Scott Travers 12 Top Budget Picks for 2003
Typetone
Posts: 1,621 ✭✭
On another thread, Wondercoin asked why Ohio (P) quarters seem to be on fire. I pointed out that in Jan COINage, Scott Travers Identified this piece in MS67 and above as a top 2003 pick for a collector on a budget. I guessed that since Scott has a nice following, that the price level is up due to Travers generated demand. Mitch pointed out that he thought Travers was warning against moderns in super high grade. While that was true about five years ago, I have noticed that Scott is warming up to high grade moderns. In fact I really did my IKE collection on his recommendation several years ago to buy finest graded C/N IKEs (and I did very well in the subsequent sale). In any event for those who didn't see it, here are his other 11 recommendations. What do you think?
1. MS61 better date Saints with low premiums over common dates.
2. 1909S VDB Lincolns in MS65RD. Not sure how this is a budget pick!
3. BU CC Morgans in certified holders not the GSA holders.
4. 1936 proof singles in PR63 as long as they are selling for less than the set as a whole
5. Silver commems in MS66 for less than $250, except for BTWs.
6. Early walkers in MS63 or MS64. I like this call.
7. DMPL Morgans in MS64 and MS65 pricee under $1,000
8. No-Drapery Liberty Seated Dimes in EF.
9. 1808 Capped Bust $2.50 gold in any grade. Budget???
10. Chain and Wreath cents in F or better. Budget??
11. AU liberty seated dollars.
Greg
1. MS61 better date Saints with low premiums over common dates.
2. 1909S VDB Lincolns in MS65RD. Not sure how this is a budget pick!
3. BU CC Morgans in certified holders not the GSA holders.
4. 1936 proof singles in PR63 as long as they are selling for less than the set as a whole
5. Silver commems in MS66 for less than $250, except for BTWs.
6. Early walkers in MS63 or MS64. I like this call.
7. DMPL Morgans in MS64 and MS65 pricee under $1,000
8. No-Drapery Liberty Seated Dimes in EF.
9. 1808 Capped Bust $2.50 gold in any grade. Budget???
10. Chain and Wreath cents in F or better. Budget??
11. AU liberty seated dollars.
Greg
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Comments
I just sent payment out today for a PCGS G6 Chain. That set me back enough. I can't imagine what a Full Fine would run. 10k?
Scott quotes the 2002-P Ohio as a $150 - $175 coin in PCGS MS67. He believes they can increase to $275. Could he have meant 68s instead of 67s?
Greg
I hear that all the time from my wife everytime I want to know a price on ANYTHING I buy.
Goose3, nice catch!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
<< <i>Top Budget >>
Tom
Greg Hansen, Melbourne, FL Click here for any current EBAY auctions Multiple "Circle of Trust" transactions over 14 years on forum
Dave
Greg Hansen, Melbourne, FL Click here for any current EBAY auctions Multiple "Circle of Trust" transactions over 14 years on forum
hmmmmmm
Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
I like the section on justins coins...cute
Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
The more I think about it, the more interesting it appears to me. The recommendation of the OH(p) quarter in grades MS67 and above is essentially a recommendation on the (current) most common state quarter in PCGS high grade of the entire run of (40) MS state quarters. Todays pop in MS68 on the OH(p) is 520!! If this coin does become a $250 coin in MS67 (and say $350 in MS68), what will, say the 2002 MS(d) or IND(d) quarter be worth in MS68 with a current pop of less than a dozen coins
Wondercoin
but will buy when it comes down to reality..
Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
Can someone please tell me why Scott Travers is such a gifted numismatist ?
Does anyone personally do business with Scott ?
Stewart
About Scott A. Travers
This first appeared in Numismatic News, May 2, 1995
Travers brings consumerist approach to hobby
One-time Outstanding Young Numismatist earns new title: The Ralph Nader of Numismatics
Copyright 1995 by Ed Reiter
Schools like to boast about famous alumni. The American Numismatic Association has a "school" of sorts in its Young Numismatist program - and it, too, has its share of well-known graduates.
Among the most successful and best-known of all is Scott Andrew Travers, who has gone on from his YN days during the 1970's to become one of the most visible and articulate dealers and authors in the numismatic field. He is often described as coin buyers' and sellers' leading consumer advocate.
Over the past 15 years, Travers has written five best-selling books on rare coins and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, conducted numerous symposiums at coin shows and other public forums, made frequent appearances as a coin-market expert on television and radio programs and still found time to operate a New York City coin business.
In these endeavors, he has fought for the interests of the "little guy" in the hobby, prompting admirers to confer upon him a title in which he takes great pride: "The Ralph Nader of numismatics."
Given his accomplishments, it's hard to believe that, even now, Travers is just 33 years old. But then, he got an early start. He developed an interest in coins at the age of 14 - and that was followed quickly by his baptism of fire as a consumerist.
"I had ordered a 1922-Plain Lincoln cent from a mail-order dealer for $30," he recalls, "and the dealer never sent me the coin. I went to seven different government agencies seeking help and, in the process, I got a number of pamphlets telling how a legitimate mail-order business should be run.
"After reading the pamphlets, I decided it would be easy for me to run a business like that myself."
He began to place advertisements in hobby periodicals offering Lincoln cents, and before long he had a growing list of mail-order customers. What counted with them wasn't his age, of which many were unaware, but rather his combination of knowledge, integrity and service.
Reflecting his interest in music, he called his fledgling firm the Musical Coin Company. After turning 18 in 1980, he switched to the more serious-sounding name that the company still bears: Scott Travers Rare Coin Galleries Inc. He operates the business from an office in midtown Manhattan.
Travers' parents encouraged his interest in coins during his formative years, accompanying him to shows around the country. Also, longtime coordinator of the ANA's YN program, Florence M. Schook, helped him realize his potential through her guidance and assistance during those years. Their efforts paid off. In 1977, the ANA awarded him a scholarship to its Summer Seminar program in Colorado Springs, Colo.
In 1978, when he was 16, the national coin club chose him as Outstanding Young Numismatist of the Year.
That was the first in a series of major awards that Travers has received over the years. In 1984, his very first book, The Coin Collector's Survival ManualTM, earned the coveted Book of the Year Award from the Numismatic Literary Guild - a remarkable achievement for a 22-year-old just out of college. He had started work on the book as a junior at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., where he graduated in 1983 with a bachelor of arts degree in politics.
In 1986, Travers' second book, Rare Coin Investment Strategy (since reissued and retitled Travers' Rare Coin Investment Strategy), won the author a second NLG Book of the Year Award.
Over the years, the survival manual has been issued in three editions and more than a dozen printings, the strategy book in two editions, and Travers also has written three other books: The Investor's Guide to Coin Trading, One-Minute Coin Expert and The Insider's Guide to U.S. Coin Values.
The books' combined sales total well over a quarter of a million copies, with about one-third that figure attributable to the insider's guide, a mass-market paperback price guide issued annually since 1993.
Unlike many numismatic authors who self-publish their books, Travers has been successful from the start in getting his works printed and distributed by some of the largest mainstream publishers in the world, including Simon and Schuster, Prentice Hall, John Wiley and Sons, and Bantam Doubleday Dell. This not only generates substantial royalties for the author but also ensures wide dissemination of the books - and their message - among potential collectors outside the hobby.
He has just reached agreement with another major publisher, one of the most celebrated publishing and entertainment houses in the world, for what promises to be his most far-reaching project to date. It will include an introductory guide to the hobby and other products aimed at attracting and cultivating new collectors.
Full disclosure has been a central part of Travers' message. While stressing the positive aspects of coin collecting, including both pleasure and profit potential, he always has been careful to alert his readers and listeners to the perils and pitfalls as well. Time after time, he has come to the assistance of people who have been victimized.
In the highly publicized class-action lawsuit that settled claims against Merrill Lynch's Athena funds, Travers was the only coin expert retained by any of the four law firms that litigated the case and helped consumers get full refunds for the money they had invested.
Armen R. Vartian, a prominent lawyer who serves as general counsel to the Professional Numismatists Guild, said Travers "made a significant contribution" in getting Athena participants their "excellent settlement."
"My objective," Travers says, "is to make consumers whole and help protect their rights while also making it clear that the underlying problems are not with coins as a product but rather with individuals who use those coins with fraudulent intent."
His consumerist approach has led his involvement in numerous court cases as an expert witness for victims of coin fraud. The Federal Trade Commission uses him as a consultant in prosecutions where coin fraud is alleged.
Travers hasn't forgotten the role ANA played in jump-starting his career. Following graduation from the Young Numismatists' ranks, he returned favor and showed his commitment to future generations of collectors by serving as an advisor to succeeding classes of seniors in the program. In 1984, the ANA honored him as Adult Advisor of the Year.
His interest in the ANA continues unabated, as has his involvement in its programs. He has been a featured speaker at ANA educational forums and seminars since 1980, and has served on a number of ANA committees, including those devoted to long-range planning, consumer protection and coin certification. In addition, he is a contributing editor of The Numismatist, the ANA's official monthly journal.
In 1992, the association recognized his efforts - on its own behalf and also for the hobby as a whole - by bestowing upon him its Glenn B. Smedley Award for Distinguished Community Service.
What does the future hold for Travers? If the last two decades are any indication, he'll be active on the numismatic scene for many years to come writing about coins, speaking about their pleasures and helping his readers and listeners maximize their benefits and minimize their risks. In case you were wondering, by the way, Travers' first consumer-protection case had a happy ending: He got a refund from the dealer who failed to send him that 1922-Plain Lincoln cent 19 years ago.
It may have been small potatoes to the dealer, but for Travers and those whose lives he has touched in numismatics, it turned out to be the start of something big.
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Scott is a gifted writer who has a talent for explaining the hobby to new collectors. When I started up collecting again in 1999, I found his books to be extremely helpful. As you get more knowledgable, you can find better books, but for the beginner, they are great. They are also balanced, in that he warns of the pitfalls as much as promoting the positives. The Ralph Nader of numismatics is probably a good description.
His clientele seems to be well-heeled collector/investors who are looking for someone to basically help them build a rare coin portfolio. As far as I can tell he is not really a dealer with an inventory, but a broker who charges a commission to find coins. I have probably bought a dozen or so coins through him with satisfactory results. Though, I will say his service is primarily dirercted to those who don't have the time to search for themselves.
Greg