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 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,268 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
In thinking about the rarest coin, we might bring up the 1913 Liberty nickel (5 minted) or the 1894-S dime (24 minted). But those were not regular issues and obviously are not ever going to a part of anybody's normal collection. So what do you think is the rarest coin that might find its way into your collection one day (or maybe not yours, but perhaps someone who is more or less a normal coin collector)? Remember, rarity is not necessarily reflected by mintage. |
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Valued Member
Canada
156 Posts |
The rarest coin(s) that could some day be acquired an average Canadian collector, I would say would be the 1921 5 cent and 1921 50 cent pieces.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3345 Posts |
Rarity is most definetly affected by mintage, unless you're talking about coins that were melted down and thus have low populations. but the rarest coin my collection now is the 1982 no P dime, no one has any idea of how many of those were made. or do they? i would hope to have some rare Barber dimes some day, and probably the 1916D merc eventually. but I have know idea what coins will end up in my collections. who knows what I will find? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1699 Posts |
I think there isa good estimate for the no P 82 dimes. Can't remember exact figure but it is many thousands, estimated. Most of which are uncirculated.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2868 Posts |
There are some modern issues from Africian counteries with ultra low mintages - around 5 coins or so.
My avatar is unique - and I have collected it - so I guess that counts too :)
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Moderator
 Australia
16806 Posts |
Bacchus2 makes a good point: while rarity is not necessarily related to mintage, neither is it necessarily related to value. With ancient coins and other "fringe areas" of numismatics, it is entirely possible to purchase unique coins - the only example known to exist in the entire world - extremely cheaply. They are affordable and available, because in ancient and mediaeval numismatics virtually no-one is interested in pursuing every single variety and variation, especially if the series is not well documented. It's a situation that cannot exist for machine-struck mass-produced modern coins.
Of course, with ancients these days, "unique" is not necessarily permanent. In a French museum there's a famous "unique coin" of "Emperor Domitian II"; at least, it was unique, until they dug up another one in England a few years ago.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Ignoring ancients, there's always various fancy bullion (don't know what the correct word is). A lot of these have mintages in the thousands, many in the hundreds; yet most of them are very much affordable to the average collector ($100-150 is considered affordable right?) - which probably has to do with incredibly low interest.
Then again, in the world of bullion, a 50,000 mintage is considered common, and having less than a thousand isn't something unusual either. In fact many of the huge pieces - 1kg and more - had some crazy small mintages like 15 coins (admittedly they aren't really all that affordable either).
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Well I have at least three pieces which are currently unique, two pieces with two known, one with three known, one that had an original mintage of 48, several with original mintages under 200, maybe three dozen where fewer the 75 pieces are known. It is possible for even someone with a limited budget to acquire some truly rare pieces.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
I would say the rarest collectable I have is a bright purple Zincoln.  It apparently circulated for many years, with a piece of Scotch tape on both top and bottom, and when I took a little peroxide to it to loosen the tape, I was left with a royal-violet penny. I also have an IHC that was cleaned (gently, but harshly enough to remove the original toning--based on the lack of brush marks I suspect it was a chemical soak), and it retoned in a perfect replication of a sunset, from light to dark, top to bottom. It's beautiful and no amount of "yeah, but it was CLEANED!!" will budge me on its loveliness. Valuable, probably not, but oh so pretty. As for "other people would agree on the rarity" pieces, I have a Civil War-era IHC that's a metal curiosity because it wasn't minted in copper, and also there are the notorious 1909-S V.D.B. and 1914-D that I'll have to save my big bucks for someday. |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Quote:<A>nd also there are the notorious 1909-S V.D.B. and 1914-D that I'll have to save my big bucks for someday. That's more notorious than rare actually my suggestion is, buy an 1857 large cent: it's significantly older, cheaper, and rarer (as far as mintages go... admittedly if we consider surviving pieces it's probably an even larger disparity). |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 1,268 |
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Posted 12/14/2012 11:59 pm
