The most over-used and misunderstood word in Numismatics.
keets
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For me, that one word is RARE. It gets used in everyday talk about coins, it's included in many dealer names, gets associated with populous coins because of a grade or variety and seems accepted by most.
What I find peculiar is that many coins spoken of as rare are actually quite available all the time. How rare can a coin actually be if it's easily found? Often, the term is used by knowledgeable Numismatists when there is really no way of knowing the actual limited population of a coin. It's speculated as being rare based on historical mintage figures and perceived attrition rates and the vague estimates are taken as Gospel. Conversely, when an issue in a certain verifiable condition is called rare it will be pointed out that it's mintage is such-and-such a number.
What strikes me as peculiar is the notion that a coin needs to be old to be rare or that a recent issue cannot be rare. The one truth about the term rare when associated with modern issues is that there is truly no "Mintage" rarities that aren't a die variety, error or something of that ilk, at least none that come readily to my mind. Classics, on the other hand, have some very well known rarities, but again, for the most part they are shrouded in special circumstances. At least that's my limited belief. Some coins that never get mentioned as rare are probably the ones that really are, issues which are known to have had limited mintages and obviously were lost to time for various reasons. Others might be certain small proof issues which were legitimate but have uncertain numbers.
Any thoughts on this?? Any speculation on an issue which you believe to be "rare" but is really unproveable or accepted as such, yet?? One that comes to my mind for no apparent reason is an 1846-0 $2 1/2 gold.
Thanks for your indulgence.
Al H.
What I find peculiar is that many coins spoken of as rare are actually quite available all the time. How rare can a coin actually be if it's easily found? Often, the term is used by knowledgeable Numismatists when there is really no way of knowing the actual limited population of a coin. It's speculated as being rare based on historical mintage figures and perceived attrition rates and the vague estimates are taken as Gospel. Conversely, when an issue in a certain verifiable condition is called rare it will be pointed out that it's mintage is such-and-such a number.
What strikes me as peculiar is the notion that a coin needs to be old to be rare or that a recent issue cannot be rare. The one truth about the term rare when associated with modern issues is that there is truly no "Mintage" rarities that aren't a die variety, error or something of that ilk, at least none that come readily to my mind. Classics, on the other hand, have some very well known rarities, but again, for the most part they are shrouded in special circumstances. At least that's my limited belief. Some coins that never get mentioned as rare are probably the ones that really are, issues which are known to have had limited mintages and obviously were lost to time for various reasons. Others might be certain small proof issues which were legitimate but have uncertain numbers.
Any thoughts on this?? Any speculation on an issue which you believe to be "rare" but is really unproveable or accepted as such, yet?? One that comes to my mind for no apparent reason is an 1846-0 $2 1/2 gold.
Thanks for your indulgence.
Al H.
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Paul in Pine Hill
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My ebay auctions
I've seen goldish brown toned coins called, "rainbow". Even PCI misuses it on their inserts.
And on eBay? Forget about it! Check under 'rainbow' as a key word as see what you find!
peacockcoins
The Ludlow Brilliant Collection (1938-64)
When I tell non-collectors I collect coins, I sometimes say "rare coins" because I don't want to give the impression that I collect the change I find every day.
When I talk to collectors, I of course use the term to describe something of more extreme rarity in numismatic circles, such as Draped Bust coinage in MS grades or Chain Cents. I certainly wouldn't use it to describe red Wheat Cents or MS Peace dollars.
When I discuss coins with non-collectors, I frequently tell them that what is rare or unusual to them is frequently common in collecting circles, like recently when someone showed me a 1942 Mercury Dime which probably graded about F-12. That was the first one she had ever seen, but those of us in collecting know that MS grades are common. Perhaps this is the justification for some of these ads in advertising their coins as rare. After all, most non-collectors probably have never seen a true, uncirculated Morgan dollar.
Here is an example:
Link
Kind of like the comedian with the "you know you're a redneck when".......
Well, if you got a bank bag full of them, it's probably not as rare as you think.
You are doing well, subject 15837. You are a good person.
SHOULD mean your coin's value is $0.00. Too often, it's used to denigrate coins with a retail value of $25 or less.
What is rare? Recently I've been thinking of working on a Three Cent Nickel date set and in my pre-research phase I of course looked about the web to see what things cost, and how easy it is to find them.
The hardest coin of course is the 1877 which has a mintage of only 510 in proof.
A 125 year old coin with a mintage of 510. That sounds pretty darn rare to me.
But in an hour of looking, I found two of them for sale at various dealer sites. So for the exchange of a a few thousand dollars, I could have one (and I'd be pleased to own either). So, while expensive to get, it was not all that hard to find. That doesn't seem so rare to me any longer, just painful to my bank account.
On the other hand there is a CD single (I collect all forms of CD's released by a favorite musical artist of mine) that if I find it, would cost about $3.00. I've spent 6 years looking for one of these disks, and have never seen on for sale anyplace. It's just not out there. They made a few thousand, but they are all hiding from me. I deam that disk RARE. There is a market for it with no supply.
I guess that I have some form of internal idea of 'rare' that sort of equals "If I can imagine that I could find and own it, how rare can it be?" Very subjective. Which makes me think we'll all have our own definition based on what level of expense we can lavish on our collections, and our ability to find stuff.
When I was ten I never thought I could own a proof coin made before 1940. I never saw them at coin shows, and looking at the mintages in the red book they seemed impossibly rare to me. "They only made 1350... most must have been lost by now... I never see them at shows" was my thinkign then. I just could not imagine getting one. They were rare. Today I can look over at my Liberty Nickel set on the wall and see 20 of them in Proof. I don't think they are rare anymore. Just harder to find.
I think that the coins that the members here will call rare, are ones that we want, but can't find at any price.
Myriads
Forbid it, Almighty God!
I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
~PATRICK HENRY~
Devised by Q. David Bowers, originally appearing in his book “Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars Of The United States” published in 1993.
Universal Rarity Scale – 0 = None known
URS – 1 = 1 known, unique
URS – 2 = 2 known extremely rare
URS – 3 = 3 or 4 extremely rare
URS – 4 = 5 to 8 extremely rare
URS – 5 = 9 to 16 very rare
URS – 6 = 17 to 32 very rare
URS – 7 = 33 to 64 rare
URS – 8 = 65 to 124 rare
URS – 9 = 125 to 249 rare
URS – 10 = 250 to 499 extremely scarce
URS – 11 = 500 to 999 extremely scarce
URS – 12 = 1,000 to 1,999 scarce
URS – 13 = 2,000 to 3,999 scarce
URS – 14 = 4,000 to 7,999 semi-scarce
URS – 15 = 8,000 to 15,999 semi-scarce
URS – 16 = 16,000 to 31,999 common
URS – 17 = 32,000 to 64,999 common
URS – 18 = 65,000 to 124,999 common
URS – 19 = 125,000 to 249,999 very common
URS – 20 = 250,000 to 499,999 very common
URS – 21 = 500,000 to 999,999 very common
URS – 22 = 1,000,000 to 1,999,999 very common
URS – 23 = 2,000,000 to 3,999,999 very common
URS – 24 = 4,000,000 to 7,999,999 very common
URS – 25 = 8,000,000 to 15,999,999 very common
URS – 26> = same progression
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since 8/1/6
We'll use our hands and hearts and if we must we'll use our heads.
Nickels made it understandable at my level.
(excerpted)
"...Hoarding or price fluctuations can affect the actual availability in the marketplace, but true rarity is
based on mintage and survivorship."
R1 - Common: Available at any coin show
R2: A better date: Available at some small shows and all larger ones
R3: A tough date: Available only at larger shows
R4: Scarce: May not be available at larger shows
R5: Very scarce: Only a few will be available in a year's time
R6: Extremely scare: Seldom available
R7: Rare: 4-10 pieces known
R8: Very rare: Less than 4 pieces known.
I presume that's if you hit most of the smaller and larger shows around?
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Coins can be rare in certain grades and I have no problem using the term rare in describing these coins provided it is clearly referenced as a condition rarity as opposed to simply rare.
If the hobby had a governing body worth a crap, they would have long ago addressed this sort of thing (along with many other issues) and attempted to distance the used car-coin dealers from the respected numismatists and dealers within the industry.
When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.
Thomas Paine
Most misunderstood... here are a few I think of:
Die doubling vs. machine doubling
Rainbow toning vs. happens to have an arc of color
Die variety
Of course, there's also Very Rare (<50), Extremely Rare (<20), Almost Unique (<5) and Unique (1 or 2)
Coins that have a few hundred to a few thousand out there are scarce, but available. cost will vary, depending if they are just kind of scarce or are Very scarce. (but not rare)
the same scale can be used to describe condition rarities (ie, there are tens of millions of these, but this is one of the 10 best, etc.) , or coins of any other subset of a much larger number, such as coins that Eliasberg or Bass or Elvis or Marilyn once owned, or rare or unique types of errors or toning or other "exceptions" rarities, in a way every coin is unique if looked at closely enough, and if the uniqueness adds interest it might add value, as in beautiful toning or a nice pedigree, even if the coin without those "add ons" is no big deal as far as rarity.
Personally, I'm a lot more interested in something that's absolutely rather than conditionally rare, but understand that other folks prefer the opposite.
As far as "rare" being misused, it sure is and so are all the other catchphrases mentioned so far.
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