diff --git a/.changeset/neat-queens-peel.md b/.changeset/neat-queens-peel.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2e674b9cd27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/neat-queens-peel.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@smithy/core": minor
+---
+
+add numeric value container for serde
diff --git a/packages/core/package.json b/packages/core/package.json
index c716f75ad19..cd71e5add55 100644
--- a/packages/core/package.json
+++ b/packages/core/package.json
@@ -45,6 +45,13 @@
       "import": "./dist-es/submodules/protocols/index.js",
       "require": "./dist-cjs/submodules/protocols/index.js",
       "types": "./dist-types/submodules/protocols/index.d.ts"
+    },
+    "./serde": {
+      "module": "./dist-es/submodules/serde/index.js",
+      "node": "./dist-cjs/submodules/serde/index.js",
+      "import": "./dist-es/submodules/serde/index.js",
+      "require": "./dist-cjs/submodules/serde/index.js",
+      "types": "./dist-types/submodules/serde/index.d.ts"
     }
   },
   "author": {
@@ -78,6 +85,8 @@
     "./cbor.js",
     "./protocols.d.ts",
     "./protocols.js",
+    "./serde.d.ts",
+    "./serde.js",
     "dist-*/**"
   ],
   "homepage": "https://github.com/awslabs/smithy-typescript/tree/main/packages/core",
diff --git a/packages/core/serde.d.ts b/packages/core/serde.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9906bb086f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/serde.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+/**
+ * Do not edit:
+ * This is a compatibility redirect for contexts that do not understand package.json exports field.
+ */
+declare module "@smithy/core/serde" {
+  export * from "@smithy/core/dist-types/submodules/serde/index.d";
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/serde.js b/packages/core/serde.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b2d727f86a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/serde.js
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+
+/**
+ * Do not edit:
+ * This is a compatibility redirect for contexts that do not understand package.json exports field.
+ */
+module.exports = require("./dist-cjs/submodules/serde/index.js");
diff --git a/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/index.ts b/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a70d0dda874
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export * from "./value/NumericValue";
diff --git a/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/value/NumericValue.spec.ts b/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/value/NumericValue.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b5fb7090842
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/value/NumericValue.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+import { describe, expect, test as it } from "vitest";
+
+import { NumericValue, nv } from "./NumericValue";
+
+describe(NumericValue.name, () => {
+  it("holds a string representation of a numeric value", () => {
+    const num = nv("1.0");
+    expect(num).toBeInstanceOf(NumericValue);
+    expect(num.string).toEqual("1.0");
+    expect(num.type).toEqual("bigDecimal");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/value/NumericValue.ts b/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/value/NumericValue.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..11b54144114
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/submodules/serde/value/NumericValue.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/**
+ * Types which may be represented by {@link NumericValue}.
+ *
+ * There is currently only one option, because BigInteger and Long should
+ * use JS BigInt directly, and all other numeric types can be contained in JS Number.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type NumericType = "bigDecimal";
+
+/**
+ * Serialization container for Smithy simple types that do not have a
+ * direct JavaScript runtime representation.
+ *
+ * This container does not perform numeric mathematical operations.
+ * It is a container for discerning a value's true type.
+ *
+ * It allows storage of numeric types not representable in JS without
+ * making a decision on what numeric library to use.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export class NumericValue {
+  public constructor(
+    public readonly string: string,
+    public readonly type: NumericType
+  ) {}
+}
+
+/**
+ * Serde shortcut.
+ * @internal
+ */
+export function nv(string: string): NumericValue {
+  return new NumericValue(string, "bigDecimal");
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/tsconfig.cjs.json b/packages/core/tsconfig.cjs.json
index fea7954e681..a5bbf2547b8 100644
--- a/packages/core/tsconfig.cjs.json
+++ b/packages/core/tsconfig.cjs.json
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
     "rootDir": "src",
     "paths": {
       "@smithy/core/cbor": ["./src/submodules/cbor/index.ts"],
-      "@smithy/core/protocols": ["./src/submodules/protocols/index.ts"]
+      "@smithy/core/protocols": ["./src/submodules/protocols/index.ts"],
+      "@smithy/core/serde": ["./src/submodules/serde/index.ts"]
     }
   },
   "extends": "../../tsconfig.cjs.json",
diff --git a/packages/core/tsconfig.es.json b/packages/core/tsconfig.es.json
index 0519270a909..95225ee3300 100644
--- a/packages/core/tsconfig.es.json
+++ b/packages/core/tsconfig.es.json
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
     "rootDir": "src",
     "paths": {
       "@smithy/core/cbor": ["./src/submodules/cbor/index.ts"],
-      "@smithy/core/protocols": ["./src/submodules/protocols/index.ts"]
+      "@smithy/core/protocols": ["./src/submodules/protocols/index.ts"],
+      "@smithy/core/serde": ["./src/submodules/serde/index.ts"]
     }
   },
   "extends": "../../tsconfig.es.json",
diff --git a/packages/core/tsconfig.types.json b/packages/core/tsconfig.types.json
index 3ebde5c3ede..5400575ea0b 100644
--- a/packages/core/tsconfig.types.json
+++ b/packages/core/tsconfig.types.json
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
     "rootDir": "src",
     "paths": {
       "@smithy/core/cbor": ["./src/submodules/cbor/index.ts"],
-      "@smithy/core/protocols": ["./src/submodules/protocols/index.ts"]
+      "@smithy/core/protocols": ["./src/submodules/protocols/index.ts"],
+      "@smithy/core/serde": ["./src/submodules/serde/index.ts"]
     }
   },
   "extends": "../../tsconfig.types.json",