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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Valentinian, post: 8561984, member: 44316&quot;]Rarity of Roman <b>provincial</b> coins is especially difficult to describe. Any particular type may exist in very few examples, but demand is often equally rare. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is so true and very important to understand. For example, RPC on-line is assigning distinct ID numbers to extremely similar coins that I would call the same &quot;type&quot; but which each yield a frequency of their own. Different &quot;ID numbers&quot; may indicate one or two letters different in a long legend, or maybe that the view of the bust is from slightly the front instead of slightly from the rear, or with drapery on the far shoulder, or not. To me, the frequency of the type is best represented by adding the individual frequencies of similar types together because to me they are all one &quot;type&quot;, but a seller will want to categorize it finely so that he can call it rarer (&quot;Only three known!&quot;)</p><p><br /></p><p>The term &quot;rare&quot; is used by sellers to trigger a response in you (&quot;It is worth more!&quot;) rather than to describe something meaningful. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Right. The concept of &quot;rarity&quot; is much overrated. [USER=26430]@Curtis[/USER]&#039;s hecte example is excellent. Read it.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you have learned how important rarity is in the context of US-coin collecting, you need to unlearn that lesson for ancients. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1510784[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>This coin is large. It is sestertius-sized, 34-32 mm and 27.08 grams. </p><p>Aegeae, Cilicia, under Antoninus Pius (138-161). </p><p>Now it has the RPC IV.3 ID number 17511 and only 1 specimen (this one, mine, illustrated) is known. </p><p><a href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/search/browse?q=Antoninus+Pius+Aegeae" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/search/browse?q=Antoninus+Pius+Aegeae" rel="nofollow">https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/search/browse?q=Antoninus+Pius+Aegeae</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Large. Unique! (Who cares?)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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