Rating

Info removed, my apologies, I did not notice the Ancient grouping. ...exit stage left.

I think the tables oih82w8 has provided may be more geared towards modern coins - unfortunately the RIC ratings are not consistant across the 10 volumes. They were written over a period of about 100 years so I guess we can forgive them that. Below is the best overview I can come up with, taken from Danes 'Helvetica' website:

http://www.catbikes.ch/coinstuff/coins-ric.htm

RIC I (New edition, 1984)
C: Common to very common
S: Scarce
R: Rare
R2: 11-15 known
R3: 6 to 10 known
R4: 2 to 5 known
R5: Unique

RIC II (late 1920's), RIC III (1930), RIC IV-1 & 2 (1934), RIC V-1 & 2 (1927/1933)
CC: Very common
C: Common
S: Scarce
R: Rare
R2-R5: "additional degrees of rarity" (R5 is usually unique)

RIC VI Rarity ratings (1967)
C2: Common in every major collection
C: In every major collection
S: In most major collections
R: 26-50 known
R2: 11-25 known
R3: 6-10 known
R4: 2-5 coins known
R5: Unique

RIC VII Rarity ratings (1966)
C3: more than 41 known
C2: 31-40 known
C1: 22-30 known
S: 16-21 known
R1: 11-15 known
R2: 7-10 known
R3: 4-6 known
R4: 2-3 known
R5: Unique

RIC VIII Rarity ratings (1981)
No information at all (at least, I can't find it!) Presumeably similar to RIC VII

RIC IX Rarity ratings (1933)
C3 - C: "increasing degrees of commonness"
S: Scarce
R - R4: "increasing degrees of rarity"
R5: Unique

It must also be remembered that these were all based on what coins were found in major collections while the books were being compiled so while they do give a relative rarity rating they can be misleading.

After R5 I guess you get 'Not in RIC' which means the coins were not in any collection studied when a particular book was compiled but the coins have been discovered and recorded since.

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/no...c/index.html

Your coin was RIC VII R2 so that means that in the 1960s in the collections used to compile that volume only 7-10 were known of. I'm afraid I dont know how many collections they used to compile their figures.

Thanks bobby! That makes me feel a little better.

I don't even know what the Z on that coin means or stands for.

I actually have 7 of these coins.. I can't find anymore.

Forgive me from butting in, but if you, a relative new comer to this area of numismatics, have seven coins of one type rated a supposedly R2, something smells fishy to me. Its possible, I admit, but not probable. I have a substantial collection and only have half a dozen or so that are considered rare.

And as Bobbyhelmet has pointed out, there have been tons of coins discovered since these coins were last rated. And every time a hoard is discovered, it is likely many rare issues are found not to be rare any longer.

I have never purchased a coin because of its rarity. Rather because I want it, like it, or need it for my collection. Many times I look at coins I have not seen for sale before and find I have an interest in this coin's appearance. That may mean it is rare, but it could also mean just that I haven't seen it before. I'm currently watching one one ebay now. I like the coin. I'm not watching it because it may be rare. Bottom line is that if you buy coins that are rare today for their relative value based on that rarity, tomorrow, when they find another 10,000 coins somewhere, your coin may be worth, well, whatever common coins of that type will be worth.

I hope your coins turn out to be whatever you hope for, Good luck. Oh, and

Regards,

JW

After I wrote last, I did a very quick search and found at least three coins I think match your coin and none say anything of rarity. Does this coin look like yours?







The mere fact I could find these relatively easily and quickly is telling in and of itself.

JW

No! RIC rating numbers to not pretend to indicate the number of coins in existence. When the books were written, the authors surveyed a number of big public collections - mostly museums. The number of these institutions that had the coin was reflected in the are number. If almost all had it, the coin was a C; a few might be R1 and only one would be R5. As Bobby's chart shows the exact counts varied by volume. There is nothing about the system that would count the coins in my collection or yours or the 100,00 other people who own ancient coins. If an unknown coin was found in a hoard and the finding museum gave one to each of their fellow museums, the coin could be common even if there is not another specimen in existence. If a pot of one million examples of something previously unknown was found after the RIC volume went to press it would be possible for you to have a handful of an R5 and each of us could, too. I was once shown a group of 5 examples of the same R5 so 'Unique' was not the word to use.

It is a guide but don't take it too seriously. On average it is pretty good but the 2-3 known business is a joke used by those who don't know to fool people who know even less.

Everyone has their reasons for collecting and for collecting a particular subject matter. I started out trying to get at least one of each of the accepted Roman emperors. I'm shy of that by better than a dozen and I've been at it for some time. Of course, I've branched off to other areas, i.e., the first 12 Caesars. As I said, I would never collect based solely on rarity, but rather on desire. Good luck to you and hey, stay connected on this forum. Its very interesting and educational. Fun too.

JW

I don't know Bobbhelmet, I was born some time ago, in the long forgotten days of yesteryear.

JW