trying to read and display data from ttyUSB0

Im trying to read and display a data string from ttyUSB0 with a Raspberry Pi. The data is a decimal number. There are two conditions 1) the number is static but repeated over and over or 2) continuously changing. The command stty raw -echo < /dev/ttyUSB0; cat -vte /dev/ttyUSB0 produces this typicaly on the terminal line ^@^X^XM-^XM-f^XM-^F~M-^XM-xM-^X^^^@^X^XM-^XM-f^XM-^F~M-^XM-xM-^X^^^@^X^XM-^XM-f^... Ultimately I would like to display this number on the terminal screen in a large high contrast font. There may be easier better ways to access the data string... tried using Python Serial module but couldn't get it to work... newbie retread here - simple is good!
Thanks for your help