Quality vs. Rarity vs. Value

Casabrown

Folks,

I read a very interesting article in this month's Numismatist that really stimulated me (and believe me, it takes a lot these days). These terms are often used (and at times, abused) in our hobby. For the sake of brevity, I will quickly state the definitions. Rarity is the number of coins of a specific date/mint/variety that still remain (not the number that were minted) and condition rarity is the number of coins at a specific condition. Value is the amount that a buyer is willing to spend and depends on the number of buyers and sellers that exist at a particular time. Thus, the value can increase or decrease over time depending on the number of buyers and sellers in the market. Finally, quality is based upon a number of numismatic (eye appeal, luster, etc.) and non-numismatic attributes.

It would be interesting to hear from members of the Board as to how they feel about these three terms and which would they choose as their top priority. In your comments, please specify whether you view yourself as collector or dealer (even those of you who do both, no cheating -- you must choose).

Casabrown

BigD5

Eye appeal, and I don't group eye appeal with quality, per say. Rarity next, condition rarity does almost nothing for me and I group value with demand. Early commem's can be a good example there. Demand starts to rise, and they seem like a good value. Demand slows down, and their value factor diminishes.

Dealer/collector.

michael

EYE APPEAL in the quality category IS first and foremost for me


collector


michael