Sep 28, 2011 | ANA
On September 28, 2011, the American Numismatic Association issued a press release announcing that the association has “ended its employment arrangement with Larry Shepherd, as executive director, effective as of September 20, 2011. the vote of the Board to sever that relationship was unanimous.”
The ANA held a conference call early in the day a with members of the numismatic press. Unfortunately, your blog host, who is also an ANA member, was not invited to participate.
No reason was given as to the reason for Shepherd’s dismissal. However, those of us who make our living reading between the lines can speculate about the reason based on what was disclosed. The first clue comes when the press release says:
“We appreciate Shepherd’s past three years of contributions, but the Board determined the association needs to move in a different direction going forward, providing greater focus on its core educational mission,” said ANA President Tom Hallenbeck
This is the first that has been reported that the Board or anyone else felt that not enough emphasis was being placed on ANA’s educational efforts. But it appears that the Board is not happy with the increased attention to the shows. In the succeeding paragraph, Hallenbeck was quoted as saying:
The ANA is about more than just being a big coin show. It’s about our individual members and member clubs. It’s about educating our members and the general public, doing so by creating a positive numismatic experience for the many diverse segments of our organization and the greater hobby community.
Reading between the lines, the ANA Board of Governors may have found some irregularities in Shepherd’s involvement in the expansion of shows and basing the flagship World’s Fair of Money in Chicago, a move questioned on this blog in May 2010. Has this been a simmering issue with the Board as well?
“Successful conventions and auction contracts are critical to our future,” Shepherd was quoted as saying during a time when the ANA recovering from an economic crisis created by the previous executive director. Not only did Shepherd turn around the ANA’s fiscal situation and found ways to expand revenues that would support expanded educational access to ANA members by creating additional shows as outlets for that eduction.
The last piece of the speculative puzzle was when the press release noted that the board repealed the fee instituted by Shepherd for ANA member clubs to occupy tables at the annual World’s Fair of Money convention and the National Money Show. It did not make sense to charge member clubs to participate at the show. It should have been a service, especially for all of the clubs local to the show, even if they are not a sponsoring club. Although this is something that the Board could have addressed without firing Shepherd, there must have been more.
Given the evidence, apparently, Shepherd may have overstepped his bounds during the contract negotiations regarding the shows and his attempt at management of the shows. Speculatively, Shepherd may have said something inappropriate to clubs and ANA staff involved in the shows that almost caused a revolt by those involved. The Board had taken the complaints and addressed them by saying “[Employer’s Resources of Colorado] has identified employment policy deficiencies, and provided recommendations for improving internal operational practices and positive motivational development as the ANA moves forward.”
We may never know the real reason for Shepherd’s firing, but it may boil down to his personality not meshing with the ANA employees in Colorado Springs more than anything else.
Aug 29, 2011 | ANA
On Dave Harper’s blog at Numismatic News, American Numismatic Association Executive Director Larry Shepherd called regarding being put on administrative leave.
According to Harper, Shepherd said, “I’m disappointed I was not told what the reasons for this was and I was not given an opportunity to defend myself to the board before they took this action.”
If Shepherd does not know why he was put on administrative leave, who does?
While it is important for the ANA to respect Shepherd’s privacy during an employment manner, I think the ANA should be responsible for telling Shepherd why they are taking this action. Then, unless there is a confidentiality agreement that would require Shepherd to remain silent, it should be up to him to chose whether to divulge the nature the problem.
The last time the ANA Board put an executive director on administrative leave, not only was it public, but the vote was also made public. While there was a lot animosity between the newly elected Board and then Executive Director Christopher Cipoletti with publicly made allegations of wrong doing, nobody seems to be aware of anything that Shepherd might have or have not done.
Let’s hope the ANA does the right thing and ends this soon.
Aug 25, 2011 | ANA
On Tuesday, the American Numismatic Association announced that Executive Director Larry Shepherd was place on administrative leave. The entire statement released by the ANA is as follows:
American Numismatic Association Executive Director Larry Shepherd has been placed on administrative leave during an organizational review process, President Tom Hallenbeck has announced.
Newly elected Governor Greg Lyon wrote on the PCGS message board, “This decision was not taken lightly and was clearly in the best interest of the ANA. / At this point, an investigation will be conducted by a third-party group and any further decisions will be made by the board subsequent to that investigation.”
CoinWeek is reporting that the third-party group investigating the situation is Employer’s Resources of Colorado, a human resources service firm based in Colorado Springs.
“The Board felt that there was significant reason to take this action but details cannot be shared,” wrote Lyon in another post.
Ironically, this came after it was announced last Friday during an open meeting at the World’s Fair of Money that Cipoletti had resigned his member, ending the ANA’s association with the former Executive Director four-years after his removal.
The ANA’s recent history with Executive Directors is far from stellar. After the debacle that became the reign of Christopher Cipoletti as Executive Director, here is another situation where “something” causes the ANA Board of Governors to have to take action. Although the ANA has not disclosed the reason for this action citing privacy issues, it does not look good for the organization.
Jun 6, 2011 | ANA
This weekend, I received my ballot for the 2011 election of the American Numismatic Association Board of Governors. As opposed to years past, this ballot is without controversy since the only contest is for the office of the Vice President. Since all of the officers need one vote to be elected, and it is assured that each will vote for themselves, the ANA Board will be as follows:
Tom Hallenbeck, President
Hallenbeck is the current ANA Vice President and will be the 57th President of the ANA. Prior to being Vice President, Hallenbeck served as Governor. His father, Ken Hallenbeck, served as ANA President from 1989 to 1991. In his candidate statement Hallenbeck said, “One of the areas that the ANA must improve on is the utilization of technology. We must be more creative in drawing new collectors to our website and then encouraging them to join our collector community.” If he is serious about this, he will not only have my support but he can have my time to assist in his goals. Hallenbeck is free to lookup my contact information in the ANA database use it to call on my help.
The Vice President race will be discussed below.
Gary Adkins, Governor
Adkins is an ANA Life Member and long time dealer from Minneapolis. What concerns me is that in his candidate statement, the last sentence reads, “Gary will work hard to increase the ANA’s web presence, including implementing educational ‘webinars.’” It reads almost as if the statement was a last minute add-on in order to appease a certain part of the electorate. I hope he is serious and is willing to accept help from the membership who cares about this issue.
Mike Ellis, Governor
Error collectors will recognize Ellis as one of the foremost expert on error coins. Ellis, from Camilla, Georgia, has been an officer of the Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America (CONECA). Ellis is well known as a teacher, author, and very collector centric. Ellis does not mention the use of technology, but that is not his forte which tells me he will not presume this type of agenda. However, Ellis has proven that he will support any effort if it is good for the collector.
Jeff Garrett, Governor
Garrett is an incumbent Governor that has been involved in helping turn around the ANA from its previous issues. The Lexington, Kentucky resident is a champion for numismatic education based on his experiences with programs like the ANA Summer Seminar. I wonder if Garrett would be in favor of extending education to the electronic world?
Greg Lyon, Governor
Lyon may be the youngest member of the Board of Governors and could fall into the age group I called the “Lost Demographic” Even if he is older than the lost demographic age, the St. Louis future governor’s candidate statement echoes many of my concerns on the ANA’s non-use of technology for communicating.
Cliff Mishler, Governor
Mishler is well known in the numismatics industry as the former publisher at Krause Publications. Mishler, from Iola, Wisconsin, is the current ANA President who first ran for governor in 2007 wants to return to being Governor. Based on the few email notes I have received from Misher, I am not sure he understands the impact that technology could have on the ANA. However, I know that technocrats can meander beyond the business realities that an organization could handle. Having someone experienced with the inner workings of the ANA could help keep those of us pushing technology grounded.
Scott Rottinghaus, Governor
Rottinghaus is an incumbent Governor who sill be serving his second term. Rottinghaus is a physician in New London, Connecticut where is works as a director of clinical trials, he is on the faculty at Yale Medical School, and cares for patients at the local VA Hospital. Rottinghaus, a younger member of the board, comes to his position as a collector and from a field far different from numismatics—which provides a good mix for the Board of Governors.
Wendell Wolka, Governor
Of all the board members listed, I have heard Wolka speak the most. You will not find a more enthusiastic person than Wolka. I would also recommend his columns in The Numismatist, especially if you want to learn about currency! Wolka, from Greenwood, Indiana, is an incumbent who will be serving his third term on the Board. Having Wolka on the Board of Governors is good for the ANA.
Vice President: Arthur Fitts versus Walt Ostromecki
In the only election battle, it features Arthur Fitts of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire versus Walter Ostromecki of Encino, California. In their candidate statement, both have emphasized their education credentials working with the ANA as well as their past service to the association—Ostromecki is currently a member of the Board of Governors. Outside of the ANA Fitts is involved in the numismatic industry and Ostromecki is a teacher. Fitts is more experienced with the numismatic industry than Ostromecki but Ostromecki has been involved with youth activities within and outside of the ANA that gives him a better perspective on raising he future leaders of the ANA.
This one is difficult because both bring excellent experiences from different perspective to the ANA. Although I do have a radical streak that does not want to see industry insiders taking over the Board, I am mature enough to know that the Board needs a balance between insiders and outsiders. Fitts being a proven educator and author with the knowledge of the industry makes him a good candidate for the position.
On the other hand Ostromecki is “a 38-year veteran public high school teacher” is working with young adults who are on their way to their adult pursuits. These are the people who are about to enter the “lost demographic” age and it would be helpful to have his experience help try to keep the Young Numismatists engaged. His work over the last few years as Governor also makes him a good candidate.
Although not always the case, the Vice President is usually the President-in-waiting. This year, Tom Hallenbeck will move up from the Vice President’s position to be the ANA President and should something unforeseen happen to Hallenbeck (which we hope doesn’t), the Vice President takes over as President. In this case, Ostromecki would be a better candidate since he has been directly involved in the reforms of the last few years. However, Fitts is the more experienced with ANA and has the overall experience to step in if needed. So the question is who is better for the future of the ANA?
The future of the ANA has to be younger, more adaptable, and able to really communicate to the younger members and possible work to getting the “Lost Demographic” involved. In that regard, it might be good for the association to have a professional educator near the top of the organization and one-step away from being the President. Therefore, I am endorsing Walt Ostromecki as Vice President for the ANA.
My ballot is marked and will be mailed this week.
Last Word
I am very disappointed that there are no other races for the ANA Board of Governors. I do not know why the ANA cannot recruit people to work on behalf of the association, but if it is to build on the work of the last four years to repair the damage done by those in the past, they really need to figure out how to get more people interested in being part of the board.
Another disturbing trend is the lack of women and minorities. Two years ago, Patti Finner ran for president but was defeated by Cliff Mishler. Maybe the organization Women in Numismatics can help promote the hobby to women of all ages to become involved. This might be an issue for the new Board of Governors to consider for the future of the association.
As for minority participation, I would not know where to begin. Maybe there should be an outreach program through the scouts to build an interest amongst their minority members. If I have minority readers (and I hope I do), I hope they will reply to this post and provide suggestions.
In fact, if you have comments or are a member of the ANA Board of Governors and want to comment about what I said above, please feel free to post them!
Mar 3, 2011 | ANA, commentary, technology
While I unbury myself from “real work,” I have been fielding questions and comments over my postings on electronic publishing. The comments have run the gamut from skeptical to enthusiastic for more electronic publishing.
I bring this up now because as part of the introduction of Apple’s new iPad 2, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that Radom House, Inc., the largest trade book publisher in the U.S., has made its catalog of 17,000 electronic books on Apple’s iBookstore.
Apple says that the iBookstore sells ebooks from more than 2,500 publishers and all six major trade publishers. This does not include specialty applications sold in the iTunes app store.
I wonder how difficult it would be to create an ebook version of The Numismatist? While the reader that the American Numismatic Association uses to display The Numismatist on the computer screen, the program uses Adobe Flash, which is not available on the iPad. It also requires that the computer be connected to the Internet reducing its portability.
I wonder of Apple or Amazon.com wants to help pioneer working with not-for-profit organizations by supporting subscription downloads. Amazon.com would be a good partner because they offer the Kindle reader and apps that can read Kindle formatted ebooks for many devices, including the Apple iPad. Imagine waking up one morning and the current version of The Numismatist on your favorite device. Pick up your device and just go!
Since I will not buy the first release of any product, it was difficult to wait for the iPod 2. The iPad 2 is faster, lighter, has new cameras, and more for the same price as the first generation product with a cool Smart Cover, it was worth the wait. Although I will not stand on line in front of an Apple Store when it will will go on sale at 5:00 P.M. on March 11, I will buy one before the end of the month.
Once I buy my iPad 2, I want content. Dear ANA: please sell me content!
Here I am telling the ANA that I will pay my dues for the content they provide in the form of The Numismatist in a form that would be cheaper to produce. I am not asking for something for nothing. In fact, I will pay the current paper version in order to be able to download The Numismatist to my iPad 2 so that I can consume this media how I want. So why isn’t the ANA looking outside of the box to figure out how to do this?
Feb 24, 2011 | ANA, commentary, technology
I received the March 1, 2011 edition of Numismatic News in today’s mail. In a front page, top right article, NN reported that American Numismatic Association membership is down to 28,500 members. This is the low end of the 20 year average of 28,000 to 32,000. It was reported that Kim Kiik, ANA Senior Administration Manager, told the board that an aggressive membership campaigned will be announced shortly.
In the February 2011, ANA President Cliff Mishler wrote in The Numismatist that ANA Governor Wendell Wolka wants to make the ANA library and museum more accessible to ANA members. Wolka wants the library to wants to make it easier for members to reserve books from the library by making the process electronic. He also wants to have rare and popular books digitized so that they may be electronically accessed by members.
On May 21, 2010, when I posted a follow up to my post “ANA versus Technology: The ANA is Losing!,” I wrote that the ANA is doing very little to make the association accessible to the potential 20-something and 30-something members. Then, during my January discussion of electronic publication, I wrote:
Numismatics is dominated by many people over 50. If there is a second age group, it is younger than 18. Missing in the demographic are those from 18-50 who might have been a Young Numismatist but dropped out in college and did not return until after their children have grown. This situation is unacceptable if the hobby is to survive!
The ANA can offer better outreach to this connected demographic by the appropriate use of technology. This does not have to cost a lot of money. It takes a little imagination to figure out where these potential members congregate online and deliver new content.
Based on the reporting of NN and the reporting in the February 2011 edition of The Numismatist, the ANA Board of Governors, the majority who are older than 50, are sticking their proverbial toes in the technology waters where rest of the world has lapped them several times in the race for the attention of the ANA’s lost demographic.
Rather than try to be democratic about providing advice, I am going to be very specific in my recommendations:
- While there is still time to plan, the open sessions at the World’s Fair of Money should be live streamed on a service like uStream. The ANA can start with Board Meetings and other open meetings involving the organization. How about broadcasting some of the Numismatic Theater talks on the Internet?
- What about using something like GoToWebinar to broadcast Numismatic Theater presentations with electronic slides and audio available to anyone who wants to log in at the time of the event. The online portion can be saved so that members can view later on demand.
- Borrow, lease, or buy any number of what is called “prosumer” video products that includes sound capture and tripod setup to record video, find a member with basic editing tools to add titles and do some minor editing, and upload the video to YouTube for anyone to watch. For a lesser expensive option, I have been very impressed with the Flip Ultra HD. For $199.99 (list price), with two hours of high definition video and other amenities, it is a fine camera to mount on a tripod in a room and create a video. Find someone with a Mac that has iLife preloaded (like your blog host, an ANA member), and you have the beginnings of a basic editing studio.
- Going further into the electronic video publishing environment, uStream can be used to set up pay-per-view, on-demand video. While I would love to attend the Summer Seminar, I have found that my work schedule has not been flexible enough to take the time to attend. However, if some of the courses were available online, I would pay to watch the videos. This is the ultimate money maker that can be used to support the video production environment. Create the video from the Summer Seminar and offer it online after the World’s Fair of Money at a price for one-third of the on-site course. For the price, the watcher gets the information but does not have the ability to interact with the instructor and other students.
- If you search Google Books, you can find some of the books that are in the ANA library in the electronic catalog. There are also a few copies of The Numismatist available. These are all books and journals that have been scanned by university libraries in conjunction with Google. Has someone contacted Google to scan books whose copyrights have expired or out of print books (available through their court settlement with authors and publishers that will allow them to scan “orphaned” books) making them available for the entire numismatic community? Google provides much of the resources to do this and may welcome a different source of content for their vast online library.
In order to convince the ANA Lost Demographic to maintaining their membership, the ANA should add more electronic resources and consider price breaks for this demographic. First, create a new tier what I will call the Lost Demographic. The Lost Demographic member would be potential member who older than 23 but not older than 32, was a registered YN member at any time prior to turning 23, applied for the ANA’s Basic Membership—it would not be available for Regular Membership. Lost Demographic Basic Membership dues would be half of the difference between a Regular and YN membership. For example, the Basic one-year membership for YN is $14 and Regular members $28. For the Lost Demographic Basic Membership would be $21 per year.
Finally, I am not one to sit on the sideline and throw stones by telling others what to do. Once again, I am willing to volunteer my services as an ANA member and a computing professional. Although I have offered my voluntary services to the ANA many times in the past, I am using my personal soap box to offer my services. However, continued frustration will reduce my desire to help. Act now before it is too late!
Jan 31, 2011 | ANA, commentary
I have never had a reaction to anything I wrote as I have regarding electronic publishing. Not only have I heard from numismatic publishers, but on the E-Sylum newsletter from the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. The editor of the E-Sylum electronic newsletter has been posting excerpts from my postings regarding electronic publishing and responses from other readers.
One of the responders is David Lange, Research Director at Numismatic Guaranty Corporation and author of many excellent books. His latest book, Coin Collecting Boards of the 1930s & 1940s, opens the history of how coin boards changed the collecting habits of millions of collectors—a book I recommend. However, in response to my request for more electronic publication, Dave writes:
The problem I have with doing a book solely in electronic format is one which many numismatic authors and publishers may have encountered—ours is a hobby that caters mostly to older people. I know that the buyers of my current book and the subscribers to my price lists and newsletters are mostly my age and older.
Not to pick on Dave, but his response is an endemic problem with the hobby. Numismatics is dominated by many people over 50. If there is a second age group, it is younger than 18. Missing in the demographic are those from 18-50 who might have been a Young Numismatist but dropped out in college and did not return until after their children have grown. This situation is unacceptable if the hobby is to survive!
One question I have: where is the American Numismatic Association in this discussion?
Sure, the ANA now offers editions of The Numismatist online, but where is the rest of their outreach? Twitter and Facebook are only outreach tools, they are not delivery platforms. The ANA has wonderful programs for Young Numismatists to bring those under 18 into the hobby, but what programs do they have to keep them engaged? Even though the YN program extends to 22, keeping those in college or trying to start careers interested as they mature into their lives is severely lacking.
The ANA can offer better outreach to this connected demographic by the appropriate use of technology. This does not have to cost a lot of money. It takes a little imagination to figure out where these potential members congregate online and deliver new content.
For example, hometown coin clubs may not be accessible to collectors at college. What about virtual coin clubs? The ANA can create “Numismatic Counsellors” to hold periodic meetings that members could access from anywhere. Presentations can be given online by anyone or the meeting can consist of videos, show and tell, and discussion amongst members. And for an average cost of $4,000-5,000 per year, it could be the least expensive outreach the ANA could do.
Has the ANA ever thought to using this service to bring the Coins in the Classroom program on line? When teachers register for the seminar, Education Department could send the materials via regular mail. When the seminar is held teachers can login to the online classroom to support this program. It would reduce travel, lodging, and room rental costs for those taking the online seminar. And the ANA can hold more of these seminars to further the outreach to a new audience.
I have many more examples of how the ANA could reach out to more people—like using a streaming video service during the ANA conventions. However, the last time I wrote to the ANA Board to discuss a previous post, I was disappointed with the response. I volunteered my services as someone with over 30 years in the computing industry and have not heard back from anyone mentioned in various email notes. DISCLAIMER: Shortly after writing my note my work assignment changed limiting my time, but I could help in smaller ways.
However, if something happened to limit my time, an organization should never ignore a member who is volunteering to help. Not only do I have experience in this area, you never know when my situation will change that will allow me to participate further.
I think the hobby is losing a lot of potential members by not using technology to keep members interested after they are YNs. Especially over the last ten years, as YNs grow up and transition to young adults, they are very comfortable with technology. They are very heavy consumers of electronic content. If the ANA provides its outreach online where these potential members are, maybe the age demographic of the hobby will be more distributed than it is today.
Dec 23, 2010 | ANA, obituary, YN
It is with great sadness to report that Cameron Kiefer, 28, died on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 from an apparent suicide. Cameron was an accomplished numismatist who had won the 2001 CSNA Literary Award and the ANA Outstanding Young Numismatist of the Year in 2002. Subsequently he became a grader at the Independent Coin Grading Company when it was located in Colorado Springs. Cameron resigned from ICG in March 2008 to become a full-time coin dealer.
I briefly became acquainted with Cameron after I posted the story about his departure from ICG. After a few email exchanges where he seemed excitedly nervous, I wished him luck and said that I hope we can do business in the future. Running a business did not come easy for Cameron which may have lead to his unfortunate decision.
Cameron Kiefer was married and left behind two children, reported to be three and one years old. My sincere condolences go out to his family and wish for better times ahead.
UPDATE: Obituary and funeral information may be found at the Horan & McConaty Funeral Home.
Jun 24, 2010 | ANA, commentary, shows
American Numismatic Association Executive Director Larry Shepherd was interviewed by David Lisot for CoinTelevision.com about the ANA’s decision to base its summer World’s Fair of Money in Chicago.
Shepherd opens his remarks saying that “[this] is not a knee jerk reaction as some publications made it out to be.” He reiterated that this was a well thought process. The problem seems that each one of his arguments have answers that could be addressed with another perspective. Here are counters to two of his main points.
One of the factors Shepherd cites as a reason for Chicago being a good place for a coin show is the lack of other major coin shows in the area. It is interesting that the ANA did not consider the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF) and Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX) major shows. CICF and CPMX have been held in the Rosemont area for a while and is now owned by Krause Publications, founded by Board of Governors member Chet Krause and where President Cliff Mishler was once CEO. In addition to CICF and CPMX, the Mid America Coin Expo was moved the Schaumburg in 2008 and starting next year, the Central States Numismatic Society moved their annual show to Rosemont for 2011 and Schaumburg for the succeeding five years.
Even if you discount the CSNS show because of timing, that is three major shows already in Chicago. Although Shepherd can argue that the World’s Fair of Money is a bigger show, it is probably the biggest coin show in North America, if not the world. So why not share the wealth with other cities?
The other issue that Shepherd brought up is that he said that (paraphrasing) an organization cannot call up a city and say you are bringing the world’s largest coin show to their city in a few years—tell the mayor. After consulting with someone in another industry confirmed what Shepherd said that cities are looking for a financial commitment. They want the organization to guarantee floor space (and associated rent) in the convention center and hotel usage that will represent the potential income from the various taxes governments charge.
Shepherd mentions that meeting the guarantees is becoming difficult because of online travel sites that undercut the prices agreed upon in the contract to use the city facilities. If the organization does not sell the minimum guaranteed rooms, the organization must make up the tax losses to the city. What Shepherd does not tell you is that an organization can negotiate this with the city. What he does say is that this is that this is not an issue in Chicago… except that the location is not in Chicago. The proposed location is in Rosemont, just east of Chicago O’Hare International Airport and 17 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. It is also a limited access area with a limited number of hotels nearby making guarantees unnecessary since most people going to the show will stay in a nearby hotel.
Rather than trying to negotiate with municipalities to host a show that does millions of dollars of business in addition to a multi-million dollar rare coin auction, Shepherd recommended this enclave outside of Chicago near the second busiest airport in the United States surrounded by suburbs and not exactly a tourist destination.
In the past, Shepherd discussed the scheduling and handling of the ANA shows so as to not lose money. One consideration was to find what he described as “a good bourse city” primarily to make the dealers happy. What he never mentioned is what would make the ANA collectors happy. Rather, Shepherd is saying that it is not enough to use what is probably the world’s largest numismatic show as the destination in different cities as outreach to its members and future members, the ANA, a non-profit organization, is using the show to make a profit and enforce profits for its dealers. I am for dealers making profits, but I am against this profit motive as a driving factor for the placement of the ANA convention.
The Chicagoland area is a wonderful place and Chicago is a great city. But to be the only area that the ANA uses for its premier convention is an insult to cities all over the country capable of hosting a successful show and an indictment on Shepherd’s inability to think creatively.
May 21, 2010 | ANA
First, I want to thank everyone who responded directly to me regarding my post ANA versus Technology: The ANA is Losing! There have been so many notes that it is impossible to respond individually.
An overwhelming number of responses were from people who identified themselves as 20-something or 30-something collectors who said they read my blog and others to hear from other collectors. It seems as if they read the blogs to share with other collectors as they would do if they were to attend a coin club meeting. It may be anecdotal, but it adds to my assumptions as to where to find what I am calling “the gap generation” between the young numismatists and the member who comes back to collecting after they are settled into their life.
To answer the predominant question generated by the post: yes, I heard from members of the ANA Board of Governors and ANA President Cliff Mishler. Since I have not had a chance to answer their notes I will not comment on the contents of the correspondence at this time. There are areas for me to follow up and will do so shortly.
I will say that I learned a few things from the Board members that is not readily apparent from materials published by the ANA. That information gap is worrisome and something that has to be addressed.
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