MySQL 4.1.7: cast(1-2, unsigned) != cast('18446744073709551615' as unsigned)

[Robin Bryce]

Hi,
I'm having trouble converting to and from strings that represent 
unsigned BIGINT's.

My server is MySQL 4.1.7-standard and
the following selects were entered at the prompt of my client with 
version "mysql Ver 14.7 Distrib 4.1.7, for pc-linux (i686)".

select cast(1-2, unsigned);
gives the expected 18446744073709551615. This is one of the 'cast' 
examples on http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/Cast_Functions.html.

select cast(18446744073709551615 as char);
yields the expected '18446744073709551615'.
The converse doesn't hold:
cast('18446744073709551615' as unsigned);
yields '9223372036854775807' better known as '0x7fffffffffffffff'.
Can anyone tell me what is happening here ?
Thanks,
Robin Bryce
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