Affordable Mono Cartridge For VPI Scout

I have a Shelter 501 with my scout/super platter, but I have several mono records and an interest in music from the 1950s. I am looking into getting a new arm wand to experiment. Shelter has a Mono cartridge, but the price seems ridiculous to me, at $1,750, plus I might as well take the opportunity to experiment with a different sounding cartridge. So far, I have been thinking about Lyra Dorian, Cartridge Man Music Maker, the Sound Smith Denon mods or one of the Benz mono cartridges. I'll upgrade my table when finances permit, probably a few years from now....looking for a cartridge that will be good for a long time, even with a better table (e.g, TW-Acustic). Any suggestions would be much appreciated. All the best, Mark