John; Just like a general definition of pornography is hard to legally describe that is acceptable to everyone .... I prefer the explanation "I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it."

At the risk of creating another long controversial thread ..... John, to me, the term "rare", as it applies to a chip, would cause such a stir in the chip community if one were offered for sale that it would be newsworthy and create enthusiasm and competition among chip collectors to obtain it because one had become available on the market.

You tell me ... what chip currently up for sale on Ebay defined by the seller as being "rare" is truly newsworthy to pass on that information to others?

As I mentioned in a previous bb reply this morning, I have no problem with some harder-to-find chips being termed "scarce", but the term "rare" should be reserved for chips that extremely seldomly appear in the marketplace or at auction. I say "in the marketplace" because the context of these threads have been mostly about ebay. Are there rare chips in private collections? Most certainly! A chip that just about every chip dealer has in inventory is not "rare" merely because he/she says so, in my judgement.

May I respectfully ask, "what is the rarest chip in your collection John?" Followed up with, "when was the last time you saw one offered for sale?"

I don't know that one can apply a specific number in order to qualify for the tag "rare". But as a ballpark figure to me would certainly be well under 50 of a chip that is widely collected, not as a specialty collector, but by the masses. In most cases this item MIGHT approach four-figures and above.... not the usual under $10-$50 stuff on ebay that is described as being rare by the seller. But again, that's my personal judgement of "rare". Someone else's idea of rare may be higher or lower.

John; You've posed a serious question..... I've given a carefully thought-out serious reply from my perspective. Now before all the one-liner responses begin to pour in from the would-be comedians ..... let me challenge the more thoughtful readers and contributors of this bb to offer THEIR description(s) of what the word "rare" means to them.