The Universal Rarity Scale
The Universal Rarity Scale was developed by Q. David Bowers. The scale can be used for anycoin or any item where rarity is important. In the June 1992 issue of the Numismatist, Bowers outlined this scale and it has since been widely used in the industry.
It is important to remember that rarity not only differs from coin type to coin type but from grade to grade. Condition rarity occurs when few examples of a coin exist above a certain grade. For example: The mintage figures for the 1893 2 ½ Shilling is 137 472. Of these, only 1 specimen exists in an MS condition. This coin would then be classified as URS-1.
| URS – 0 | None Known |
|---|---|
| URS – 1 | 1 known – Unique |
| URS – 2 | 2 known |
| URS – 3 | 3 – 4 known |
| URS – 4 | 5 – 8 known |
| URS – 5 | 9 – 16 known |
| URS – 6 | 17 – 32 known |
| URS – 7 | 33 – 64 known |
| URS – 8 | 65 – 125 known |
| URS – 9 | 126 – 250 known |
| URS – 10 | 501 – 1 000 known |
| URS – 11 | 501 – 1 000 known |
| URS – 12 | 1 001 – 2 000 known |
| URS – 13 | 2 001 – 4 000 known |
| URS – 14 | 4 001 – 8 000 known |
| URS – 15 | 8 001 – 16 000 known |
| URS – 16 | 16 001 – 32 000 known |
| URS – 17 | 32 001 – 65 000 known |
| URS – 18 | 65 001 – 125 000 known |
| URS – 19 | 125 001 – 250 000 known |
| URS – 20 | 250 001 – 500 000 known |
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