mufelika Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 I am a member of the International Bank Note Society (IBNS). I am interested to learn how many other Forum Members are IBNS members. IBNS is a worldwide organization for collectors of banknotes. There are presently about 1,800 members worldwide most of whom are in the United States and Western Europe but there are members in most countries of the world including places like Iraq, Iran, Nepal, Ghana, China, India, etc. The Society puts out a quarterly newsletter and journal. It also publishes a membership directory and maintains a website at www.theibns.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
see323 Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Is the IBNS membership fee expensive ? I am already a life member of the Singapore Numismatic Assoication in Singapore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Current membership rates are ($US - £UK - AUD) Regular Membership $33.00 - £18.00 - AUD44.00 Family Membership $41.00 - £23.00 - AUD55.00 Junior Membership $16.50 - £9.00 - AUD22.00 Life Membership $650.00 - £360.00 - AUD865.00 Prices are annual except for Life Membership. In order to purchase a Life membership you must be an IBNS member in good standing and have completed at least two years continuous membership as a regular, junior or family member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Do you find that the cost of membership is worth it? I looked at their site a few times and have pondered over the "what we can do for you/benefits of membership" area and (as an amateur collector only) I don't get the feeling that there is any real reason to join. I may be missing something though, so if I am, let me know, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mufelika Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Dave: Yours is a pertinent question. I put up the post for a couple of reasons. The first one is out of curiosity as to how many IBNS members are watching this board. The other is to get feedback from members and non-members as to what their expectations from an organization like this would be. In my opinion, the most significant benefit of membership had been the directory which contained the names and addresses of all the members around the world. This allowed members to make contacts in other countries, particularly in countries that they collected. With the development of the internet, this role is becoming less significant as it is much easier to make contacts around the world. It also put you on a number of dealers mailing lists. It has been years since I received a list in the mail although I do visit several members websites and receive lists by email. The directory could also be used to identify other collectors that lived nearby. The organization is beginning a drive to put more emphasis on local participation by the formation of local chapters. In the US there is only one active chapter and that is in Milwaukee. It has been around in one form or another for over 30 years. The only other chapter in North America is in Vancouver. There are also active chapters in the UK and Australia. The Milwaukee chapter has about 45 members and meets once a month at one of the local libraries. They have an educational program, a show-and-tell period and an auction. Members also bring in notes to sell. It is a pretty good time. Ideally, the organization would duplicate the Milwaukee experience in the other major cities in the US and around the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 If I could join a local chapter of the IBNS that'd be great! For that it might just be worth the time and money to try it out. Where I am though, I have to say there aren't hardly any paper collectors around. I met only one guy who had a decent collection in a coin store. He said he had bought the whole lot of about 70 remainders of US Broken Banknotes from a guy who said that he took them from his father as he was burning them(!) in the basement of his house, despondent over his ailing health. Otherwise, all the notes I have seen were the very common notes and at that in fine or less condition. But I have always wondered if there was another guy in the area who quietly collected banknotes in his home as he got old and fat. Maybe I'll find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
see323 Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 I have many times consider joining IBNS.After some careful and times spend on going through the IBNS website, I find that may not be suitable for me especially we do not have a local chapter of IBNS in Singapore. Maybe it will be very useful and more appropriate for banknote collectors in USA, Australia and Canada since they do have a sizeable members located in a local chapter and there is ample growth of members within the local chapter. Activities relating to banknotes can be organized. In Singapore, the Singapore Numismatic Association do not have much activities especially the last few years. It is unfortunate. Internet help to connect world banknote collectors and dealers together. Ebay is one good example. Specialized forums such as coinpeople also help to bring everyone together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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