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

Did you know

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Understanding "No Grade"

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A guide to the states of condition that can cause a coin to be rejected for NGC certification.

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