Coin Terminology and Glossary
The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin
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Rarity Scale
- Explanation: A convention for designating the rarity of a coin, such as Sheldon's system (with values such as R1 for common pieces and R6 for extremely rare specimens) and the Universal Rarity Scale invented by Alan Herbert (with designations such as URS3). The often used Sheldon scale is:
- R8 = 1-3 known (estimated), 'Unique or Nearly Unique'
- R7 = 4-12 known, 'Extremely Rare'
- R6 = 13-30 known, 'Very Rare'
- R5 = 31-75 known, 'Rare'
- R4 = 76-200 known, 'Very Scarce'
- R3 = 201-500 known, 'Scarce'
- R2 = 501-1250 known, 'Uncommon'
- R1 = over 1251 known, 'Common'
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