A discussion on the term "rare".

[Matt]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I think it would be an excellent idea, except how accurately do any of us know how many examples of any card exist? I guess we have a pretty good idea, but even a card like a T206 Wagner has no precise population. At least a rarity scale quantifies a subjective term.

In other words, it doesn't measure absolute rarity, but relative rarity. We can say accurately that a T207 common is rarer then a T206 common, even without knowing exact populations of each.

[barrysloate]

Matt- there is a distinction between subjective and objective measurements. To say a Wagner is rarer than a Plank is more subjective; it's just an observation that they come up for sale less often.

But to say there are eight Doyles known, which in coin terms would make it a Rarity-7, is much more precise.

[Leon]

The US mint has circulation numbers of each coin, or better said, how many of each was made. It is usually a specific number...even if many have been lost or destroyed there is a number to start with. That is not a luxury that pre-war card collecting can have except in very rare (no pun intended) cases.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Leon

The US mint has circulation numbers of each coin, or better said, how many of each was made. It is usually a specific number...even if many have been lost or destroyed there is a number to start with. That is not a luxury that pre-war card collecting can have except in very rare (no pun intended) cases.

Right - but what we can determine with a fair amount of precision is relative rarity. I don't need to know exactly how many E101 Cobbs exist vs E102 Cobbs to make a determination that the E101 is rarer then the E102. We have enough information to accurately assign a 1-10 number to each card in terms of rarity, since that scale is relative to other cards.

You start with the rarest card at one extreme and the most common at the other and work out the math in between. I wrote a post about 2 years ago regarding E-card rarity that did just this; they naturally broke into about 6 or 7 groups of rarity.

[barrysloate]

Yes , relative rarity is a useful tool, and that is something you learn when you are in the hobby for a long time. Also, if an E101 Cobb in Very Good condition typically sells for $1500, and an E102 Cobb in the same condition sells for $1200, you assume the E101 is relatively scarcer. But it may not always be true.

[cozmokramer]

most confuse rare -

is it a limited number of something made? or is it a limited number of something available?

i'm guessing the truth is a combination of the two.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by cozmokramer

most confuse rare -

is it a limited number of something made? or is it a limited number of something available?

i'm guessing the truth is a combination of the two.

In the forum, we generally use rare to describe the # that exist and scarce to describe the # that make it to market.