diff --git a/collects/tests/racket/number.rktl b/collects/tests/racket/number.rktl
index 6dfaec9d6f..6ea1461516 100644
--- a/collects/tests/racket/number.rktl
+++ b/collects/tests/racket/number.rktl
@@ -2061,6 +2061,22 @@
        (dbz-test polar2)))
    parts))
 
+;; extra complex tests
+;; it used to be that complex numbers whose parts were floating-point
+;; numbers of differing precision, coercion to the highest precision
+;; when constructing the complex number (usually when reading) could
+;; fail non-deterministically (which is why we test 1000 times)
+(for ([i (in-range 1000)])
+  (test #t zero? (with-input-from-string "0.0f0" read)))
+(for ([i (in-range 1000)])
+  (test #t zero? (with-input-from-string "0.0e0+0.0f0i" read)))
+(for ([i (in-range 1000)])
+  (test #t zero? (string->number "0.0e0+0.0f0i")))
+(for ([i (in-range 1000)])
+  (test #t zero? (make-rectangular 0.0e0 (with-input-from-string "0.0f0" read))))
+(for ([i (in-range 1000)])
+  (test #t zero? (make-rectangular 0.0e0 (string->number "0.0f0"))))
+
 (test #f string->number "88" 7)
 (test #f string->number "")
 (test #f string->number " 1")
diff --git a/src/racket/src/complex.c b/src/racket/src/complex.c
index 5cad45a013..6d937bcb9a 100644
--- a/src/racket/src/complex.c
+++ b/src/racket/src/complex.c
@@ -84,17 +84,9 @@ Scheme_Object *scheme_complex_normalize(const Scheme_Object *o)
     return (Scheme_Object *)c; 
   }
 
-  if (SCHEME_DBLP(c->i)) {
-    if (!SCHEME_DBLP(c->r)) {
-      Scheme_Object *r;
-      r = scheme_make_double(scheme_get_val_as_double(c->r));
-      c->r = r;
-    }
-  } else if (SCHEME_DBLP(c->r)) {
-    Scheme_Object *i;
-    i = scheme_make_double(scheme_get_val_as_double(c->i));
-    c->i = i;
-  }
+  /* Coercions: Exact -> float -> double
+     If the complex contains a float and an exact, we coerce the exact
+     to a float, etc. */
 
 #ifdef MZ_USE_SINGLE_FLOATS
   if (SCHEME_FLTP(c->i)) {
@@ -108,9 +100,31 @@ Scheme_Object *scheme_complex_normalize(const Scheme_Object *o)
 	c->r = v;
       }
     }
-  }
+  } else if (SCHEME_FLTP(c->r)) {
+    Scheme_Object *v;
+    /* Imag part can't be a float, or we'd be in the previous case */
+    if (SCHEME_DBLP(c->i)) {
+      v = scheme_make_double(SCHEME_FLT_VAL(c->r));
+      c->r = v;
+    } else {
+      v = scheme_make_float(scheme_get_val_as_float(c->i));
+      c->i = v;
+    }
+  } else
 #endif
 
+  if (SCHEME_DBLP(c->i)) {
+    if (!SCHEME_DBLP(c->r)) {
+      Scheme_Object *r;
+      r = scheme_make_double(scheme_get_val_as_double(c->r));
+      c->r = r;
+    }
+  } else if (SCHEME_DBLP(c->r)) {
+    Scheme_Object *i;
+    i = scheme_make_double(scheme_get_val_as_double(c->i));
+    c->i = i;
+  }
+
   return (Scheme_Object *)c;
 }