R - Ratings for medals Question

[rboomsma]

Just wondering how this Rarity rating works for medals and orders.

For example the medal for belgrade rates an R4 and there was about 70,000 given out. The medal for Rescue drowning Person is given an R2 yet there was only 27,000 given out??

So how can this be??? They are much less available and anyone trying to find a Rescue medal will know how difficullt it is to find a non fake one. It took me 2 years to get a good one with document.

Could some please explain this to me.

Thanks

[Taz]

Ron,

I hope I can help on that one. The Belgrad medal is indeed a good example.
Although there were 70,000 issued because of the conficts between the Communist parties of the USSR and Yugoslavia the issue of this Medal was stopped.
They had to be handed in and the recipient was given the Medal for Combat service instead.
This explains the higher rarity rating. From the 70,000 issued a lot less survived for us collectors.

Here is the Chart from the main site just for info and further referance

A-Abundant, readily available, often in wholesale quantities.
C-Common, always available. Occasionally in quantity.
R1-Usually available without a long delay. Difficult to find in quantity.
R2-Scarce to rare, less seldom available.
R3-Rare. Difficult to find.
R4-Very rare. Demand outstrips supply, and specimens, when
available are often eagerly sought.
R5-Extremely rare and seldom available. Collector may have to
search for a few years to locate one.
R6-Of the highest rarity. Very difficult to obtain.
R7-Almost never available. Most collectors will not have a chance to
acquire these pieces.
R8-Never been on the market. Almost impossible to obtain.
R*-Not available for collections.

Eddie.

[rboomsma]

Hello Eddie

Well that explains the belgrade medal, but look at this example, the Medal for Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War, over 16, 100,000 given out and an rating of R1??? To me this should be an "A" or "C" at least.

The Medal for Bravery in Fire Fighting is an R2 and only gave out 32,000??
Just seems a little confusing to me.

[Taz]

Ron,
That certainly is a good question!
And a point that certainly deserves to be looked at in the case of 16, 100,000 given out and an rating of R1 for the Medal for Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War.
The amount of awards issued has however no influence on the amount of awards actually made, that is certain. Which would explain the rating in most cases.

So guys,

Just why has the Medal for Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War, with a number awarded of 16,100,000 have a rarity rating of R1?
Any ideas?
Or is this rating for the variation, on a separately soldered gold-plated ring?

Eddie.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Taz

So guys,

Just why has the Medal for Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War, with a number awarded of 16,100,000 have a rarity rating of R1?
Any ideas?
Or is this rating for the variation, on a separately soldered gold-plated ring?

Eddie.

No, what the difference is that the R rating charts being used are different. PMD (in his book) doesn't use "A" or "C", but starts at "R1" for the most common. His scale ranges from R1 to R5. The scale from A through R8 was developed by a particular Soviet dealer, and is not the one used by PMD.

Checking the above referenced Soviet dealer's website, he lists the Labor Victory as an "A" rarity medal.

Also, he lists the Belgrade medal as an "R4" and the Drowning medal as an "R5".

Lesson learned here: You have to stick with one or the other rarity scales, and PLEASE reference the scale you're referring to as they are vastly different. For example, on the PMD scale, a 2nd award HSU Gold Star is an R5 (wheras on the other site, it's rated as an R7) with the Drowning medal on the other site is rated at an R5. Considering that I've owned 5 times as many Drowning medals as I have 2nd award Gold Stars, and have seen many, many more, I'd say that the Gold Stars are far more rare!

--Dave

[Taz]

Cheers Dave,

But I think you will find the rarity scale refered to is on the main page of this site, and there the rating,
R1-Usually available without a long delay. Difficult to find in quantity - is given for the Medal for Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War.

With so many awards the question is why R1? And not an A or C.

but look at this example, the Medal for Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War, over 16, 100,000 given out and an rating of R1??? To me this should be an "A" or "C" at least.

Ron

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Taz

With so many awards the question is why R1? And not an A or C.

That's easy enough to answer. Just ask Art... He's the guy that authored the website!

--Dave

[Taz]

Dave,
That's true enough!

Maybe Art can give Ron peace of mind.

Eddie.

[new world]

I personally never paid that much of attention to the ratings. Once you own particular award - it doesn't matter at all.

In addition, McDaniel or any other ratings for that matter are quite outdated. In today's market R2 piece can be observed less often than R4 one few years ago.

William

[Art]

Guys,

I felt that McDaniels scale was outdated in some areas. When the site first started, I adhered 100% to McDaniels rarity chart because everyone was referencing his book. Looking at the market and listening to feedback from visitors to the site would cause me to "tweak" the rarity of awards from time to time. This doesn't mean I would make a massive jump from R1 to R5, but if I felt an award was a little over-abundant on the market I would downgrade from R1 to C, or vice-versa. I've felt that mint production numbers are very flexible until you get much higher on the scale, and not particularly a good indicator of rarity for the more common awards. I've considered removing the "A" rating because it seems almost redundant to have it along with the "C" rating. For the medals in question, I was seeing many more of the Jubilee and Anniversary medals than Veteran of Labor in the GPW, hence the small difference in rarity.

I occasionally still do this, mainly when I see something that I feel needs adjusting or if brought to my attention several times by different visitors. I recall we had a series of polls on the forum where we voted on the rarity of any award that was felt to be in need of an adjustment on the rarity scale, if anyone feels like posting a poll for the Vet. of Lab. in GPW, do so and I will adjust the rating according to the results.

Art