Coin Stuff

HELVETICA'S IDENTIFICATION HELP PAGE

RIC INFORMATION

Please note: These lists need a hell of a lot of work to do. If you use any of the information in them for your website etc., please be fair and give credit where it is due. Thankyou.

RIC RATINGS RIC Rarities are no longer reliable in most cases. Some RIC volumes were written over 70 years ago when Roman coins were relatively rare. Also keep in mind that RIC rarity ratings refer to the numbers of coins found only in the collections (mostly museums) that the RIC authors used for reference up to 70 years ago. Most of us collectors today have more varieties than some of the museums at that time!

RIC I (New edition, 1984)
C: Common to very common * S (scarce): Scarce * R: Rare * R2: 11-15 known * R3: 6 to 10 known *R4: 2 to 5 known * R5: Unique
RIC II (late 1920's), RIC III (1930), RIC IV-1 & 2 (1934), RIC V-1 & 2 (1927/1933)
(CC: Very common) * C: Common * S: Scarce * R: Rare * R2-R5: "additional degrees of rarity" (R5 is usually unique)
RIC VI Rarity ratings (1967)
C2: Common in every major collection * C: In every major collection * S (scarce): In most major collections * R: 26-50 known * R2: 11-25 known * R3: 6-10 known * R4: 2-5 coins known * R5: Unique *
RIC VII Rarity ratings (1966)
C3: more than 41 known * C2: 31-40 known * C1: 22-30 known * S (scarce): 16-21 known * R1: 11-15 known * R2: 7-10 known * R3: 4-6 known * R4: 2-3 coins known * R5: Unique *
RIC VIII Rarity ratings (1981)
No information at all (at least, I can't find it!) Presumeably similar to RIC VII
RIC IX Rarity ratings (1933)
C3 - C: "increasing degrees of commonness" * S (scarce): Scarce * R - R4: "increasing degrees of rarity" * R5: Unique
RIC X Rarity ratings (1994)
No information at all (at least, I can't find it!) Presumeably similar to RIC VII

WHAT IS RIC ?
RIC (Roman Imperial Coinage) is the general abbreviation for a set of 13 volumes of identification catalogs of Roman coins. RIC references have become a standard in the world of collectors although it is not quite up to date any more due to so many new variations of coins being found. It is always a thrill to find a coin which is not in RIC.
Another excellent work with the coins in a single volume is the "Sear". (ID abbreviations: Sear xxx or Sxxx). It is available from many coin suppliers and also direct from its very respected author Dr David Sear . The Sear book does not go into as much detail as RIC but if you want a general reference for your coin, this is the book for you. The abbreviation for coins identified using Sear is usually Sear or simply S e.g. S1234.
Another popular book is Van Meter which costs around $30 and which is an excellent guide to thousands of coins. The abbreviation of coins identified using Van Meter is often "VM" e.g. VM1234.

SUBMIT A COIN to the list
Do you have a coin of a variety which is not in the list and you would like it added ?
Please make a good, clear photo or scan (at least 300 dpi resolution - the two sides of the coin side by side should just about fill your screen), tell me what you think you can see or what you think it is and send it to me at the gmail email address at the top of the RIC list page.
Please do not use email addresses @comcast.net. Comcast is currently blocking emails from thousands of national mail servers all around the world and especially in Europe and my reply to you will bounce back to me as undeliverable.
I am always happy to add new variations to the lists but - for obvious reasons - need to see the coin myself.

DON'T HAVE EXCEL ?
These lists are in Excel format. If you do not have Excel you can download Excel Viewer 2003 from Microsoft. Or use the free CALC program from www.openoffice.org - works fine!

SAVE A LIST TO YOUR HARDDISK
(To save a list as an xls file instead of having Internet Explorer open it first, right click the link and use the Save Target As.. option to save it straight to your harddisk.

USING EXCEL'S AUTO-FILTER FUNCTION:

1. Click on the left hand edge of row 1 (the one with the column headers) of the coin list you wish to filter, or simply mark the line from A1 to ... whatever (e.g. to G1 if that is the top of the last column).
2. Click on "Data" in the menu line at the top of Excel's screen
(To work even quicker you can also add a filter icon to your icons line. see below)
3. Click on Filter > then Autofilter.
4. Use the drop-down arrows to filter the list e.g. on bust type, legend break etc.
5. Use Data.. Show All to get the entire list back, or add and use a "show all" icon to your menu icons.
6. To add any icon to your icons menu: click on Tools, Customise.. Commands.
7. Find the command you want by scrolling down the right and left panes
8. Click the required command in the r.h. pane, keep the mouse button pressed, carry the icon up to your icon menu and drop it there.
9. Keep the Customise window open, right click the icon or command you just dropped in your icon menu to change its settings (text only, change button image etc.)
10. With "change button image, you can select an icon image for "Show All" - I use a simple blue "arrow down" icon.

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