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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robp, post: 5515709, member: 96746&quot;]There&#039;s a huge market outside the US, both in numbers and breadth of material. It might seem like the US is all conquering in collectability, but I suspect that is due to Americans mostly collecting US coins. Every other nation has more collectors of their home coins than foreign ones, so there&#039;s no reason for the US to buck the trend. The old world has a much greater diversity of official coinage (which is what a majority of people collect) than the US. So the US has a wealthy population effectively chasing a relatively limited selection of coin types which leads to stratospheric prices. </p><p><br /></p><p>Here in the UK we have a population a fifth of the that of the US, but our coins have been struck for over 2000 years and the countries around the Mediterranean, even longer. That means you will have greater diversity in the collecting fraternity. You could easily put a dozen collectors in a room and find they had nothing in common - in fact our local club only has a two people specifically interested in the same fields.</p><p><br /></p><p>However, when it comes to availability, some things are out and out rare and will always fly at auction. Some things are more collectable than others. Pennies and farthings have always been more popular than halfpennies for example, but the latter tend to be much harder to find in good grade because they were the workhorse of the currency. </p><p><br /></p><p>When it come to rarity, I have a couple dozen coins that are unique or the only one available to commerce. Are they really valuable? Typically no because rarity is not the same as having a collector base. No demand means subdued prices. A lid on prices is partly a function of the ability and desire to diversify into different areas. The &#039;famous&#039; pieces such as the Petition Crown, or Edward VIII coinage always fly.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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