There have been threads on rarity scales here before. Phil has made some excellent points about problems and potential solutions. I really hope when Numisdocs has leadership that this could be explored more thoroughly.
For example, I live in the USA. According to accepted rarity scales most coins issued, if not all, would not appear on a rarity scale. But some miniature economies issue coins that would all appear on rarity scales.
I am unusual here in the midwest in that I collect world coins from these tiny economies. I have coins R5,R6,R7,R8, and maybe even an R9. So I asked because a mintage of 1,250 is a common mintage, moreso 3,000 or higher. And if it is unknown, then to call it rare seems hyperbolic at best. I hope Numista can try and develope a scale that we all can relate to. But i dont know if it is possible. Some folks complain if their ice cream is cold...
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I think there is another possibility that make the 'rare' issue of a coin even more difficult. Just because a certain number were known to be minted, that may no longer apply to the actual number that is still around, or even available for sale. This sometimes puts the prices up.
I have seen silver coins with a 10,000 mintage priced higher than a coin with a 5,000 mintage, just because the dealer had not seen for sometime.
This, I think, make the dedication of 'rare' very difficult.
Quote: "COINMAN1"I think there is another possibility that make the 'rare' issue of a coin even more difficult. Just because a certain number were known to be minted, that may no longer apply to the actual number that is still around, or even available for sale. This sometimes puts the prices up.
I have seen silver coins with a 10,000 mintage priced higher than a coin with a 5,000 mintage, just because the dealer had not seen for sometime.
This, I think, make the dedication of 'rare' very difficult.
See Hungary KM#518.2 year 1941. 22.500.000 pieces were minted, but a VF coin costs $100-150 here in Hungary, because it's very rare... What happened with the more than 20 million coins? No one knows.