while ((obj_val = yyjson_mut_arr_iter_next(&iter))) {
-        py_val = mut_element_to_primitive(obj_val);
+        py_val = mut_element_to_primitive(obj_val, raw_as_decimal);
         if (!py_val) {
           return NULL;
         }
@@ -237,8 +270,8 @@ static PyObject *mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_val *val) {
       while ((obj_key = yyjson_mut_obj_iter_next(&iter))) {
         obj_val = yyjson_mut_obj_iter_get_val(obj_key);
 
-        py_key = mut_element_to_primitive(obj_key);
-        py_val = mut_element_to_primitive(obj_val);
+        py_key = mut_element_to_primitive(obj_key, raw_as_decimal);
+        py_val = mut_element_to_primitive(obj_val, raw_as_decimal);
 
         if (!py_key) {
           return NULL;
@@ -259,12 +292,28 @@ static PyObject *mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_val *val) {
       return dict;
     }
     case YYJSON_TYPE_RAW: {
-      size_t str_len = yyjson_mut_get_len(val);
-      const char *str = yyjson_mut_get_raw(val);
-      PyObject *uni = unicode_from_str(str, str_len);
-      PyObject *result = PyObject_CallOneArg(YY_DecimalClass, uni);
-      Py_DECREF(uni);
-      return result;
+      if (raw_as_decimal) {
+        size_t str_len = yyjson_mut_get_len(val);
+        const char *str = yyjson_mut_get_raw(val);
+        PyObject *uni = unicode_from_str(str, str_len);
+        PyObject *result = PyObject_CallOneArg(YY_DecimalClass, uni);
+        Py_DECREF(uni);
+        return result;
+
+      } else {
+        size_t str_len = yyjson_mut_get_len(val);
+        const char * str = yyjson_mut_get_raw(val);
+
+        if (is_float(str, str_len)) {
+          PyObject *uni = unicode_from_str(str, str_len);
+          PyObject *result = PyFloat_FromString(uni);
+          Py_DECREF(uni);
+          return result;
+        } else {
+          return PyLong_FromString(str, NULL, 10);
+        }
+
+      }
     }
     case YYJSON_TYPE_NONE:
     default:
@@ -476,6 +525,10 @@ static int Document_init(DocumentObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds) {
     return -1;
   }
 
+#define READER_RAW_AS_DECIMAL 0x100
+  self->raw_as_decimal = (r_flag & READER_RAW_AS_DECIMAL) != 0;
+  r_flag = r_flag ^ READER_RAW_AS_DECIMAL;
+
   if (default_func && default_func != Py_None && !PyCallable_Check(default_func)) {
     PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "default must be callable");
     return -1;
@@ -584,9 +637,9 @@ static int Document_init(DocumentObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds) {
  */
 static PyObject *Document_as_obj(DocumentObject *self, void *closure) {
   if (self->i_doc) {
-    return element_to_primitive(yyjson_doc_get_root(self->i_doc));
+    return element_to_primitive(yyjson_doc_get_root(self->i_doc), self->raw_as_decimal);
   } else {
-    return mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_doc_get_root(self->m_doc));
+    return mut_element_to_primitive(yyjson_mut_doc_get_root(self->m_doc), self->raw_as_decimal);
   }
 }
 
@@ -724,7 +777,7 @@ static PyObject *Document_get_pointer(DocumentObject *self, PyObject *args) {
       return NULL;
     }
 
-    return element_to_primitive(result);
+    return element_to_primitive(result, self->raw_as_decimal);
   } else {
     yyjson_mut_val *result =
         yyjson_mut_doc_ptr_getx(self->m_doc, pointer, pointer_len, NULL, &err);
@@ -736,7 +789,7 @@ static PyObject *Document_get_pointer(DocumentObject *self, PyObject *args) {
       return NULL;
     }
 
-    return mut_element_to_primitive(result);
+    return mut_element_to_primitive(result, self->raw_as_decimal);
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/yyjson/document.h b/yyjson/document.h
index c260b26..6ccddeb 100644
--- a/yyjson/document.h
+++ b/yyjson/document.h
@@ -11,8 +11,10 @@
  */
 typedef struct {
   PyObject_HEAD
-      /** A mutable document. */
-      yyjson_mut_doc* m_doc;
+  /** numbers and bignums as decimal? */
+  bool raw_as_decimal;
+  /** A mutable document. */
+  yyjson_mut_doc* m_doc;
   /** An immutable document. */
   yyjson_doc* i_doc;
   /** The memory allocator in use for this document. */
@@ -23,4 +25,4 @@ typedef struct {
 
 extern PyTypeObject DocumentType;
 
-#endif
\ No newline at end of file
+#endif