Q. David Bowers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Q. David Bowers
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Bowers in 2014
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Quentin David Bowers
October 21, 1938 Honesdale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Occupation | Numismatist, author |
| Years active | 1953-present |
Q. David Bowers (born October 21, 1938) is a famous American numismatist. A numismatist is someone who studies or collects coins, paper money, and medals. He is also a well-known author and writer for magazines.
Bowers started collecting and selling rare coins when he was a teenager in 1953. He has continued to contribute to the world of coin collecting ever since.
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Early Life and Hobbies
Quentin David Bowers was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 1938. His grandfather, Chester Garratt, was a lawyer who enjoyed many hobbies. He gave young David his first "rare" coin, an old 1893 Columbian half dollar. This was David's first step into the world of numismatics.
In 1948, his family moved to Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. As a 13-year-old, David had many interests. These included reptiles, scouting, and short-wave radio. He also loved building models of World War II airplanes.
David became very interested in reading and writing. In 1952, he received a book about reptiles as a Christmas gift. He learned how exciting a well-written book could be. This taught him the power of words to make people enthusiastic about a topic.
He graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1960. Later, in 1976, he received an award from the university for his achievements.
How He Started Collecting Coins
David met a local tax collector named Robert L. Rusbar, who collected rocks and minerals. After looking at rocks, Rusbar asked David if he collected coins. David said no.
Rusbar then showed him a small album of Lincoln cents. He pointed to a coin and explained he had paid $10 for it. It was a 1909 Lincoln cent with the designer's initials, V.D.B., on the back. Rusbar explained that a tiny "S" under the date meant it was made in San Francisco. This "mint mark" made the coin much more valuable.
David learned that only 484,000 of these coins were made. He was inspired to find one himself! Rusbar gave him some coin folders and a few Lincoln cents to help him start. David realized he could make money by selling coins instead of cutting grass. He traded $10 for 1,000 mixed Lincoln cents. His goal was to find the rare 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, and 1931-S coins.
David soon started collecting other coins like Mercury dimes and Standing Liberty quarters. To learn more, he found the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine. This magazine was full of stories about coins and collecting. It also had advertisements for coins, which made David even more excited.
The first coin David bought by mail was an 1859 proof Indian Head cent for $11. He also collected old copies of coin magazines. A local insurance agent, George P. Williams, became his mentor. They went to meetings of the Wilkes-Barre Coin Club together.
Becoming a Coin Dealer
In 1953, when he was almost 15, David became a "vest-pocket dealer." This means he bought and sold coins on a small scale. He had a talent for buying and selling coins well. He started placing ads in the local newspaper to buy coins.
As his business grew, he bought coins from people and other collectors. Then he sold them at the coin club meetings. In the early days, being a dealer was hard because there were no guides. It was tough to know if a coin was real or what its exact condition was. What one person called "Gem Uncirculated" (perfect condition) another might call "About Uncirculated" (almost perfect).
In 1956, when he turned 18, David joined the American Numismatic Association (ANA). This was the youngest age they allowed members at the time.
By his last year of high school, his coin business was doing very well. It was his main activity outside of school. He was also a great student. He was a finalist in the first National Merit Scholarship competition in 1956. He graduated with honors from Penn State University in 1960.
In 1958, while still in college, Bowers partnered with James F. Ruddy. They started the Empire Coin Co. in Johnson City, New York. This company became one of the top coin dealerships in the country. In 1960, Bowers also helped start the Token and Medal Society. In 1965, another company bought Empire. Bowers then left the coin business for a while to focus on his love for automatic musical instruments.
His Amazing Coin Legacy
Q. David Bowers has done so much work with rare coins that COINage magazine called him one of the "Numismatists of the Century." His dedication to coin collecting and his deep knowledge have made him one of the most respected numismatists ever.
He is the only person to have been president of both the Professional Numismatists Guild (1977–1979) and the American Numismatic Association (1983–1985). He has received many top awards from both organizations, including the Founders Award and the Farran Zerbe Memorial Award.
Bowers was the first ANA member to be named Numismatist of the Year in 1995. He is also in the Numismatic Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs. He has won more "Book of the Year" and "Best Columnist" awards from the Numismatic Literary Guild than any other writer.
He has given talks at Harvard University. He has also appeared on TV shows like the Today Show, CNN, and the Discovery Channel.
In 2010, the American Numismatic Association named one of their Young Numismatist Literary Awards after Bowers. This award is for articles written by young people aged 13-17. Since 2021, Coin World has named Bowers one of the Top 10 Most Influential People in Numismatics for four years in a row.
Writing Career
Bowers has written over three dozen books on different historical topics. Some of his books include:
- Muriel Ostriche: Princess of Silent Films (1987)
- Nickelodeon Theatres and Their Music (1999)
- The History of U.S. Coinage (for Johns Hopkins University)
- The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments (1973)
He is also a very productive writer about coins, having written 50 books on the subject. Some of his coin books are:
- American Numismatic Association Centennial History (1991)
- Adventures with Rare Coins (1996)
- Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States (two volumes) (1993)
- A California Gold Rush History
He has also written thousands of articles and many auction catalogs.
Since 2003, Bowers has been the Numismatic Director for Whitman Publishing LLC. There, he has created a series of books called the Bowers Series, which describe different types of coins in great detail.
From 1976 to 2021, Bowers wrote a column called "The Joys of Collecting" for Coin World magazine. From 2018 to 2021, he wrote "Bowers On Collecting" for Coin Update News. He also had a column called "Coins and Collectors" in The Numismatist magazine from 1965 to 2021.
Other Interests
Bowers has been interested in movie history since 1957. He bought a collection of old silent film posters that had once belonged to Harvard University. He has since built a large collection of old movie magazines and publications.
By the mid-1960s, Bowers had also collected many player pianos and other antique automated musical instruments. Some of these were later acquired by the Nethercutt Collection in California.
Business Success
Bowers was the Co-Chairman of Stack's, a company that holds auctions for rare coins. It is located in New York City. Throughout his career, he has helped sell some of the most valuable coin collections ever put together. These include:
- The Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. Collection, which is the only complete collection of United States coins ever assembled.
- The Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection.
- The Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb Collection.
- The John Work Garrett Collection, sold for The Johns Hopkins University.
- The Childs Collection, which included the best-known 1804 silver dollar. At the time, this coin was the second most valuable coin ever sold at auction.
Personal Life
Bowers was married to Mary Masters from 1960 to 1973, and they had two children. Since 1978, he has been married to Christine Valentine.
