So what is a coin club like?

Peacemonkey · December 19, 2011 5:42PM

Was thinking of joining a local one but I would only be interested if people brought their coins in to share with other members and discuss grading of each coin and such. I wouldnt want to be part of talks about club politics or organizational type of things. Are these things mostly about coins or do they become their own little political kinda thing?

WTCG · December 19, 2011 5:59PM

When a group of people get together invariably there will be some irrevelant political garbage that comes up and is unavoidable. A good coin club is one that keeps the discussion on numismatics and avoids subjects that have no relation to numismatics. A bad coin club is one that always tends to stray from numismatics or is primarily a gossip chat-fest or a place the board members use as their once a month power trip fufillment tool. Personally I've belogned to both types of coin clubs.

Attend a few meetings of your local coin club then evaluate your feelings. If you feel comfortable at that club then become a full member. If not don't go back.

Tiny · December 19, 2011 7:49PM

Clubs can be fun, entertaining, informative, personable, a good way to buy and sell coins and
coin related items but totally about numismatics. New friendships can be made with other collectors
that share your interest or that can expose you to another part of the hobby that you sometimes
never even knew existed by your being able to be hands on with a series you haven't been able
to see up close. The main thing about a club is that YOU enjoy going to the meetings and doing
all the things that come with membership to a club. If you get involved with the workings of a very
active coin club you can get alot of pleasure from it by gaining the interest of others in your community
and not just young people but all ages and walks of life that maybe collecting coins and really do not have
an understanding of their collection and this hobby. Like the person that had a family member that
collected but they themselves never saw the enjoyment that person gained by doing it. That person
may have left a collection behind and perhaps this person want to continue with it for the next generation
or they may need help to dispose of it and you and your club can maybe in some way help them do either.
A Good Club is made up of people thay want to share with others and be part of a learning process rather
than fall into the darkside of numismatics which to me is the greed that has become a growing part of this
hobby that I have enjoyed for over fifty years. You should join a club near you and see if you have fun and
learn something but mainly like I said, you need to enjoy it and if you do not get that with that club then
find one perhaps in a nearby city and check it out. I think that if you just try a few visits you'll see that any
coin club you go too will and should fill all the ideas you want in a club and not a " little political kinda thing? ".
I speak from the 45 years of off and on devout membership to the same club in my city where we have all
of the things I have mentioned and feel should make up a Good if not Great Coin Club. Sorry for the longness but
it's early and nobody is up to stop me from typing.

Good Luck and Do atleast go to a meeting. Check things out.

ricko · December 19, 2011 9:41PM

Never found a club, of any type, that avoided the political crap. Always some who are in it for status and other small minded issues. I stay away from them. Cheers, RickO

PerryHall · December 19, 2011 10:05PM

I belong to two coin clubs and have made many friends there and have learned a lot. There is a business meeting, show and tell, sometimes a guest speaker, and an auction. People usually arrive 45 minutes before the meeting to socialize and to buy and sell coins. Several members bring coins to sell and display them for that purpose. As others have said, attend a few meeting and see if you like it. In some ways the coin forum here is a coin club. After you try a few meetings, please share with us your experiences and observations.

JJM · December 19, 2011 10:09PM

, except for the occasional iteresting auction item that would come up.
I was in one for 3 years.......just not my cup of tea............... no one had any internet savy
as far as buying / selling / or true value of coins........whatever the redbook said, thats what its
selling for..........and toned coins, geeze, they were worth LESS than white coins......

ambro51 · December 19, 2011 10:15PM

A grouping of people with mixed levels of understanding and interests, usually led by a handful of regulars who DO play politics. A club is nothing but what members and exec can contribute....

help the club and it will help you.

edix2001 · December 19, 2011 11:37PM

<< help the club and it will help you. >>

A club is what you make of it. If you don't like it, then make your own!
Actually, my suggestion would be to attend a meeting and provide a report.

shorecoll · December 20, 2011 1:13AM

Our club won't let you in if you don't use a walker. Just kidding... 20% of our club are under 80. I understand why though, meetings are scheduled when there's always some school function going on. My youngest graduates from high school in 2 years, and I'll start going again, of course I'll probably be using a walker by then.

Presentations and discussions were usually coin-related and interesting.

cmerlo1 · December 20, 2011 1:34AM

Check out some of the activities the club here is Austin does:

Capital City Coin Club

Peacemonkey · December 20, 2011 8:54AM

Well after the new year I will make a visit and report back. I will be attending my first coin show at the world show in NY on the 6th so might as well attend my first coin club to start the year too. Thanks for all the answers.

Peacemonkey · December 20, 2011 8:55AM

OH 1 last question. Should I bring coins with me on my first visit to kind of qualify myself?

Cameonut · December 20, 2011 8:59AM

<< OH 1 last question. Should I bring coins with me on my first visit to kind of qualify myself? >>

You won't need to qualify yourself, but I think that the members of the club would be very interested in what your collecting interests are. By bringing some coins to share, that will demonstrate the type of material you are interested in.

The great thing about clubs is that there is a diversity of interests and we can take the opportunity to learn from one another. Alot like these boards...

Above all, have fun!

Shamika · December 20, 2011 9:49AM

I recently moved to Lexington and have contemplated attending a meeting of the local coin club. Maybe I'll make that a New Years resolution.

fcloud · December 20, 2011 9:55AM

We go through our business first, have a couple of drawings for give aways, and always have show and tell. The amount of people vary from meeting to meeting, but since the made me vice president I have been to every one since.

For anyone in the southeastern part of Wisconsin, we meet at Castlewood, on Wisconsin Avenue in Sturtevant, WI on the second Thursday of each month (except July and August--vacations you know) at 7:30. Guests are always welcome. The details can be found on my website, or PM me if you would like more info.

NewEnglandRarities · December 20, 2011 11:09AM

For me, coin clubs never had a great appeal to me personally because my main collecting interests were colonials and exonumia and as such almost nobody in my local club even knew what I would show or talk about. As time went on though, I got a lot of people interested in the coins, and even gave a few presentations about their history, where they were made, etc. I do not attend anymore, mostly because of time issues. Local coin clubs can be fun if you go in with no major expectations other than just talking about coins in general for an hour or two.

RedTiger · December 20, 2011 12:54PM

Coin clubs vary. I joined my local club in El Segundo CA about three years ago. Mine is mostly collector run. There are only a couple of part-time dealers active in the club. I'd say only maybe 1/3 have much interest in grading, and/or learning more about grading. There is lip service paid towards history, and the newsletter does have some exceptional articles about history (lifted from other sources, not written by club members). However, only one or two folks talk about history during show and tell. There is lip service paid to education, but the presentations are sometimes so boring that watching the paint on the walls is more interesting. So much so, that the presentation segment has been cancelled. I'd guess about 25% of the regulars are not active coin collectors. They show up for a night out, the excitement of the raffle, and some free eats. About 20% do 80% of the work, but that will be true in almost all clubs of any kind.

Again, clubs will vary. You might like yours, you might not. I do enjoy my club. It is very different from this forum. On the forum, interest in quality, high price, and deep pockets, are all much more common than the local club.

stealer · December 20, 2011 12:59PM

I never joined my local coin club becuase some of the dealers that attend the show say they are part of the club and they are not the type of people or numismatists I would want to interact with.

bosco5041 · December 20, 2011 6:30PM

I would love to try out a coin club but the closest one is about 60 miles away and I sure don't want to drive that far to one.

Broadstruck · December 20, 2011 7:22PM

I no longer do coin clubs as I had a really bizarre experience... A fellow club member and I exchanged cell phone numbers after a lengthy conversation at a meeting. Then shortly after he began to call me daily, then multiple times a day, then followed me home from a meeting once, started to stop over unannounced, then the final straw was he called the police to check up on me make sure I wasn't dead after I avoided his calls for a week while on vacation.

PerryHall · December 20, 2011 9:22PM

<< I no longer do coin clubs as I had a really bizarre experience... A fellow club member and I exchanged cell phone numbers after a lengthy conversation at a meeting. Then shortly after he began to call me daily, then multiple times a day, then followed me home from a meeting once, started to stop over unannounced, then the final straw was he called the police to check up on me make sure I wasn't dead after I avoided his calls for a week while on vacation. >>

Now, that's really creepy.

Cameonut · December 21, 2011 12:17AM

<< I no longer do coin clubs as I had a really bizarre experience... A fellow club member and I exchanged cell phone numbers after a lengthy conversation at a meeting. Then shortly after he began to call me daily, then multiple times a day, then followed me home from a meeting once, started to stop over unannounced, then the final straw was he called the police to check up on me make sure I wasn't dead after I avoided his calls for a week while on vacation. >>

I call people like that Klingons.

But it is still creepy - did you ever ask him to lay off?

Justacommeman · December 21, 2011 2:52AM

They are a lot like The Champagne Room at a strip club. MJ

renomedphys · December 21, 2011 3:28AM

Perhaps they are a good place to spot a mark.

Shamika · December 21, 2011 3:44AM

<< I no longer do coin clubs as I had a really bizarre experience... A fellow club member and I exchanged cell phone numbers after a lengthy conversation at a meeting. Then shortly after he began to call me daily, then multiple times a day, then followed me home from a meeting once, started to stop over unannounced, then the final straw was he called the police to check up on me make sure I wasn't dead after I avoided his calls for a week while on vacation. >>

Okay, that's creepy! Kind of sounds like a few girlfriends I had before I got married.

nutmeg · December 21, 2011 4:58AM

I joined a coin club after thinking about it for a couple of years. I'm glad I did. The meetings are interesting and I always learn something. Also I was able to get some great deals in their auctions.
There is always a main speaker and we have a show and tell. They host a large coin show once a year.
Politics are at a minimum. The focus is on coins and paper money.

shorecoll · December 21, 2011 6:26AM

Broadstruck...I'm PM'ing my cellphone number...I just want to keep in touch and make sure you're OK.

Buzzybest · December 21, 2011 7:01AM

<< Well after the new year I will make a visit and report back. I will be attending my first coin show at the world show in NY on the 6th so might as well attend my first coin club to start the year too. Thanks for all the answers. >>

I live on Long Island. How do you find a good coin club within 25 miles?

BillJones · December 21, 2011 7:13AM

<< Was thinking of joining a local one but I would only be interested if people brought their coins in to share with other members and discuss grading of each coin and such. I wouldnt want to be part of talks about club politics or organizational type of things. Are these things mostly about coins or do they become their own little political kinda thing? >>

It all depends upon the level of the collectors in the club. Back when I lived in Massachusetts, I belonged to three clubs. The first one was very high and mighty and looked down upon collectors who did not collect ancient coins. They eventually came to respect my expertise in American coins, and were surprised at what I knew about Roman emperors and Latin abbreviations on the coins because I studied the books, but did not collected the coins. You can’t collect everything. Still I never really had their respect.

When the possibility came up that I might sometime become president club, one of the members who wanted the position got the long knives out for me. I resigned after 20 years of membership. I hate club politics. I got involved with that when I lived in New Jersey and vowed never to get involved like that again.

The second club had a lot of overlap in membership with the first, but was not as high and mighty. I ultimately became the club president after I was a member for more than 20 years. I enjoyed the position and many members told me how much they appreciated my tenure in office.

The third was large club that was some distance from my home. The membership was large and enthusiastic, but they were not wealthy people and collected on a level equal to their income. They were very interested in learning about new things, even when those things were beyond their budgets. It was fun share knowledge with them.

Currently I belong to a club where I am “second VP in charge of education.” That’s a great place for me, and I have no desire to rise any higher.

ambro51 · December 21, 2011 7:32AM

Bill should you decide to choose your title someday, I think you hit the nail on the head. You certainly fulfill that duty on this forum!

“second VP in charge of education.”

hchcoin · December 21, 2011 8:03AM

<< Broadstruck...I'm PM'ing my cellphone number...I just want to keep in touch and make sure you're OK.

>>

That made me laugh Leon

So what is a coin club like?

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