Rare or Uncommon? A Discussion of Rarity
When describing a coin there are different aspect that make up the value or perceived worth for a collector or investor. One aspect is population , though this should not be confused with rarity. While rarity is based on population it is also determined by population of the particular grade of that particular type/pattern. A coin is rare can be described as rare, uncommon, hard to find or just very popular, but nothing beats actual figures or the number of coins for the type, grade or pattern.
However, the term “rare” is often thrown around way too often in places like eBay or TV ads that show a very common coin labeled as rare. Let’s state it simply, if a coin is rare you will never see it available on TV, eBay or in publication for sale, unless it’s a Heritage Auction Galleries publication or an article chronicling the story behind the rarity.
I mean never, will you see a rare coin in public.
A rare coin could be more accurately described as a coin that is only a handful among many. Many examples can be seen in the book 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. By this example, rare would mean only 5 examples exist, in the world! Nothing be said about quality, just five specimens in existence, period.
Often modern coins could not be designated rare unless in exceptional circumstances. A few examples being; a proof or mint state coin that has yet to be graded as a 70 in the Sheldon grading scale (making it the only one in existence), a circulation quality coin in the high MS 60’s (again, making it the only known example) or a very low population coin in the 70 grade point (such as the earlier modern commemoratives that did not sell very well).
More often than not, classic coins are attributed with the term rare mainly because a century or more has passed, much of that period being cycles in the market where the coins were actually used for commercial use, the coins disappearing for any reason, turned in for melting or lost to mysteriously hoarded collection.
Let me know what you think is rare?
