Is a coin RARE if less than 75 are known to exist?

relayer

I was watching a program on the auctioning of the 1933 Double Eagle and one of the factoids they put on the screen was that to be considered a rare coin, less than 75 are know to exist. Is this the definition of rare?

TV teaches us things and makes us smart.

KlectorKid

I dont know, if so very few people have rare coins.

danglen

As stated previously in another thread, a "rare" coin is one I don't currently posess.

RotatedRainbows

Using the universally recognized rarity rating less then 80 (R5) is considered rare.

lathmach

Yes, 31 to 75 is Rarity 5, which is the defination of Rare.

Ray

GDJMSP

Their are many rarity scales in use - and most of them have differences. Some have 8 classifications - some have 10 - some have 20 - some have more. And they are all different as to where they draw the line as to what defines rare. So the deffinition of rarity is up to the individual.

supercoin

The "universally recognized" rarity scale doesn't live up to its name, I'm afraid.

This is rare:

BillJones

It depends upon the series. If it's a Civil War token that is not popular, I'd say it’s scarce at best. If there were an Indian cent that lots of collectors wanted, it would be rare. Back when Sheldon wrote the second edition of his cent book (Penny Whimsy) he called R-5 rare. Today I’d say that is true today with gusto.

I’ll just say this. If you collect items from the 19th century to at least a moderate extent you will be collecting at some “rare” items if less than 75 KNOWN is your standard. This is the point that many of us make when we are discussing the classic vs. modern discussions. Using that definition I have many “rare” items in my collection, I have paid less than $100 for some of them and less than $1,000 for many of them.

leothelyon

Depends if there are more then 75 people collecting that coin. lol This reminds me of a story where a grandpa was showing his grandson a coin and tells the young lad that there are only two like it in the world. The boy looked real surprised and said Wow that coin must be worth millions. But grandpa comes back and says, 'No, not really because the only other guy who collects these, has one.

Leo

roadrunner

Regardless on what the demand is for a coin, it is considered rare if < 75 are known. It makes no difference if no one cares. It's still rare.

roadrunner

gemtone65

I was at an ANA show about 20 years ago and I passed Abe Kossoff's table. I asked if he was interested in looking at my coins, and he responded by saying: "do you have any coins for sale that are rare?" I just happened to have one of my pattern duplicates with me -- it was J.1115, which is R-7. So, I said to him proudly, "Is about 10 minted rare enough?" And he said "Not necessarily."

So, I sold the coin to Jim Halperin instead.

Conder101

Well Kosoff was right, a mintage of 10 might not be rare enough. . . if there are only 5 collectors. But by definition your duplicate was rare.