Just received the latest (6th) edition of English Silver Coinage and am puzzled by some of the rarity designations. There are R and C usually with a following superscript, R3, C2, etc. I assume that R means rare and C means common, and the larger the number following R means more rare. But does a larger number following C mean more or less common, i.e. is a C2 coin more or less common than a C3 coin? What do C and R mean when there is no superscript? What do N and S mean? Haven't found a key in the book. Maybe I missed it. Book has a ton of info, but could use an introductory chapter to explain symbols, references, abbreviations, etc. Glad for any help. Cal
I have copied and pasted this from a discussion on predecimal.com where a similar enquiry was raised in 2016: "For the sake of completeness, the rest of the rarity grades are R3 (extremely rare), R2 (very rare), R (rare), S (scarce), N (normal), C (common), C2 (Very common) and C3 (extremely common)" See http://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/10007-esc-6th-edition/?page=2&tab=comments#comment-137604 if you want the full discussion.
Thanks a lot, Paddy. Very helpful. From further investigation (actually from HawkHybrid on thesilverform), the definitions were in early editions of ESC, but omitted from the newest edition. Here they are: R7 - only 1 or 2 examples known R6 - 3 - 4 examples known R5 - 5 - 10 examples known R4 - 11 - 20 examples known R3 - Extremely Rare R2 - Very Rare R - Rare S - Scarce N - Normal, neither scarce nor common C - Common C2 - Very Common C3 - Extremely Common Cal
Ah yes - the higher "Rare" indices were given earlier in the discussion, I didn't go back that far. The R, RR and RRR measures have been used in other books but I think ESC has always used the more detailed ones.
Something to keep in mind, there are a great many rarity scales. Typically every author who writes a book comes up with his own rarity scale. But there are times when one author will use a scale created by another. The reason I'm mentioning this is while they all pretty much use the same or very similar designations such as C or R or RR or RRR or R x number, etc etc - those designations often have entirely different meanings. So when you see a rarity scale referenced or used by somebody you have to know specifically which scale it is they are referencing for it to have any meaning. And if you're bidding on coins, that can make a huge difference !
Good point, Doug. Here are a few more rarity scales. I need to be careful. I may become a collector of rarity scales. Cal ================================================= Sheldon scale: Yes, he had a rarity scale in addition to a grading scale. U - Unique R8 - 2 - 3 known R7 - 4 - 12 known R6 - 13 - 30 known R5 - 31 - 75 known R4 - 76 - 200 known R3 - 201 - 500 known R2 - 501 - 1250 known R1 - more than 1250 known Scale used in U.S. Pattern Coins, 10th ed. and some earlier, by J. H. Judd: It's the same as the Sheldon scale but with high and low divisions of R7 and R6. U - Unique R8 - 2 - 3 known High R7 - 4 - 6 known Low R7 - 7 - 12 known High R6 - 13 - 20 known Low R6 - 21 - 30 known R5 - 31 - 75 known R4 - 76 - 200 known R3 - 201 - 500 known R2 - 501 - 1250 known R1 - more than 1250 known Scale used in American Half Cents by Cohen. Based, in part, on the Sheldon scale. R8 - fewer than 4 known R7 - 4 - 12 known R6 - 13 - 30 known R5 - 31 - 75 known R4 - 76 - 200 known R3 - Scarce R2 - Not so common R1 - Common
