Why has NSNumber such strange retainCounts?

Question

NSNumber* n = [[NSNumber alloc] initWithInt:100];
NSNumber* n1 = n;

In the code above, why is the value of n\'s retainCount set to 2? In the second

Answer 1

Stop. Just stop. Never look at the retainCount of an object. Ever. It should never have been API and available. You're asking for pain.

There's too much going on for retainCount to be meaningful.