What makes it rare? posted by C Bower

[CSJournals-migration]

Just a bit a ramble on a topic that bugs me.

 

I have always been intrigued by the entries in price guides where instead of a dollar value it just says "RARE". As a child when flipping through my copy of "A Guide Book of United States Coins" I would see that and think, maybe one of these will show up in change or maybe I will find one at the coin shop in the 25 cent each bin. Of course as I got older reality set in. Now I just hope to able to say I saw one in a museum or a colleague's collection.

 

As many of us do I spend time on Ebay and other sites looking for hidden gems or items to fill holes in my collection. It always bothers me when I see sellers throw around the word rare in the description. Recently on Ebay I did a search under the broad category of coins and paper money and found 86541 items with rare in the title. I then did the same search for anything with a Buy It Now price of $100 or less and this trimmed the list to only 39811 items. Really, I thought. There are almost 40,000 items in coins and paper money for less than $100 that somebody considers to be rare.

 

I know you can't and shouldn't tell sellers how to market there products but it seems to me they could use a different tactic. My guess is that the seller hopes the buyer will see that word and without doing there homework will pull the trigger and make the purchase. Personally I avoid the word when I sell items.

 

I did scroll thru the first couple of pages of the 40,000 item list before there was an item of any interest to click on. A 1915 Italy 2 Lire coin. There were only 7,948,000 minted. The seller claims it is in VF condition. In said condition it carries a value of $22.50. Maybe there is some unknown to me history of this coin that makes it rare......but I doubt it.

 

As I have grown older the focus of my personal collection has grown to include a lot of world coins. I was fortunate enough recently to purchase one of those elusive items marked rare in "The Standard Catalog of World Coins". It is a 1795C 6 Kreuzer from Austria. (2794688-001) I know it is probably not a highly sought after piece and to honest despite it being NGC Graded XF45 it is no where near one of the most attractive pieces I possess. In truth I believe it to be over graded. I still get a thrill knowing it is in my collection.

 

See more journals by C Bower

[namvette68]

I have a NGC graded coin that has a mint population of 10. I consider it to be rare, and it is the highest graded in the World. If only I could find a buyer. My searching paid off in a way, but I will pass on, and no one will even know it's worth.

[Texans Coins]

For me, rare refers either to montage or grade. The 1913 Liberty Nickle with a mintage of 5 is pretty rare. A coin that was not saved in large numbers and is hard to find in Mint State, is rare for the grade.

 

I laugh at the EBay listings that have rare in them, especially when they are attached to modern circulating coins. State quarters, with the exception of the Wisconsin Leaf Error are on the opposite side of rare.

 

Marcus

[MarkFeld]

Some people use the word "rare" in order to distinguish non-billion ("rare") coins from bullion (non-"rare") pieces.

 

And then, of course, many others simply use the term "rare" in order to hype them.

[MarkFeld]

For me, rare refers either to montage or grade. The 1913 Liberty Nickle with a mintage of 5 is pretty rare. A coin that was not saved in large numbers and is hard to find in Mint State, is rare for the grade.

 

I laugh at the EBay listings that have rare in them, especially when they are attached to modern circulating coins. State quarters, with the exception of the Wisconsin Leaf Error are on the opposite side of rare.

 

Marcus

 

Regardless of what you might think of them, 1913 Liberty Nickels, with a mintage and population of just 5 pieces, are extremely (not "pretty") rare

[RWB]

A "rare" coin is one you don't have....

[New York-migration]

I prefer "scarce".