This week’s poll asks if you belong to a local coin club.
I believe that local coin clubs are more the future of the hobby than national clubs. Members of local coin clubs can get involved in ways they cannot with a national club and have a greater impact in their community than on a national basis.
I am a member of two local clubs, the Montgomery County Coin Club (MCCC) and the Washington Numismatic Society (WNS). I joined MCCC in 2002 when I became interested in collecting again and have been significantly involved since. I think we are a strong club in an area of the country where there are varied interests a lot of alternative activities for people to be involved. Attendance at our monthly meets range from 20 during the slow summer months to over 40 when we have a popular program. For 2013, I will once again serve as the club’s president.
Last year I joined WNS with the intent of going to their meetings and getting involved with a different group of members. While some WNS members are also MCCC members, there people who are not members of both and a different way of doing things. My “real life” work requirements has prevented me from being more involved, but I hope that will change in 2013.
I am also a member of the Maryland State Numismatic Association (MSNA), the umbrella organization over clubs in Maryland where I have been Vice President since 2012. MSNA is in transition because of local changes in the numismatic climate, mainly the three-times per year Whitman Coin and Currency Expo held in Baltimore. The transition gives us an opportunity to try new ideas and help grow interest in numismatics in Maryland.
Being a member of these organizations allows me to meet and talk with others about numismatics. There are some members who are well known on the national scene, those whose regional knowledge has been valuable, and those with interesting collections and ideas that I would have never thought about.
Taking the time to meet other collectors is as rewarding as the hobby—especially with MCCC and WNS who dedicates a part of their meeting to exhibits, a numismatic “show-and-tell” of new finds or something different from their collections.
Are you a member of a local coin club? If not, why not? Vote in the poll and comments are always welcome below!
EDITED TO ADD: To find a club in your area, you can search for one through the ANA Club Directory. You can search by state, zip code, or even by specialty.
Do you belong to a local coin club?
Total Voters: 19
Is there an official listing of local coin clubs somewhere?
Yes, there is. Click here to see the ANA Club Directory. There, you can search for a club by location.