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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Egry, post: 4664792, member: 113686&quot;]Blue Rare... well, maybe not. Over the last year I’ve been very lucky and have had the opportunity to fill a few gaps in my Roman Imperatorial collection. The auction house descriptions for these coins used a term that we are all familiar with and has become somewhat of a semantic satiation. The word ‘rare’ in combination with an intensifier such as ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ seems to be an ironically commonly used description by some sellers. But when used appropriately they can describe when a coin is truly uncommon to encounter in the marketplace.</p><p><br /></p><p>Below are a few (listed by the seller) ‘rare’ coins that I’ve added to my collection over the last year, I’ve included the auction description for context. The use of the term by the seller didn’t increase the probability of me making the purchase, but as I’ve only come across each of them once since I commenced collecting ancients I had to capture them for my collection.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1150490[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Aemilian AR Antoninianus. Rome, AD 253. IMP CAES AEMILIANVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / P M TR P I P P, Aemilian standing left, sacrificing over altar from patera and holding sceptre; standard behind to the left. RIC 7; RSC 32. 3.57g, 21mm, 1h. Extremely Fine. <b>Rare</b>.</p><p>From a private UK collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1150491[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Magnus Maximus AR Siliqua. Aquileia, AD 388. D N MAG MAXIMVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVS ROMANORVM, Roma seated, head left, on throne, holding globe and reversed spear; AQPS in exergue. RIC 54a. 1.47g, 17mm, 7h. Good Very Fine. <b>Extremely Rare</b>. Ex L. Rose Collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1150492[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Marius Æ Antoninianus. Cologne, AD 268-269. IMP C M AVR MARIVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right / VICTO[RIA] AVG, Victory standing left, holding wreath and palm. RIC 17. 2.70g, 20mm, 1h. Near Extremely Fine; an exceptional portrait, and excellent preservation of detail on both obv. and rev. <b>Very Rare</b>.</p><p><br /></p><p>As I believe that The CT members are some of the most knowledgeable people on the subject, would you please offer your opinion on the true ‘rarity’ of the above coins? Also, would you please share some of your rare coins, or an example of the description from an unscrupulous seller where the word rare was possibly misused. Please refrain from using the names of any sellers&nbsp; or auction houses if possible.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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