ANA President

Justacommeman

Q- who was the last great president of the ANA? One who was long on innovation and short on status quo. if someone could cite examples I'd appreciate it.

I don't know the answer to this but was curious to those who have been around longer then me.

m

cameonut2011

If you define greatness as synonymous with prolific innovator, I'm not sure any of them qualify.

Justacommeman

@cameonut2011 said:
Define "great president."

I thought I did. Innovation

I'll add positive influence on the hobby. On the body itself. Someone who advanced the hobby.

Heck I'll add who was the last great Executive Director? Same criteria

Surely there were some that most felt did an outstanding job during their tenure.

mark

ElmerFusterpuck

While I don't think the people that have been there were terrible, it's amazing how little they acknowledged social media and other platforms for coin collecting. We need someone that doesn't think like a broken VHS tape in a TikTok world.

Dwight_M

Ed Rochette was excellent. Kim kiik is great too. The problem isn’t the staff. It’s boards that live in the past. We have an endowment with over 40,000,000 and tens of millions more coming over the next 15 years when the Keith family passes. Yet we spend next to zilch of it on member growth or modern marvels that would make the ANA truly dynamic.
Maybe start with an ANA app ?

Justacommeman

@Dwight_M said:
Ed Rochette was excellent. Kim kiik is great too. The problem isn’t the staff. It’s boards that live in the past. We have an endowment with over 40,000,000 and tens of millions more coming over the next 15 years when the Keith family passes. Yet we spend next to zilch of it on member growth or modern marvels that would make the ANA truly dynamic.
Maybe start with an ANA app ?

I've always maintained that the ANA should look to the outside for innovation. Heck, I dragged my Market Director ( fashion) wife to one coin show 7 years ago and she came up with multiple observations on the first aisle. An App was one of them. She's now a Chief Revenue Officer in addition to running Marketing. Point is outside talent, outside of coins can often things more clearly.

m

ColonelJessup

Whatever the Board may want, whatever the staff are willing to do, ANA is and always will be perpetually deeply broke (even if they're technically solvent).

25% of ANA's financial funding come from an eleemosynary trust created decades ago by one individual/family for that express purpose. IiRC the trust owns the property and building. Membership dues and Numismatist advertising could not keep it alive by themselves.

It's not so much the dealers who don't want to foster education, Some websites may have cost them $100K or more. They know the technology is there. Online educational courses are being constructed. Want a sardonic laugh? I think that guy also has two other job responsibilities beyond creating content. If the term "moment of least astonishment" doesn't create a sliver of recognition, you know very little about websites. Not an unusual condition.

I don't think there's much support from many local coin club members. My take is many may be either or both technologically challenged and have fun with lower value material.

Social media? Facebook maybe, but this 77 year-old could not give a crap about Instagram and the like. The concept and mechanism seems a good racket for finding tech-savvy under-40's with too much money and too little time to perform in-depth due diligence. Too much of a resonance with the "tele-marketing ethos" (surely an oxymoron).

Being a 77 year-old curmudgeon gives me grumbling rights about the younger generation(s) and their increasingly diminishing knowledge of history. Pre-internet data seems increasingly less relevant. Just because it's old-fartism to mention cultural devolution does not mean it's not actually occurring.

Dwight_M

They are not broke. They are well endowed

Justacommeman

Rick, great to see you post and hope you are well.

I just hate seeing opportunities squandered. Heck during the pandemic most business found a way to get by and even flourish. It wasn't done by sitting on the sidelines. Heck a virtual ANA immersive interactive sponsored Coin Show would have been a possible block buster. There was so much pent up demand. Seemed so obvious. Canceling shows and waiting it out seemed par for the course.

Anyhow don't stay out of trouble my friend

m

bolivarshagnasty

The social networking sites are where I see new blood and excitement in the hobby. This is where the ANA could recruit and educate so that this segment grows. Nothing worse for the hobby than a new excited Collector being disillusioned by a scam or rip.

Justacommeman

I also would retool the Board of Governors and make it a Board of Directors. Mix in the private sector with industry stalwarts.

mark

neildrobertson

I've always thought ANA's greatest advantage was that they can position themselves as an authority and standard bearer. Their membership is collectors and they can stand to benefit collectors. It's at least appealing to me that Ralph Ross does not have a history as being a coin dealer in that sense.

They definitely need someone that can assemble and inspire a volunteer workforce. Those volunteers can develop educational programming, and organize collector events. Some of the best hobbyist/recreational sports environments I've experienced have been driven by folks that have a passion and want to feed off of others that have that passion. Golden Ages can be seeded by getting a few key people doing good things and creating an inclusive environment for others to come in and help.

Crypto

Make ANA great again

Justacommeman

@Dwight_M said:
They are not broke. They are well endowed

You can go far in life being not broke and well endowed

m

Zoins

PCGS, NGC and the ANS have really stepped up with online presence including Instagram, Facebook and online cataloging and magazines.

The ANA could do a lot but I don’t miss them too much except for listing museum holdings online and making past magazines free, both of which the ANS does.

I’m not sure the short term ANA President stint helps for long term planning.

ricko

If innovation is desired (and I agree it would be of great value), then the ANA must be run as a business, and not an institution. A business must innovate, create excitement within it's field, attract customers, address issues and provide resolution. Until that happens, the ANA will just 'exist' as a non-functional entity such as a museum. Cheers, RickO

TurtleCat

The situation with the ANA mirrors that of most governments and institutions: the people who would be the best leaders and innovators would rather be doing something else like running their own company or similar.

cardinal

During the pandemic, with all of the Museums shut down, many Museums retained their employees and had their staff create virtual visits via videos.

One of my favorite Museum is the Rijks Museum of Amsterdam! They have a number of virtual videos where you can go down different corridors to see the various exhibits, and you can zoom in for a better sight. Their staff answer questions immediately, and respond quickly to requests. Just a month or so, they responded with my request for a couple photos.

Here was their response:

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en

If the image will be published in a book, please mention the source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. We would also appreciate a copy for our library.

High image quality is very important to the Rijksmuseum. We continually adapt our files to the latest quality standards so please always order the latest version and avoid reusing old files.

You may use the image free of charge, but in these difficult times we appreciate a contribution. You can donate to the Rijksmuseum by clicking here.

With kind regards,
Maria Smit
Accountmanager Beeld
T +31 (0)20 674 7096

tcollects

@cardinal said:
During the pandemic, with all of the Museums shut down, many Museums retained their employees and had their staff create virtual visits via videos.

One of my favorite Museum is the Rijks Museum of Amsterdam! They have a number of virtual videos where you can go down different corridors to see the various exhibits, and you can zoom in for a better sight. Their staff answer questions immediately, and respond quickly to requests. Just a month or so, they responded with my request for a couple photos.

Here was their response:

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en

If the image will be published in a book, please mention the source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. We would also appreciate a copy for our library.

High image quality is very important to the Rijksmuseum. We continually adapt our files to the latest quality standards so please always order the latest version and avoid reusing old files.

You may use the image free of charge, but in these difficult times we appreciate a contribution. You can donate to the Rijksmuseum by clicking here.

With kind regards,
Maria Smit
Accountmanager Beeld
T +31 (0)20 674 7096

cool is that thing real?

Justacommeman

Hi Martin

Great museum!!!! I have a office an hour outside of Amsterdam. ( Den Bosch) and try to go as often as possible

FYI there is a Van Gogh exhibit opening in LA. Not sure if it's traveling or not but would love if you could swing down!

m

cardinal

Enough time has passed, and so time to update the Book on the 1794 Silver Dollars.

PhilLynott

Anyone know any info on this painting from the museum website linked above? It made me stop dead in my tracks and admire.

Justacommeman

@PhilLynott that's a Hendrik Voogd. Early 1800's. Italian Landscape (or something like that) It's amazing

You can buy prints for under $75 online

m

PhilLynott

@Justacommeman said:
@PhilLynott that's a Hendrik Voogd. Early 1800's. Italian Landscape (or something like that) It's amazing

You can buy prints for under $75 online

m

Thanks so much!

Nic

@cardinal said:
Enough time has passed, and so time to update the Book on the 1794 Silver Dollars.

Put me down for a copy Cardinal.

savitale

Holy crap. I actually learned something from this thread.

el·ee·mos·y·nar·y
/eləˈmäsnərē/
adjective FORMAL
relating to or dependent on charity; charitable.