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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 3984278, member: 19463&quot;]This question is one with no good answer.&nbsp; Rarity means nothing without demand or interest in the coin.&nbsp; There may be 100 EID MAR denarii but there are over a thousand people (10,000?) who would like one so it is &#039;rare&#039; in that sense.&nbsp; On the other hand, there are coins that exist in only one or a few examples but no one cares so the type is lumped with other items of the same ruler unless they end up in a collection owned by one person who cares (usually after deciding the coin is rare).&nbsp; It makes no difference whatsoever how many were made but how many survived and still exist.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Many of us have at least one coin that we have never seen offered or listed in public collections.&nbsp; My experience in this has been that coins I thought to be unique become less so as our experience increases.&nbsp; Lately we have been blessed with more online resources than previously including some great collections like the British Museum. (Hint: They have added many coins since their books were published.) A coin I once thought to be one of three became one of five when the BM posted the two that they own.&nbsp; Here on Coin Talk, many of my &#039;rare&#039; treasures were downgraded when I found that Martin owned one.&nbsp; There is no way of knowing how may people there are out there who own coins I would like to see but remain silent for a lifetime.&nbsp; If collections are passed down in the family and not sent off to market, it is quite possible for a rarity to remain unknown for a century.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I have during the past thirty years of Internet access posted several requests that people report to me if they know of another example of some coins I find of interest but never hear a report or get an offer to sell me one.&nbsp; That does not mean the item does not exist.&nbsp; That does not mean some museum does not have a bucket full of them.&nbsp; That does not mean the current owner of a coin even knows it is different from a thousand other coins.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I would love to hear how people expect to discover how many of something exists under the current circumstances.&nbsp; I suspect 95% of all collectors do so in private and 95% of public holdings remain less than fully cataloged let alone published in a manner that someone could discover their contents.&nbsp; We have old publications that include coins that probably ceased to exist due to war, theft/melting or &#039;bronze disease&#039;.&nbsp; We are told stories about coins that were rare but not all of them are known publicly today.&nbsp; Years ago I was told that there was only one aureus of Pescennius Niger but it was destroyed in &#039;The War&#039;.&nbsp; More recently I have seen at least half a dozen but have no idea if the lost one is included or how many more there are.&nbsp; For that matter, I have no idea if someone reading this owns one and is not saying. </p><p><br /></p><p>I do suggest being a little careful when tempted to pay a &#039;unique&#039; price for a coin.&nbsp; I would love to know how we are to know the count.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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