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 |
Quentin David Bowers (born October 21, 1938) is a famous American numismatist (a person who studies or collects coins, paper money, and medals), author, and writer for newspapers and magazines. He has been involved with rare coins since 1953, when he was a teenager. His work in the world of coins has continued without stopping since 1952.
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Early Life and Learning
Bowers was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 1938. His grandfather, Chester Garratt, gave him his first "rare" coin. It was an old 1893 Columbian half dollar. This was his first look into the world of coin collecting.
Later, in 1945–46, he saw Indian Head cents stuck in a concrete path at a friend's house. In 1948, his family moved to Forty Fort, Pennsylvania.
As a 13-year-old, Bowers enjoyed many hobbies. These included reptiles, scouting, and short-wave radio. He also loved reading. His mother gave him a book called Reptiles of North America in 1952. He learned from this book how exciting a topic could be when well-written. This taught him the power of words to make people interested in things.
He finished his studies at Pennsylvania State University in 1960. He later received an award from the university in 1976 for his achievements.
Discovering Coin Collecting
A local tax collector named Robert L. Rusbar helped Bowers discover coins. Rusbar showed him a Lincoln cent from 1909. This coin had the designer's initials, V.D.B., and a small "S" under the date. The "S" meant it was made in San Francisco. This tiny letter made the coin worth $10, much more than a few cents!
Bowers learned that only 484,000 of these special coins were made. He was excited to find one himself. Rusbar gave him some coin folders and a few Lincoln cents to start. Bowers then traded $10 for 1,000 mixed Lincoln cents. His goal was to find the rare 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, and 1931-S coins. He wanted to make money by selling coins instead of cutting grass.
Bowers soon started collecting other coins like Mercury dimes and Standing Liberty quarters. To learn more, he found the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine. This magazine had many stories about coins and collecting. It also had ads for coins, which made him even more interested. His first coin bought by mail was an 1859 proof Indian cent for $11.
He also collected old copies of this magazine and The Numismatist. A local insurance agent, George P. Williams, helped him. They went to meetings of the Wilkes-Barre Coin Club together.
Becoming a Coin Dealer
In 1953, when he was almost 15, Bowers became a "vest-pocket dealer." This means he bought and sold coins on a small scale. He had just started collecting coins a few months before. He was good at buying and selling them for a profit. He put ads in the local paper to find coins.
As his business grew, he bought coins from people and other collectors. He then sold them at the coin club. In those early years, it was hard to be a dealer. There were no guides to help. It was tough to know if a coin was real or how good its condition was. What one person called "Gem Uncirculated" (perfect condition) another might call "About Uncirculated" (almost perfect). Bowers joined the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in 1956 when he turned 18. This was the youngest age they allowed.
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 Program in 1956. He graduated with honors from Penn State University in 1960.
In 1958, while still in college, Bowers started Empire Coin Co. with James F. Ruddy. This company became one of the top coin dealerships in the country. Bowers also helped start the Token and Medal Society in 1960. In 1965, another company bought Empire. Bowers then left the coin business for a while to focus on his love for automatic musical instruments.
Amazing Achievements in Numismatics
Q. David Bowers has done so much in the world of rare coins that COINage magazine called him one of the "Numismatists of the Century." He loves the hobby and has spent his life learning about rare coins. This has made him one of the most respected coin experts ever.
Bowers is the only person to have led both the Professional Numismatists Guild (1977–1979) and the American Numismatic Association (1983–1985). These are two very important coin organizations. He has received many top awards from both groups.
He was the first ANA member to be named "Numismatist of the Year" in 1995. He is also in the Numismatic Hall of Fame. He has won more "Book of the Year" and "Best Columnist" awards than any other writer from the Numismatic Literary Guild. 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 awards after Bowers. This "Young Numismatist Literary Award" is for articles written by children 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 30 books on history. Some of his books include:
- Muriel Ostriche: Princess of Silent Films (1987) ISBN: 0-911572-64-3
- Nickelodeon Theatres and Their Music (1999) ISBN: 0-911572-50-3
- The History of U.S. Coinage (for Johns Hopkins University)
- The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments (1973)
He is also known as a very busy writer about coins. He has written 50 books on rare coins, such as:
- American Numismatic Association Centennial History (1991) ISBN: 0-943161-29-0
- Adventures with Rare Coins (1996) ISBN: 0-914490-00-1
- Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States (two volumes) (1993) ISBN: 0-943161-48-7
- A California Gold Rush History
He has also written hundreds of auction catalogs and thousands of articles.
Bowers works as the Numismatic Director for Whitman Publishing LLC. There, he has created a series of books called the Bowers Series. These books explain 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. His old articles are now saved online for people to read. He also wrote a column called "Coins and Collectors" for The Numismatist magazine from 1965 to 2021.
Other Interests
Bowers has a strong interest in the history of movies. This started in 1957 when he bought old silent film posters. These posters had once belonged to Harvard University. Since then, he has collected many old movie magazines and papers.
By the mid-1960s, Bowers had a large collection of old automatic musical instruments. These included player pianos and orchestrions. Some of these pieces are now part of the Nethercutt Collection in California.
Coin Business and Auctions
Bowers was the Co-Chairman of Stack's, a company that holds auctions for rare coins. It is located in New York City. During his career, he has helped sell some of the most valuable coin collections ever. These include:
- The Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. Collection: the only complete collection of United States coins ever put together.
- The Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection.
- The Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb Collection.
- The John Work Garrett Collection, sold for Johns Hopkins University.
- The Childs Collection, which included a very rare 1804 silver dollar. At one time, this 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.
