Medals and the Rarity Scale

Does anyone know of a good resource which lists rarity factors for medals? I have dozens of US & French medals where fewer than 500 were produced, but I've found that accurate records of the mintages are hard to find. Also, since medals are almost never struck in quantities comparable to most coins, would the rarity scale be different from that used for coins, i.e., Unique, <10, <100, <250, <500, etc. where 500 might be considered common?

Chris

 

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I can't help you with the rarity numbers for medals Chris, but surely they would have to be rated differently than coins are. If only 500 were minted of a certain issue and another, different medal had a mintage of 5,000 then the former would have to be considered rare or nearly so. I suppose someone could come up with a formula comparing "apples and oranges" but I don't know how relavent or acceptable to collectors it would be. I suppose the only legitimate R-factor rating would have to be a comparison of the same medal, but one issued as a series over a certain period of time. At least that way, you're comparing similar pieces. I've come up with an informal rating system that I use when comparing counterstamps to one another. If I can find more than 15/20 documented examples of a counterstamp, I consider it fairly common. As in medals, there are no formal published ratings (as far as I know ) so I make up my own based on experience.
That's a great question you posed Chris. I don't know if my answer makes any sense or not though.

Bruce

 

Thanks, Bruce, and yes, I do understand what you're saying.

It hasn't been easy trying to find such information. The only medals for which I have published mintages are my ANA Convention medals of which, the lowest mintage is 350 and the highest mintage is 500, but for anything else, all I can do is guestimate.

Chris