Survey of club annual dues ... please post if you are a local coin club member

astrorat

Our local coin club is considering adding 'Family Membership' and 'Life Membership' to our current offerings of membership. We currently have only 'Regular Member' and 'Young Member' categories.

If you are a member of a local coin club, would you please share your current membership levels and their costs? I would like to use the data to inform our decision-making as we move forward. Thanks in advance.

Tyler Coin Club Annual Dues
Regular member = $20
Young member (<18 y/o) = $10

KellenCoin

Adult: 20/year
YN: 5/year
Family: 30/year
Life: It varies

astrorat

@KellenCoin said:
Adult: 20/year
YN: 5/year
Family: 30/year
Life: It varies

Thanks ... can you share how the life membership varies in cost? That's one of the 'sticking points' with our members.

KellenCoin

@astrorat said:

@KellenCoin said:
Adult: 20/year
YN: 5/year
Family: 30/year
Life: It varies

Thanks ... can you share how the life membership varies in cost? That's one of the 'sticking points' with our members.

I do not have one, but in my understanding it is based on how many years you have been with the club.

Hemispherical

@astrorat

An option for lifetime membership is to base it upon actuarial life expectancy.

If an adult cost is $20/yr.

Life expectancy is 76 for males and 80 for females. Calculations below are based on male using the SSA Actuarial Tables.

40yo; signs up for life would cost 36yr * $20/yr = $720

50yo; signs up for life would cost 26yr * $20/yr = $520

60yo; signs up for life would cost 16yr * $20/yr = $320

70yo; signs up for life would cost 6yr * $20/yr = $120

Etc.

Discounts could be applied the earlier one signs up for life membership.

SSA Actuarial Table:
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html

amwldcoin

I remember when I considered signing up for a life membership with the ANA. At the time interest rates were such that the interest earned per year on the cost of a life membership was more than the cost of a year's membership. Needless to say I didn't buy a life membership.

The only associations I have a life membership with are with those that make financial sense to do so!

RogerB

Same.

Maybe clubs should offer discounts if you attend more meetings, or make a 20-min presentation?

jdimmick

Our club dues are 20.00 (we don't offer young numismatist discount any longer), which I think was a mistake.

illini420

Glendale Coin Club and Verdugo Hills Coin Club have the same annual dues:

$8 - individual
$12 - family (living under one roof)

Numismatic Association of Southern California

$20/year - if you get our print magazine ($50 for 3 years)

$10/year - if you get a digital copy of our magazine ($25 for 3 years)
life memberships are also available and the price depends on whether you get print or digital and whether you are over or under 50 years old

@RogerB said:
Same.

Maybe clubs should offer discounts if you attend more meetings, or make a 20-min presentation?

Our Glendale Coin Club gives speakers who give 15-25 min presentations one of our silver Glendale Coin Club medals made by Dan Carr... I know other area clubs who give $20 cash.

Unknown

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snizzle

Fort London coin club
Small club we help with the April Knoxville 2 day show
$2.00 a year for all
Tom

robkool

Long Beach Coin Club...

Individual... $12.50/per year for email newsletter. $15.00/per year for snail mail newsletter.
YN (young numismatist) 15 & younger... FREE

3keepSECRETif2rDEAD

...I lose more than $20 sitting on random couches all year...not a member of any coin clubs but if I started one, it would certainly cost more than that to be a member annually

illini420

Something else to consider in your membership dues is why do you need to collect dues in the first place?

For the NASC, mentioned above, our membership dues mostly go toward paying for the printing of our quarterly magazine and the postage associated with that. The balance collected goes towards other postage, mailing out due notices and other correspondence. Whatever is left goes toward our projects which are aimed at supporting local coin clubs.

For our Glendale Coin Club, our dues are collected to mostly help fund the annual cost of our meeting room (insurance policy) and to help subsidize the cost of refreshments that we provide to attendees.

So, unless you're just trying to grow the club bank account, figure out what you need the money for and how much money you need... that should help you figure out what dues you need to charge.

illini420

Also, for our local coin club, even though the $8/individual or $12/family membership is not much money. We always have a few regular attendees each year who do not pay. We announce that dues are due at the first couple of meetings each year and in our newsletter, and most pay without a problem. But some just don't pay. I don't pressure anyone to pay and we certainly don't ask the non-payers to leave our meetings. I also don't remove non-payers from our newsletter email list.

It's hard enough for clubs to get new members in the first place and I figure if someone doesn't pay, maybe they really can't afford it and I really don't need to embarrass them or get into it with them for a few dollars. It always surprises me when clubs remove people from their email lists because they aren't current on dues. It costs nothing to send them email and you never know when they may come back and become an active member once again.

That said, at our Christmas party, we sometimes give gifts to all members, especially if our club has made a few bucks during the year. When we strike medals for our club, all members who attend a meeting during the year get one free medal. Extra things like that are only given to members who are current with their dues.

JJSingleton

Mountain Coin Club - Blairsville GA

$12 Individual
$15 Family
$1 YN

We have discussed multi-year and life memberships but each time conclude the following...we don't want to mess with keeping track of who has paid for how many years. Just easier to get everyone to pay the first couple of meetings each year.

BillJones

Regular membership $12.00 a year, Junior members $3.

With our club you get back more than pay because you entitled to get a book worth at least $20 at the end of year, if you attend the meeting to order it and pick it up. You also stand a good chance of getting an American Silver Eagle if you do some work.

rmorgan

The Liberty Club (St. Paul) gets $5 for the first year of a new member and $3 for renewals. They meet weekly with attendance in the thirties. I assume they make their money by holding two semi-annual shows that draws a good number of dealers, but I'm not in-the-know about that.

BLUEJAYWAY

@BillJones said:
Regular membership $12.00 a year, Junior members $3.

With our club you get back more than pay because you entitled to get a book worth at least $20 at the end of year, if you attend the meeting to order it and pick it up. You also stand a good chance of getting an American Silver Eagle if you do some work.

Great idea/offering.

RockyMtnProspector

Northside (Denver) Coin Club: $12 annually.
Denver Coin Club: $10 annually.
Both are $1 per year for junior members.

Ronyahski

Fairfax Coin Club. Started about 1 1/2 years ago.
Regular - $20
Youth - $10
Family - $30
Lifetime - $200

Zoins

I like the Knights of the Coin Table approach. No membership dues but people buy lots of their annual medals.

BAJJERFAN

Adults $5 youth $2

Aspie_Rocco

@astrorat
Thank you for making this thread. I now intend to join the Glendale club.

Jinx86

I'm a bad coin club president. I think our dues are $15/year for regular members and 5$/year for youth. We run fairly tight to breaking even every year. Getting tighter too with less members and two shows to host.

illini420

@Jinx86 said:
I'm a bad coin club president. I think our dues are $15/year for regular members and 5$/year for youth. We run fairly tight to breaking even every year. Getting tighter too with less members and two shows to host.

Start a 50-50 raffle at each meeting. Winner gets half and club gets half. Gamblers love it and it's quick and easy money for the club.

giantsfan20

For those $20 coin clubs what type of benefits do you get for membership?

halfcentman

I belong to the Watchung Hills Coin Club in Warren, NJ.

1) Our annual dues are $20.00
2) Dues are free for Young Numismatists (under 18 years of age)
3) Life Membership cannot be purchased. It is either based on the number of years of continuous membership.

dan_marinelli

Bowie Coin Club, not local for me anymore. Dues are $20, yn maybe cheaper. No life. Auctions each meeting, 1/month, lots go from anywhere from $5 to $1000.

http://www.bowiecoinclub.com/index.html

astrorat

Thanks everyone ... please keep the info and commentary coming ... it's very helpful.

We have a fairly healthy club with a monthly attendance usually in the 35-45 range, but only a couple of the attendees are YNs. We usually have an educational presentation (ranging from 'look at this' to a detailed PowerPoint presentation).

We have 4-6 'door prizes' each month, which is generally a numismatic item valued around $5. We also give away a birthday gift (similar to a door prize) for any member with a birthday that month.

The highlight (and major draw) for the meeting is the auction. I suspect if we didn't have an auction, we would lose well over half of our attendees.

Edited to add ... we also have rather nice refreshments at every meeting.

BStrauss3

Northeast Tarrant - $15/year
Fort Worth - $20

Numismatics International - Full $30 - Digital $15 - life membership $300
TNA - $30 - life membership $500 (raised from $300 in January)

Accounting-wise the club needs to segregate the monies paid for a life membership to account for the liability to deliver each year. That can be in an interest-bearing account, and the interest can be used to cover increases in yearly dues or to discount the cost.

Nysoto

I am currently a member of two local clubs, $10 a year. I have not been consistent in my membership and have been away for a few years when other aspects of life are a priority and dominate my time. One of the clubs is a simple monthly get together for dinner and discussion at local restaurant - this is what I like best.

My opinion is to keep local club dues simple and inexpensive - online correspondence should be expected and if paper is needed by some, dues should be higher. I don't think bringing a spouse or child should add to the cost - one rate and YN's should be free. Some local clubs raise money with annual shows. Also, make it easy to pay, if someone wants to pay with cash, don't insist a check has to be sent to the treasurer.

I have never been a LM and have seen some local clubs fold or merge, so that is a concern.

Rollerman

Our club charged $7 per year for adults, $3.00 per year for youngsters 16 and under. We usually have 40 or so members at our meetings and due to the success of our annual show, we have a healthy treasury despite the low dues amount.
We have an active and fun club.

claychaser

Fort Collins, Colorado:

Dues are $5.00 per year, $50 life.

77 members, and meeting attendance runs 32-40.

Donuts, snacks and drinks provided at 10 monthly regular meetings per year. No regular meeting in July, or December.

In December, we have an annual Christmas party free to members, family, or a guest - with catered in food - Last year it was Café Rio. And free bingo at the party for a gold coin grand prize and silver other prizes.

Dues at $5 cannot cover all of these costs, but we do have two coin shows a year that make money to fund it all.

BAJJERFAN

Our club has added a member who is a former currency grader for PCGS. Interesting young man.

csdot

$10 regular member.
$5 YN