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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2207038, member: 19463&quot;]We often say that rarity has little to do with price/value unless that rarity is accompanied by a high demand for the coin.&nbsp; The curse of collecting as I practice it is a relatively low number of people with whom I can talk about my treasures as I define &#039;treasures&#039;.&nbsp; The large number of one-per-ruler Roman collectors who consider any Mint State coin of Probus infinitely more desirable than a scarce variation (Probus has thousands of them) in Very Fine let alone one with striking flaws or damage.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, this has an upside when the specialist, for example Martin, sees a coin like this which most of us would let go without notice and certainly would not bid him up were the coin to appear in a sale.&nbsp; I do not particularly collect Probus and I do not particularly like coins with Mars.&nbsp; I&#039;m not even always sure when I should ID a figure as Mars as opposed to Virtus.&nbsp; As a general collector of way too many low priced coins, I happen to have a few Probus/Mars but lack the education or interest that would make me appreciate why the OP coin is &#039;better&#039; than any of mine (all of which are &#039;better&#039; in some other sense).&nbsp; Do you?&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]430726[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]430727[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]430728[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]430729[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]430730[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I remember all too well the time almost no one wanted my cherished Eastern Severan denarii.&nbsp; Many of them were not listed in RIC or other books available in that day which says more about the state of RIC than about the rarity or desirability by any definition of the coins.&nbsp; I recall one dealer saying in public forum that mints other than Rome were not to be collected because they had poor style and were worthless.&nbsp; OK.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>It would be easier if all of us collected by the same gameplan and the same wantlist but that would ruin the hobby for guys like me.&nbsp; I enjoy our hobby being relatively free of the tyranny of the Red Book and Gray Sheet.&nbsp; It is good when a coin I don&#039;t particularly want or understand finds a home with someone who sees it with special fondness.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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