What Do You Consider "Rare"?

Terry8835 wrote:


In the context of coins, and collectibles in general, demand is influenced by the spread of knowledge, be it genuine or perceived. This is why collectors are wise to buy the book(s) before the coin. Here are two cases on point ...

Some years ago, I attended an antique auction. While there were a number of currency lots, most of the items were non-numismatic, and there appeared to be but a few knowledgeable collectors who were bidding. At the time, average circulated, small size, $1 silver certificates would wholesale for about a 15-25% premium, or about $1.25, each or less. These $1 notes realized in excess of $9.00, apiece, and there was a group of them!

Since silver was above the $9 an ounce level at the time, I suspect that the price was driven skyward by perceived knowledge that these noes were still redeemable - which they were not. The bidding demand was driven by a sense that one could profit from the purchase.

Fast forward to another antique auction that I attended some years following. There was a bundle of twenty-five, circulated, $1 silver certificates in a showcase. I asked to see them, after which they were returned to the case. When the bills were sold, buy the piece, I took them all for $1.55, each. Apparently, I was the only one with the knowledge that they all bore the "funny-money" reverse, and I quickly flipped them to a dealer. If any other bidders at the auction had the knowledge I did that day, the demand, hence the price, would have gone up.

this is a good topic!, esp since availability doesn't always reflect rarity. I think I consider rare , less than 75 examples. , and half that number being problem free.

What do you consider a coin with less than 75 known and most all of them WITH problems?

A lot of the Seated coins would fall under my definition of rare

I have to agree with Jpsend because I want a number of coins to really finish sets, but I can't afford to get them in decent condition. They might as well be on the surface of the moon. They are as rare to me as moon rocks and I don't even know if those are rare. A coin that costs $40,000 to me is a rare as one that costs $200,000. I would only buy them as investments and coins are a poor short term investment. If you have 40 years ahead of you to collect then I think they are a good investment and a good collectable just like fine art can both be enjoyed for its own sake and also has investment potential. If you are going to plunk down $50,000 for a coin you have to be hoping that you can at least get your money back in ten years. We might talk about "scarce" coins. Most of us are shooting for scarce coins at reasonable prices.

Technically not! Then rare for me would be a common silver dime, because I have spend about every dollar of my money on coins!

Rarity should be based on mintage. If a coin has a mintage of 500, and only 50 remain is it still rare? Now if there was only 25 collectors of this item, would it be called rare? Some proof coins fall into this category.

Rarity is total extant survivors, not availability. There are only 4 of an R-7 pattern I was looking at, but only 2-3 collectors of it, so it kept showing up in the marketplace. You had many opportunities to get one. If all 4 ever got into strong collector hands, it could be decades before you ever see it again. Its a $3,000 coin as it is.