Jump to content
CoinPeople.com

Coin Clubs


mmarotta

Recommended Posts

Do you belong to a local coin club? What are they like where you live?

I hesitate to name names early in the thread, but Metro Detroit, probably has eight clubs. You can go to two meetings a week. In fact, some meet twice a month. So, there is a pretty broad range. Also, things change over time and in a few years, new members redefine a club.

 

Club A:

Demographics being what they are in the hobby, women and children have long since abandoned this ship. Fifteen old guys, the youngest 45, get together once a month to have an auction of really crummy stuff that no one else wants, each one bidding on the coins of the others, believing (a) they know more than everyone else and (:ninja: if they can get it for less than Values, they got a bargain. Then they all go home.

 

Club B:

Now, there are great clubs. The officers reports tell of community activities with other town groups. They plan a bit for the next coin show. The guest speaker presents something you knew nothing about. The auction is small, quick, and interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I belong to our local club and it's probably somewhere between your examples. We have a number of women but only a few YNs. We usually have someone do a nice presentation often on things I know nothing about (sometimes esoteric, sometimes just a different area of collecting). We have an auction, sometimes it can be large, most of the time less than 20 lots, the only exception is the annual Junior Auction, where the club members donate items for the YN's to bid on with their "fake money." We have one annual show, and a raffle at each month's meeting (tickets are 3 for $1) and there's usually quite a bit of show and tell and horse trading going on. We don't meet in the summer at all, so the next meeting is the Tuesday after Labor Day, which is usually the one meeting a year I forget!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  ... and there's usually quite a bit of show and tell and horse trading going on.

 

Right, there is that. You bring a few things and see what someone else brought. I have had club members trade with me even though they did actually want what I had to offer, but stuff is stuff and eveyrone collects it, but -- more -- they wanted me to have their coin that I liked.

 

The club shows, annual or semi-annual, are a great way for all members to set up tables and sit behind them for a day. My old coin club keeps a pretty active list of area people who come to shows. We send out post cards ahead of the events, old cards, classics, with old stamps. Everyone likes that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like I need to move up to Michigan.... lol..... Im not sure if we have any coin clubs here in Atlanta.... its something Ive never checked into.... I might just look into it.... :lol:

 

 

 

 

KFC :ninja:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like I need to move up to Michigan.... lol..... Im not sure if we have any coin clubs here in Atlanta.... its something Ive never checked into.... I might just look into it....  :lol:

KFC :ninja:

 

You actually have an excellent club there. Here's their website.

 

http://www.mccatl.org/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone know of any decent coin clubs in Chicago or the 'burbs there?

 

 

Chicago Coin Club

http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/

 

Ancient Coin Club of Chicago

http://www.ancient-coin-club-chicago.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just had our Ancient Coin Club summer picnic which was very nice. The host's library on numismatics dwarfs mine in both size and organization. Something to aspire towards :-)

 

The club has a very good mix of members one set quite retired, one set with the kids out of the house, and a good deal of younger folks as well. The meetings are monthly and run from September thorugh June. The hardest part is getting speakers and topics but so far it's been very good. we have Kerry weeterstrom twice in three years, a museum curator, authors, and many club members. Some meetings are more for show and tell or open discussion as well.

 

There's also a more US centered club but it's kind of far so I haven't had a chance to ever attend.

 

The Chicago Coin Club also puts on good meetings, at least in conjunction with the CICF.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then we have our state and national clubs, both of which I had memberships in, but let lapse, because I never heard from them. When my state club had it's post Thanksgiving show last year, I tried to sign up again, but everybody allegedly in said organisation walked around and around like chickens with their heads cut off. I guess they are not used to people wishing to join, or renew memberships. And after 10 minutes of my impatience in waiting, I gave up and went back to the bourse floor.

 

I should have cornered Mike Marotta whilst he was speaking on Alexander as Herakles, and had him take my renewal!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you belong to a local coin club?

Yes, I joined our local coin club trying to get plugged into the local numismatic community.

 

What are they like where you live?

See the description for Club A below... mostly...

 

Club A:

Demographics being what they are in the hobby, women and children have long since abandoned this ship.  Fifteen old guys, the youngest 45, get together once a month to have an auction of really crummy stuff that no one else wants, each one bidding on the coins of the others, believing (a) they know more than everyone else and (:ninja: if they can get it for less than Values, they got a bargain.  Then they all go home.

 

This sounds a lot like the club in my community, with some exceptions. One is which that the local club was given a hugh amount of money many years ago from an estate with the stipulation that the primary purpose of the club is to bring YN's into the hobby. So from what I have observed there are several members children that are brought (dragged?) to the meetings under the banner of teaching the youth the hobby. After opening remarks and the monthly freebie drawings, the YN's are "dismissed" to a different room to do their "education" project. During their absence some general, usually not really very important club business is talked about. Then the YN's rejoin the parents and the real reason the meeting was held begins, the monthly "auction of really crummy stuff that no one else wants..."

 

I had joined and paid my dues and went for about 8 months straight, and during that time there was only one adult education class given, and that was a recap of someone's trip to Colorado and their numismatic class they took at the ANA headquarters. After that, my interest really wained. Without trying to sound self important, my time is more valuable to me than to spend three hours at a meeting that its sole purpose is to swap around crappy coins between members.

 

Then the most recent club newsletter arrived yesterday. Let me share with you part of the minutes of the meeting...

 

[Club member name] made a motion to amend the by-laws. He proposed an educational program for the adults to be a regular item at each meeting. [Club member name] seconded the motion. It was defeated 17-18. There was a second vote. It was defeated 18-21.

 

In the same newsletter there was mention about taking the YN's to Colorado this summer for ANA classes. There was concern because several of the YN's did NOT complete their required assignments for the classes, thereby not passing the class. The discussion was that maybe there needs to be some kind of "requirements" in order to have the club pay for the classes and attendance in Colorado each year. Imagine that!

 

So there you have it. What are you suppose to make of something like this? The club is suppose to support, and offer numismatic education to YN's in order to get access to the funds left it by the trust (we are talking 7 plus figures here!!) but they do not want to be bothered with adult education. Sounds like double standards, hypocrisy to me.

 

As for me, I will not be back. I get better community and education visiting the forums and being a member of WINS then I ever got at the local club.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rabone, maybe you should do a little research and find out who is in charge of the trust. If the trust is managed by a lawyers firm or a family member of the person who left the trust, explain what is going on with it from your view. Things might change at that club some then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never had the chance to join a club here in York, PA...seems most people 'round these parts prefer to just hangout at the dealers shop for an hour or two once in a while and that is that (myself included).

 

As for youngins, I'm 23, and the youngest kid in the area who collects coins, or at least more than that dang-blasted state quarter mess. There are 4 dealers in my immediate area, and I only trust two of them, I know very few fellow collectors in this area as well, so for me a club just doesn't float my little boat.

 

But, having a forum does float my little dingy, and I have a hoot here, so really...other than my local dealers, the few coin friends, and this site, I have little need for more. :ninja:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...