Written by the TreasrureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Humiston Boardwalk in Vero Damaged by 2022 Hurricane. |
Humiston Beach boardwalk to cost Vero Beach $4.7 million after it was damaged by Hurricane Nicole 3 years ago.
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The Sheldon Rarity Scale ranks in descending order the estimated number of known scarce vintage coins of collectible die varieties of a type for certain types. It is not used for all types of coins and has other limitations.
Here is the nine-point scale.
- R-9: Unique
- R-8: 2 or 3 Known Examples
- R-7: 4-12 Known Examples
- R-6: 13-30 Known Examples
- R-5: 31-75 Known Examples
- R-4: 76-200 Known Examples
- R-3: 201-500 Known Examples
- R-2: 501-1,250 Known Examples
- R-1 Over 1,250 Known Examples
And here is the link.
Sheldon Rarity Scale - What Does It Mean and What Does It Do?
The Sheldon rarity scale was originally developed for U.S. Large Cents and later adapted for other early American coinage, especially varieties with well-documented populations. Unfortunately, the scale is not used for Spanish Colonial coins, like cobs, pillar dollars, and portrait issues, which were minted across a vast empire with fragmentary records, variable minting practices, and wide circulation, making population estimates difficult to standardize.
Instead, Spanish Colonial numismatics often rely on auction records and private collection surveys, specialized auction catalogs (e.g., Calicó, Krause, Sedwick), descriptive terms like “rare,” “very rare,” or “unique.” Occasionally, Sheldon-style R-numbers for Spanish colonials may appear in niche publications or dealer inventories, but these are not universally adopted.
Source: Sheldon Rarity Scale - What Does It Mean and What Does It Do?
There are several rarity rating scales for specific types of coins and tokens, such as the Universal Rating Scale (URS), the Overton Rating Scale, Breen's Rating Scales.
The URS is for pre-Federal early American coins. Breens scale is a hybrid scale based upon Sheldons Rating Scale. The Overton Scale is used for U.S. Bust Half Dollars.
The Van Allen & Mallis Rarity Scale is for U.S. Morgan and Peace Dollars. This scale is shown below.
Here is the link for more rating scales.
The Various Numismatic Rarity Scales – NovaNumismatics.com
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You can look at a metal detecting find in variety of ways. You might see a find as a personal victory, as an item of economic value, as a new piece to add to your collection, or as a piece of history, but when you make a find, you pick up a bread crumb left behind by real people. It could be a king, or soldier, adventurer or common Joe, like you and me, but no matter who it was, remember that the find was once a part of a real person's life - sometimes numerous lives.
Finds are not objects without a past. When making a find, take a moment to reflect on its history and the lives it was a part of. There was someone there before you. You are walking in their footsteps. In the case of Spanish shipwreck coins, the history is long and many hopeful people were involved, from the time the metal was mined, until it was minted, packed and shipped and then stranded on the beach along with people struggling to save their lives and treasure.
You are not the first to touch your finds and you will probably not be the last.
There is a good chance I'll pick up on this topic again in the near future.
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| Source: nhc.noaa.gov. |
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| Source: SurfGuru.com. |
So there is only Tropical Storm Fernand on the National Hurricane Center map. And Fernand is no threat to the Treasure Coast.
And for now, we are back to summer-like conditions.
Good hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net