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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 3837372, member: 57495&quot;]I find that it&#039;s hard to ever talk about rarity without also considering desirability.&nbsp; The ongoing sales of BCD&#039;s Thessalian coins have been instructive.</p><p><br /></p><p>This small bronze of Pherai struck by the tyrant Alexander is distinctive, historically interesting, and while scarce, has never been outright rare.&nbsp; This particular example, described as &quot;Good VF... exceptional for issue&quot;, hammered for $2000 in 2011. </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://cngcoins.com/photos/enlarged/87000422.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>This other example, in 2013, went for $1900:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://cngcoins.com/photos/enlarged/3110308.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Examples in lower grades sold around the same time still fetched between $500 and $900.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Fast forward a few years later to the BCD sales ongoing since 2016, and the type seems to have become a fair bit more common, and apparently A LOT less desirable. This &quot;VF&quot; I picked up in 2017 hammered for $80.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://cngcoins.com/photos/enlarged/4050109.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Some others have gone for as little as $55 before fees.&nbsp; If those &quot;exceptional&quot; coins were sold today, would they fetch anywhere near $2k?&nbsp; Or closer to $200?&nbsp; Grade and rarity are both important, but desirability trumps all.&nbsp; As a collector, I&#039;m happy when types I desire become less desirable to everyone else.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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