John W Grayson Overview
John William Grayson Jr. was a career coin and bullion dealer based in South Texas, active from at least 1980 through the mid-1980s and likely later. He is documented distributing the Texas 150th Anniversary Collection (1985–1986) by mail order via period Coin World and Texas Monthly advertisements.
John Grayson Biographical Information
Born November 15, 1941 in Mobile, Alabama; died November 14, 2013 in San Benito, Texas. His obituary describes him as “nationally known as a rare coin collector and rare coin dealer,” with a career spanning Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Lawrence, Kansas; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and San Benito, Texas. He attended Southern Mississippi University and the Jackson School of Law. He was survived by his wife, Rosa Grayson, and children Terry Brouillet and John William Grayson III.
John Grayson Business Role
Distributor (mail-order coin and bullion dealer)
Grayson operated as an individual under his own name rather than a registered business name — no assumed-name (DBA) filing for him has been found in Cameron County records, consistent with Texas law not requiring a DBA filing for a sole proprietor trading under his own legal name.
Documented locations and contact points:
- P.O. Box 1921, San Benito, TX 78586 (confirmed active 1980–1983, via Coin World classifieds)
- P.O. Box 1986, Harlingen, TX 78551 (confirmed active January 1986, via Texas Monthly ad — note the box number matches the Sesquicentennial year)
John Grayson Known Programs
- Texas 150th Anniversary Collection (1985–1986) — distributor, confirmed via period advertisements
- Generic Mexican coinage (Cuauhtemoc, Railroad, Constitution pesos) and “Onzas” silver bullion rounds — ongoing dealer inventory, not Texas-themed, documented via 1980 and 1983 Coin World classifieds
- American Silver Eagles, Philippine silver coinage, and novelty replica rounds (e.g., a 2 oz “1804 Bust Dollar” silver replica) — later dealer inventory, documented via an undated Coin World ad referencing 1990 American Silver Eagles
John Grayson Attribution Notes
Grayson’s role in the Texas 150th Anniversary Collection is confirmed as distributor through three independent sources: a September 14, 1983 Coin World ad (Newman Numismatic Portal), a January 1986 Texas Monthly ad, and a WorthPoint reseller’s firsthand account of ordering directly from him in 1985. Whether his role extended beyond distribution — to commissioning the program, securing an exclusive distributorship, or simply retailing stock wholesaled to him — is unresolved and should not be assumed from his documented multi-decade standing in the trade alone.
Two additional South Texas–themed pieces, Rio Grande Valley and Port Isabel Lighthouse (both attributed to World Wide Mint), are suspected but not confirmed to be Grayson’s own custom regional orders, based on his San Benito/Rio Grande Valley base of operations rather than direct documentary evidence.
John Grayson Research Status
Confirmed
- Identity, dates, and biographical details (obituary)
- Distributor role for the Texas 150th Anniversary Collection
- Multi-decade operation as an individual coin/bullion dealer under his own name (1980–at least 1990)
- Two documented P.O. Box locations, San Benito and Harlingen
Unconfirmed / Under Research
- Exact relationship to World Wide Mint (retailer vs. distributor vs. possible commissioning party)
- Whether Rio Grande Valley and Port Isabel Lighthouse were his own custom orders
- Full extent of his dealer inventory and years of operation beyond the documented ad dates
- Any formal business registration outside Texas (Mississippi, Kansas, Tennessee) from earlier in his career
John Grayson Summary
John William Grayson Jr. was a long-tenured, self-described “nationally known” coin and bullion dealer operating out of South Texas, confirmed as the mail-order distributor of the Texas 150th Anniversary Collection in 1985–86. He conducted business under his own name without a registered DBA, consistent with records found (or not found) in Cameron County. The extent of his role in originating versus simply distributing the Sesquicentennial program remains an open question.
John Grayson References
- John William Grayson Jr. obituary, Valley Morning Star (Trinity at Harrison Funeral Home, Harlingen, TX)
- Newman Numismatic Portal, Coin World, September 14, 1983 — John Grayson, P.O. Box 1921, San Benito, TX 78586
- Newman Numismatic Portal, Coin World, July 16, 1980 and undated pages — John Grayson, Box 1921, San Benito, TX
- Texas Monthly, January 1986 — “The Alamo” commemorative one ounce silver round advertisement
- eBay sold listing, “1985 TEXAS .999 SILVER Round Come Take It…” — buyer’s account of ordering from John Grayson, 1985
- Cameron County, Texas, Assumed Name and Property records (cameron.tx.publicsearch.us)
- Texas Stacker Archives
Coins from John Grayson (San Benito / Harlingen, TX) (15)
