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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;romismatist, post: 8538798, member: 44106&quot;]I think we need to decouple rarity and price in this discussion. Just because a coin may be rare (which I think implies that there are very few in existence) doesn&#039;t mean it is automatically expensive. Price is driven by demand and supply, but in the case of ancient coins, demand and higher prices is not always driven by low supply, or rarity, but many other factors including condition, historical appeal, provenance, etc. as was mentioned earlier in this thread.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think that as you get into more specialized factors like specific mint officinas, errors, magistrate symbols or provincial rarities, the demand narrows to specialist collectors rather than the broader collecting base. There are many such collectors on this forum, and I enjoy the knowledge they share with this community tremendously as I always learn something interesting and new. There are probably only a handful of collectors which would appreciate some of the more obscure provincial rarities such as this one, because the knowledge base and interest is so specialized. However, like [USER=21445]@Mat[/USER] said, that&#039;s what makes ancient coin collecting fun... it&#039;s a &quot;treasure hunt&quot; where you can often find and collect overlooked rarities within your collecting budget. Hopefully, over time, more people will learn about and become more interested in them, and their value will grow. </p><p><br /></p><p>Pricing often goes the other way too, as was mentioned. A coin that was historically seen as rare and expensive can have its value diminished significantly through the discovery of new hoards, such as what happened with recent hoards of Athenian tetradrachms which have come onto the market. That&#039;s why rarity by itself should never be taken as the only indication of a coin&#039;s value. If you buy popular, historical coins in great condition and with solid provenance, the coins will often retain or increase their value. Buying obscure rarities is often like rolling the dice in terms of value over time, but in this hobby, it&#039;s the satisfaction gained through research and the thrill of having discovered something scarce or unique that&#039;s more important.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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