There is rare and then there is RARE!

Presented here is a photo of a business strike of a 1977 Rhodesian ? cent. There were only 10 proofs struck while numerous business strikes were produced. However, all the business strikes were ordered to be melted down before any were released for circulation. But just like with our 1873 ?Open 3 No Arrows? half dollar some of the 1977 Rhodesian business strike half cents escaped the melting pot. For decades the Standard Catalogue of World Coins from 1901 has had the same statement which is ??. less than 10 surviving specimens know.? When such statements are made without a definitive number given, what the person is saying can be taken to be ? I have no idea how many examples of this coin exist, it could be anywhere from less than 10 to 100?s. Of importance to me is that in the past 33 years this statement has not changed, implying the surviving population of this coin has not grown to the point that specimens can found even if only rarely offered for sale.

When I purchased this coin over a decade ago the auction catalogue described it as an impaired proof. In that auction this coin did not receive a bid. I wrote the auction company about the piece and they sent it to me on approval at their opening bid of just over $400 U.S. When I saw the coin I knew it was a business strike and quickly purchased it. Since purchasing this coin I have had it certified by NGC.

Believe it or not I placed this coin with a well know auction house for sale in a recent auction (I needed the money). I placed no reserve and the minimum opening bid was set by the auction house at just $500 and not a single bid was receive. Boy was I happy when it did not sell for just $500. Believe me this coin will never see an auction house again while I am alive. As best I can determine through internet searches this was the first time a documented business strike of this coin was offered for sale in a public auction and it could not get a single bid.

I have continued to search the net for other examples of this coin. To date I have found just one other example of this coin. It is described as being in the collection of a ?very serious? collector living in Singapore and it is not for sale. That coin can be seen at the Web Site of Mavin International. If you search the web for this coin you will see the Mavin site referenced and my eBay ?Bio? site were I talk about this coin but no photo.