diff --git a/lib/explorer/series.ex b/lib/explorer/series.ex
index 177a7d64e..9382bc9ec 100644
--- a/lib/explorer/series.ex
+++ b/lib/explorer/series.ex
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ defmodule Explorer.Series do
       >
       > This functionality is considered unstable. It is a work-in-progress feature
       > and may not always work as expected. It may be changed at any point.
+      >
+      > Note: The underlying Polars decimal type is a fixed point decimal with optional
+      > precision and non-negative scale, backed by a signed 128-bit integer which allows
+      > for up to 38 significant digits (max precision is 38). Elixir's `Decimal` can handle
+      > higher precision, which may cause errors when converting very large decimal values.
     * `:null` - `nil`s exclusively
     * `:string` - UTF-8 encoded binary
     * `:time` - Time type that unwraps to `Elixir.Time`
diff --git a/native/explorer/src/datatypes.rs b/native/explorer/src/datatypes.rs
index c78aae0aa..de595d281 100644
--- a/native/explorer/src/datatypes.rs
+++ b/native/explorer/src/datatypes.rs
@@ -629,31 +629,42 @@ impl ExDecimal {
         }
     }
 
-    pub fn signed_coef(self) -> i128 {
-        self.sign as i128 * self.coef
+    pub fn signed_coef(self) -> Result<i128, ExplorerError> {
+        let base = self.sign as i128 * self.coef;
+        if self.exp > 0 {
+            base.checked_mul(10_i128.pow(self.exp as u32))
+                .ok_or_else(|| {
+                    ExplorerError::Other(
+                        "decimal coefficient overflow: value exceeds i128 limits".to_string(),
+                    )
+                })
+        } else {
+            Ok(base)
+        }
     }
 
     pub fn scale(self) -> usize {
-        self.exp
-            .abs()
-            .try_into()
-            .expect("cannot convert exponent (Elixir) to scale (Rust)")
+        // A positive `exp` represents an integer. Polars requires `scale == 0`
+        // for integers. The case where `exp > 0` is handled by `.signed_coef`.
+        if self.exp > 0 {
+            0
+        } else {
+            self.exp
+                .abs()
+                .try_into()
+                .expect("cannot convert exponent (Elixir) to scale (Rust)")
+        }
     }
 }
 
 impl Literal for ExDecimal {
     fn lit(self) -> Expr {
-        let size = usize::try_from(-(self.exp)).expect("exponent should fit an usize");
+        let coef = self.signed_coef().expect("decimal coefficient overflow");
+        let scale = self.scale();
+
         Expr::Literal(LiteralValue::Scalar(Scalar::new(
-            DataType::Decimal(Some(size), Some(size)),
-            AnyValue::Decimal(
-                if self.sign.is_positive() {
-                    self.coef
-                } else {
-                    -self.coef
-                },
-                size,
-            ),
+            DataType::Decimal(Some(scale), Some(scale)),
+            AnyValue::Decimal(coef, scale),
         )))
     }
 }
diff --git a/native/explorer/src/series/from_list.rs b/native/explorer/src/series/from_list.rs
index 9e6c9e866..6d0492180 100644
--- a/native/explorer/src/series/from_list.rs
+++ b/native/explorer/src/series/from_list.rs
@@ -242,12 +242,13 @@ pub fn s_from_list_decimal(
 
             TermType::Map => item
                 .decode::<ExDecimal>()
-                .map(|ex_decimal| AnyValue::Decimal(ex_decimal.signed_coef(), ex_decimal.scale()))
-                .map_err(|error| {
+                .map_err(|err| {
                     ExplorerError::Other(format!(
-                        "cannot decode a valid decimal from term; check that `coef` fits into an `i128`. error: {error:?}"
+                        "cannot decode a valid decimal from term; check that `coef` fits into an `i128`. error: {err:?}"
                     ))
-                }),
+                })
+                .and_then(|ex_decimal| Ok(AnyValue::Decimal(ex_decimal.signed_coef()?, ex_decimal.scale()))),
+
             TermType::Atom => Ok(AnyValue::Null),
 
             TermType::Float => item
diff --git a/test/explorer/series_test.exs b/test/explorer/series_test.exs
index e89fcc3ab..97d4b3605 100644
--- a/test/explorer/series_test.exs
+++ b/test/explorer/series_test.exs
@@ -1997,6 +1997,38 @@ defmodule Explorer.SeriesTest do
       assert s3.dtype == {:decimal, 38, 1}
       assert Series.to_list(s3) === [Decimal.new("2.2"), Decimal.new("4.0"), Decimal.new("6.1")]
     end
+
+    test "adding decimal series with positive and negative exponents" do
+      s1 =
+        Series.from_list([
+          Decimal.new("2.1e20"),
+          Decimal.new("-3.5e10"),
+          Decimal.new("1.5e-15"),
+          Decimal.new("1.0e2")
+        ])
+
+      s2 =
+        Series.from_list([
+          Decimal.new("1.0e20"),
+          Decimal.new("2.0e10"),
+          Decimal.new("2.5e-15"),
+          Decimal.new("5.0e-2")
+        ])
+
+      s3 = Series.add(s1, s2)
+      [v1, v2, v3, v4] = Series.to_list(s3)
+
+      assert Decimal.eq?(v1, Decimal.new("3.1e20"))
+      assert Decimal.eq?(v2, Decimal.new("-1.5e10"))
+      assert Decimal.eq?(v3, Decimal.new("4.0e-15"))
+      assert Decimal.eq?(v4, Decimal.new("100.05"))
+    end
+
+    test "overflow with values exceeding i128 limits" do
+      assert_raise RuntimeError,
+                   "Generic Error: decimal coefficient overflow: value exceeds i128 limits",
+                   fn -> Series.from_list([Decimal.new("3.4e38")]) end
+    end
   end
 
   describe "subtract/2" do