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Charmy's September 2016 REPORT ON THE NCNA NUMISMATIC SEMINAR w/lots of Pics!

ThePennyLadyThePennyLady Posts: 4,439 ✭✭✭✭✭
Earlier this year I was honored to be invited to be one of the presenters at the Northern California Numismatic Association’s (NCNA) annual educational seminar in Vallejo, California, on the topic of “The Future of Our Hobby.” I was also advised that all of my expenses would be taken care of, including travel and lodging. I later found out that, if we wanted to arrive a day earlier, they were even going to take us on a wine tasting tour in Napa Valley. So of course, how could I refuse!



Besides me, the speakers included the following people (Xan Chamberlain is shown presenting each of us with certificates following our talks):



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Scott English, Executive Director of the American Philatelic Society (the stamp community has a lot of the same challenges as the numismatic community)



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Stephen Woodland, noted Canadian numismatist (again, Canada has similar issues as the US)



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Jeff Shevlin, specialist in So-Called Dollars



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These are the benefactors who helped make this symposium and extra-curricular events possible!



Xan Chamberlain, James Laird, Fred van den Haak, and Michael Turrini



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So I flew up to Oakland, and Lloyd Chan graciously picked me up from the airport and drove me to the hotel where they had a room ready and paid for. After I freshened up, we met up with the other presenters and the benefactors who helped fun the entire symposium, and went out to dinner where we had some lively discussions on everyone’s thoughts about the hobby.



The next morning (Friday), we were picked up at the hotel in a limo bus for our wine tasting trip to Napa. The benefactors, patrons and NCNA officers also came along. They even had bottles of champagne and orange juice waiting for us so we could have mimosas along the way!!!



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They had made reservations for a tour and tasting at the beautiful Castello di Amorosa which was built as an authentic Tuscan medieval style castle with hand-made stones and bricks employing the same methods and materials that would have been used 700-800 years ago.



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View from the castle



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Then it was time for the wine tasting!



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One of my favorites



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I ended up ordering several bottles of their delicious wine and having it shipped home. What a great experience!



Our next stop was a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory! Along the way, we passed the famous Napa Valley Wine Train.



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When we arrived at the Jelly Belly Factory, they had two adorable Jelly Belly cars out front!



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I didn’t know they also made candy corn, and a lot of other types of candy as well!



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Everyone on the tour had to wear these hats!



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They had several portraits of famous people made out of Jelly Bellies.



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A sea of millions and millions of Jelly Bellies!!!



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After the Jelly Belly Factory tour, the limo bus took us back to our hotel where we had a chance to rest and freshen up before dinner. We then were taken to a favorite local bbq place called Gracies



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The next day, we all met at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum in Vallejo for our presentations.



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These are more of the NCNA patrons



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During the preparation of my talk, I was concerned that my remarks would overlap with the other presenters’ talks, so I decided to gear my presentation towards why more women aren’t involved in the hobby and how we can introduce and encourage young girls and women to be a part of numismatics.



The gist of the talks included of course, how to engage our youth to participate in numismatics. There are no single answers but everyone agreed that technology plays a heavy part in numismatics and will only play a stronger part in the future, that dealer and club websites need to be up to date to include modern technology and information with quality photographs. We talked about that, unless the aging club members learn to engage youth and meet them at least halfway by somehow including technology in their club meetings, it will be very difficult for these clubs to keep functioning. And even with that, our youth are more interested in using online forums as a way to discuss numismatics rather than meet in person in a club setting.



Scott, the stamp guy, talked about how the stamp market is struggling with aging membership but that they are trying to embrace more technology by even having an online club where young members can use Facetime or Skype to meet and discuss their collections, etc.



Steve, the Canadian numismatist, had similar issues as U.S. clubs and with less attendance at shows and auctions due to people using computers to buy from dealers online and online auctions.



Jeff Shevlin challenged each of the audience members to declare one thing that they will do to help numismatics, then to report back to him once they have done it so he can include it in an article he will write.



We also discussed how there may be too many small coin shows and clubs (particularly throughout Northern California) and that perhaps they should try and combine shows and clubs so as not to dilute the regional market with too many small shows. However, we discovered that too many club members are entrenched in their “own” turf and don’t really want to “share” their shows or hold them in another club’s venue. Unfortunately, it’s this way of thinking that will eventually end some of these smaller clubs.



I specifically discussed different ways I thought we could market numismatics more to women (which also applies to our youth) by welcoming them at shows and clubs, helping to mentor them, engaging them, making them feel less intimated, introducing them to other forms of numismatics that they may find more appealing such as love tokens, encasements, penny teapots and charms, pop outs, elongates, etc. The main theme of my talk involved being a mentor as I feel that after getting new collectors in the door, in order to keep them engaged and interested, we need to make sure they have someone they can turn to, ask questions of, and not feel intimidated by who will help guide them as they grow their passion and collection.



After the four speakers were finished, we had a panel discussion where we all took questions from the audience. There were almost 50 people in the audience, many of whom had various questions about how we can make the hobby better.



After the seminar ended, we went back to the hotel to freshen up before the banquet. Then we all met at a wonderful Italian restaurant along the harbor for dinner which was entirely and generously sponsored by James Laird.



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Coincidentally, during my talk, I showed photos of some of my exonumia, including a 1900 celluloid encased Indian cent political charm with a photograph of Roosevelt and McKinley on the other side of the charm.



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After my presentation, James walked up to me and showed me a very similar charm he had in an airtight container attached to an original red ribbon bow hanger. This had belonged to James’ grandfather and had been handed down to him. I had never seen this charm with the original hanger before and was so very pleased to see one.



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I must say that I have never enjoyed a symposium as much as I enjoyed this one. Everyone was so completely kind, generous, engaging, welcoming, and gracious to each of us presenters. Not even counting the Napa/Jelly Belly tour, if every numismatic speaker was welcomed even half as much as we were, I don’t think any club would ever have any problems finding speakers!



Thank you so much Michael, James, Lloyd, Xan, Fred, and all the other patrons and benefactors for one of the most fun and memorable numismatic experiences I’ve had! I am grateful to you for all of your hospitality and am honored to have been able to spend time and get to know each of you. Thank you!!



Charmy HarkerThe Penny Lady®

Comments

  • TONEDDOLLARSTONEDDOLLARS Posts: 2,928 ✭✭✭✭
    Very interesting thanks for sharing
  • We visited the castle this past June. Great place. Great wine.
  • cecropiamothcecropiamoth Posts: 959 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Did anybody else see the Buffalo nickel in the candy corn picture? Nice.
  • etexmikeetexmike Posts: 6,794 ✭✭✭
    Thanks for sharing Charmy.



    Looks like a fun (and tasty) time was had by all.



    Mike
  • EagleEyeEagleEye Posts: 7,676 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Charmy, Thanks for doing your share to help the hobby.
    Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
  • CascadeChrisCascadeChris Posts: 2,512 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I had some time so I flew up for this. Not quite what I was expecting but a good presentation by all 4 speakers especially charmy as she thought outside the box. My takeaway was that these local coin clubs don't realize how internet forums are the future of coin clubs. A coin club that is in your pocket 24/7 with members from all walks of life with every collecting interest represented you can access anytime. A newbie with a Google search garnerns a new member daily. Imo these forums represent the death knell for local clubs which is why attrition is so rampant. They use the attrition of clubs and show attendance as an indicator of the hobby dying when they overlook the eminse power of the internet almost entirely. Its the old dog, new trick paradigm. Charmy touched on this but none of the coin club representatives really wanted to dig in on the subject. No surprise. I see a bleak future for many clubs at the local level especially in non highly-populated urban areas. The winds of change are blowing. Set sail or capsize is how I see it.



    Had a good time though and met some nice guys. The quaint navy museum where the venue was held was a small treat as well. Charmys talk on getting girls into the hobby also inspired me to try to get my 13yo niece to try to join WIN. She hasn't shown much intrest but really liked the 5oz "giant quarter" I have her for her birthday last year. We'll see image
    The more you VAM..
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great report Charmy. Looks like a great winery, cannot imagine what that castle cost to build...

    I second the opinions about small, local coin clubs...they must develop an internet presence to capture the interest of young people...technology is the future of the hobby, not the death knell.

    Cheers, RickO
  • ashelandasheland Posts: 22,612 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Always a fun read. image
  • ThePennyLadyThePennyLady Posts: 4,439 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Thank you everyone. Chris, I completely agree with you, and it's very sad but I too think the small coin clubs will soon fade away since our youth are turning more and more towards online coin forums to learn and share their new finds. I really can't say what it will take to reverse this, as even if coin clubs embrace technology, I don't think that will be enough to get our youth to actually attend the small clubs. Our more experienced numismatists have a lot to offer our youth and it will be a huge shame if all that knowledge and experience just fades away.
    Charmy HarkerThe Penny Lady®
  • SanctionIISanctionII Posts: 11,660 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Fun thread to read about Charmy.

    My wife and I road the Napa Wine Train last week as part of a short get away trip. We did not take the train trip that included a tour of the castle. I have been to the castle and it is amazing to see. A real life castle mimicking those from Europe in the middle ages being built in Napa is both crazy and uber cool.
  • logger7logger7 Posts: 8,015 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Looks like an amazing magical mystery tour! A great time looks like it was enjoyed by all! Thanks for sharing.
  • Jackthecat1Jackthecat1 Posts: 1,122 ✭✭✭
    Thank you for the interesting report and pictures.
    Member ANS, ANA, GSNA, TNC



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  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Whaat? No cat picture? I want a refund!



    OK, we'll let you slide this time, since I liked the castle pictures.



    And Jelly Belly are the best jellybeans in the world. image

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
  • CascadeChrisCascadeChris Posts: 2,512 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: ThePennyLady

    Thank you everyone. Chris, I completely agree with you, and it's very sad but I too think the small coin clubs will soon fade away since our youth are turning more and more towards online coin forums to learn and share their new finds. I really can't say what it will take to reverse this, as even if coin clubs embrace technology, I don't think that will be enough to get our youth to actually attend the small clubs. Our more experienced numismatists have a lot to offer our youth and it will be a huge shame if all that knowledge and experience just fades away.




    Not just youth Charm. When you said your first club was the ANA and everybody was aghast I just shook my head. I found forums first and the only club I'm a member of is the ANA. Every local club around me is a dying breed of aged members most of which don't know what a computer is let alone a smartphone. The only club I'd consider joining is Mike Kittle's but he's a bit too far in Glendale. Remember that club that said it's only still surviving by having a weekly show & tell. That's what we do 24/7! And the guy talking about Sweden going cashless, we forum readers have known that for a while but they were acting like it's breaking news. They try to have auctions (usually with minuscule "junk") we have bst forums some with auction style listings and much better stuff. I just don't get how they can't see the writing on the wall that's flashing bright neon red. I personally believe the future of the hobby is bright. Its just not your granddad's or even your dad's style any longer. We live in a fast paced world now. Local clubs v forums, for the most part, are analogous to horses & Boeing 787 jets
    The more you VAM..
  • hchcoinhchcoin Posts: 4,825 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great report once again Charmy

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