Pole....Rare...scarce...?

[SXS OHIO]

The dictionary explains....both words mean the about same thing. uncommon,occasional,infrequent,seldom encountered and goes on about precios,exceptional, choice ect.

Pole question...what quanity of a item is few enough to qualify for the description of scarce or rare? The item would be guns no longer in production, ones that can never be produced again. Like Parker guns and Parker repro's for example.

I would think 1 of 250 to be scarce and one of 100 to be rare. How about a GH-16 with 28" barrels that they made 430 copies, they would be hard to find item that you don't see in every gun shop... Items that we know the exact number they made say 1 of 250 for example. These items do come up for sale from time to time if you look for them regularly in the right places. You may also know peaple that have one. I would class 1 of 250 as scarce. A quanity of 100 or less surely must be RARE....

Please give some feedback on your feelings of scarce and rare. It will be fun to get a idea of what collectors of these fine items think. Please take time to ponder your response, this may turn out to be go to reference and base line for collectors. Thanks all SXS ohio...(-:

[George M. Purtill Member #28]

Like most marketing terms they are overused, abused and have almost no meaning anymore.

[Wild Skies]

In the Parker gun world I would describe:

Rare = about a handful, certainly no more than 10-15. You may search years or even decades to find one.

Scarce = a few more than rare, but less than 50. Seldom encountered, but examples do come to market from time to time.

I would describe runs of 50-250 to be uncommon, takes some searching, may not be available at the moment, but usually will become available before long.

[Joe Bernfeld]

Originally Posted by George M. Purtill

Like most marketing terms they are overused, abused and have almost no meaning anymore.

+1 for me.