         }
 
         // let Flash do the actual conversion
-        return parseFloat(originalString);
+        return parseFloat(noCommas);
     }
 
     /**

            return NaN;
        }

        // validate all characters before the "e"
        str = validateDecimal(str, true, true);


    /**
     * Internal helper function for parseNumber.
     */
    protected static function validateDecimal (
        str :String, allowDot :Boolean, allowTrailingE :Boolean) :String
    {
        // skip the leading minus
        if (str.charAt(0) == "-") {
