Rarity Scales

Twobitcollector

Did you ever wonder about the "Rarity Scales" I did and i'll share what I found out

This seems to be the standard in identifying rarity. This scale was originally designed to identify rarity of Large Cent varieties.

R1 Common, readily available
R2 Less common - Available at most shows, but in limited quantity
R3 Scarce - somewhat difficult to find, only a few likely at larger shows
R4 Very scarce - may or may not find at larger shows/auctions
R5 Rare - unlikely more than 5 at shows or auctions each year
R6 Very rare - Almost never seen, only one may be offered for sale in a year’s time
R7 Prohibitively rare - one may be offered for sale once every few years
R8 Unique, or nearly so


Sheldon Rarity Scale - Expanded
Expanded to three subclasses within each category.

R1 Common R2 501 - 1250 Known R3 201 - 500 Known
R4- 161 - 200 Known R4 116 - 160 Known R4+ 76 - 115 Known
R5- 61 - 75 Known R5 46 - 60 Known R5+ 31 - 45 Known
R6- 25 - 30 Known R6 19 - 24 Known R6+ 13 - 18 Known
R7- 10 - 12 Known R7 7 - 9 Known R7+ 4 - 6 Known

R8- 3 Known R8 2 Known R8+ 1 Known


The Universal Rarity Scale
Although this one seems to be the most logical scale it does not appear to be widely used with early American copper. It was developed by Q. David Bowers.

URS 0 None known
URS 1 1 known, unique
URS 2 2 known
URS 3 3 or 4 known
URS 4 5 to 8 known
URS 5 9 to 16 known
URS 6 17 to 32 known
URS 7 33 to 64 known
URS 8 65 to 125 known
URS 9 126 to 250 known
URS 10 251 to 500 known
URS 11 501 to 1,000 known
URS 12 1,001 to 2,000 known
URS 13 2,001 to 4,000 known
URS 14 4,001 to 8,000 known
URS 15 8,001 to 16,000 known
URS 16 16,001 to 32,000 known
URS 17 32,001 to 65,000 known
URS 18 65,001 to 125,000 known
URS 19 125,001 to 250,000 known
URS 20 250,001 to 500,000 known

Walkerguy21D

I think Broadstruck posted these along with a few others recently - hopefully he will add to this thread.

MrHalfDime

You are correct in stating that the Sheldon rarity scale was developed, ca. 1949, to quantify the estimated rarity of Large Cent die marriages. The numbers represent the total number of examples reported for a relatively small mintage series, and even smaller numbers by die marriage. Unfortunately, the Sheldon rarity scale has been used more recently to attempt to quantify larger mintage series, by date, for which it was not intended. When the Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) wrote s series of articles a few years ago, describing the relative rarity of 'varieties', or even just dates, in the various denominations of that series, it was found that the Sheldon rarity scale could not be successfully applied because the scale was developed for small quantities, and the Liberty Seated series typically had larger numbers reported, so a new and revised rarity scale was developed. The Bowers Universal Rarity Scale (URS) was developed for similar reasons, to quantify relative rarity for higher mintage series, by date. The Sheldon rarity scale is best used to describe rarity for the early Federal coins (copper, silver, and gold), by die marriage, as it was intended. For more modern series, most coins would be R1 using the Sheldon scale.

keyman64

Yup, looks right to me.

jessewvu

What scale does coinfacts use, theirs goes to 10

lkeigwin

I saved the data from Broadstruck's posting. Pretty sure this was his.
Lance.

GEORGE FULD RARITY SCALE FOR TOKEN COINS
RARITY ESTIMATED NUMBER IN EXISTENCE
R - 1 Greater than 5000 (Relatively Common)
R - 2 2001 to 5000
R - 3 501 to 2000
R - 4 201 to 500
R - 5 76 to 200
R - 6 21 to 75
R - 7 11 to 20
R - 8 5 to 10
R - 9 2 to 4
R - 10 1 Only

The Sheldon Scale
R-1 Common
R-2 Not So Common
R-3 Scarce
R-4 Very Scarce (population est at 76-200)
R-5 Rare (31-75)
R-6 Very Rare (13-30)
R-7 Extremely rare (4-12)
R-8 Unique or Nearly So (1,2 or 3)

The Universal Rarity Scale by Q. David Bowers
URS-0 None known
URS-1 1 known, unique
URS-2 2 known
URS-3 3 or 4 known
URS-4 5 to 8 known
URS-5 9 to 16 known
URS-6 17 to 32 known
URS-7 33 to 64 known
URS-8 65 to 125 known
URS-9 126 to 250 known
URS-10 251 to 500 known
URS-11 501 to 1,000 known
URS-12 1,001 to 2,000 known
URS-13 2,001 to 4,000 known
URS-14 4,001 to 8,000 known
URS-15 8,001 to 16,000 known
URS-16 16,001 to 32,000 known
URS-17 32,001 to 65,000 known
URS-18 65,001 to 125,000 known
URS-19 125,001 to 250,000 known
URS-20 250,001 to 500,000 known

From the degrees of Rarity as defined in Scholten in Coins of the Dutch Overseas Territories
Scholten Description
C Common
N Normal
S Scarce
R Rare
RR Very Rare
RRR Extremely Rare
RRRR Of the utmost rarity

Michael Marsh in his book The Gold Sovereign expands the last rarity.
Marsh Description
R4 15 to 25 examples known
R5 9 to 14 examples known
R6 4 to 8 examples known
R7 Highest rarity known

Andrew Pollock in his book US Patterns uses the rarity as,
Marsh Description
R1 over 1250 examples known
R2 500 to 1250 examples known
R3 201 to 500 examples known
R4 76 to 200 examples known
R5 31 to 75 examples known
R6 13 to 30 examples known
R7 4 to 12 Highest rarity known
R8 2 or 3 examples known

Overton (and bust half collectors as a whole) use the Sheldon Rarity System where:
R1 is common (1000+ pieces known)
R2 is Slightly uncommon (501-1000 pieces known)
R3 is Scarce (201-500 pieces known)
R4 is Very Scarce (81-200 pieces known)
R5 is Rare (31-80 pieces known)
R6 is Very Rare (13-30 pieces known)
R7 is Extremely Rare (4-12 pieces known)
R8 is Unique or nearly so (1-3 pieces known)

English Rarity Scale - from The English Silver Coinage from 1649 by Seaby & Rayner.
R7 - only 1 or 2 examples known
R6 - 3 - 4
R5 - 5 - 10
R4 - 11 - 20
R3 - Extremely Rare
R2 - Very Rare
R - Rare
S - Scarce
N - Normal, neither scarce nor common
C - Common
C2 - Very Common
C3 - Extremely Common

Hard Times tokens rarity scale
R1 - common
R2 - less common
R3 - Scarce
R4 - estimated 76-200 specimens survive
R5 - estimated 31-75 specimens survive
R6 - estimated 13-30 specimens survive
R7 - estimated 4-12 specimens survive
R8 - estimated 2 or 3 specimens survive
R9 - Unique (only one known)

keyman64

I think the next time I reference RARITY for a coin in a post I will bring up EVERY FREAKING SCALE Lance just mentioned and then also come up with one of my own for fun.