Here is how to find the MIN or MAX values for the Integer types in numpy :
In [235]: np.iinfo(np.int8) Out[235]: iinfo(min=-128, max=127, dtype=int8) In [236]: np.iinfo(np.int16) Out[236]: iinfo(min=-32768, max=32767, dtype=int16) In [237]: np.iinfo(np.int32) Out[237]: iinfo(min=-2147483648, max=2147483647, dtype=int32) In [238]: np.iinfo(np.int64) Out[238]: iinfo(min=-9223372036854775808, max=9223372036854775807, dtype=int64) In [239]: np.iinfo(np.int) Out[239]: iinfo(min=-9223372036854775808, max=9223372036854775807, dtype=int64)