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Message:: [QUOTE="GDJMSP, post: 639011, member: 112"]Well, they asked for numbers relating to the "global rare coin industry". To me, industry encompasses everything. And I rather think that's how they intended it as well. That means what all the world mints produce for sale to collectors, what all the dealers & auction houses buy & sell and what all the collectors buy & sell privately. And you also have to bear in mind that when it comes to coins, these folks are novices - they know virtually nothing. Just like John Q. Public, the rare coin industry would cover all coins from those minted today to those minted by the Lydians almost 3,000 years ago. The one thing the phrase would not encompass would be coins minted for the purpose of being used in commerce. The word "rare" being used by someone who knows nothing about coins is virtually meaningless. For that matter, virtually all of the collectors and dealers in the world misuse the term. I mean when a 1909-S VDB cent is called rare - that is a misuse of the term. The coin is not rare at all - they exist in huge numbers. It is merely expensive, not rare. Conversely, there are truly rare coins out there that are among the cheapest you can find. In other words, value has no correlation whatsoever in defining what is rare or not rare. They never should have used the word to begin with.[/QUOTE]