What's the REAL definition of "rare"?

[honus94566]

What's the REAL definition of rare?

[wonkaticket]

Leon is correct….I will add that as a collector I even drag down the term “rare” into a few sub categories.

Quantity Rarity: Basically any item that there are just so few of. For me 5-20 items or less I consider rare. If it’s 1-5 I consider it basically a one of a kind item. Because you almost are assured that of those 5 examples at least 3-4 are tied up in major collections not going anywhere anytime soon.

Price Rarity: Basically any item that falls under the category of huge sums of money T206 Wagner, 1933 Lajoie etc. these items are not easy by any means! However these items generally fall under scarce more than rare, and price is what keeps them from trading more often.

Condition Rarity: This one’s tough and too often linked to BS such as pop reports and false claims. However there are real examples of this in our world certain types that are rarely found in good shape due to the way they were distributed or how they were produced.

Some items in our hobby are hybrids of the above matrix i.e. a high grade T206 Wagner would have price rarity and condition rarity but still only be a scarce card in terms of quantity rarity.

Are there exceptions to these rules sure always will be, but that’s how I draw the line in the sand regarding the term rare.

Cheers,

John

[Fred]

Wonk -
+1