What's the REAL definition of "rare"?

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Leon

Many of us lament at "rare" terminology in our hobby. And this is the exact argument I make every time someone says something is valuable because it is rare. It's not!! It is valuable because of demand. Every one of these E221s is probably 20x more rare than a T206 Wagner. Yet every one of them is about 1% of the value. (give or take)...and Edited to add, everyone's definition of "rare" will be a bit different. In our space I put the "rare" on things with around 10 or less known.....but even my definition is not set in stone, by any means.

I agree Leon. Value is a result of supply and demand. The supply of T206 Wagners is low, but there are quite a few cards that are even more rare. What gives Wagner its large value is the huge demand for the card in relation to the limited supply.

[drc]

Rarity is an absolute number.

Scarcity is supply versus demand.

Something can be rare (low in number) but not scarce (little to no demand for it). And something can be scarce but not rare.

Whether or not it's rare, the T206 Wagner is scarce, as shown by its price tag.

The catch is different collectors will come up with a different number for what counts as rare. Some will say 100, so the Wagner would count as rare. Some might say 5.

[Gmrson]

maybe there should be an "Official" card scale

Unique
Rare
Obscure
Scarce
Tough