Please note that these articles are from electronic backup files and may not be exactly as the final printed versions.
It’s that time of the year again when we all think about resolutions. For most of us it’s our New Years Resolutions. I will quit smoking, I will lose weight, I will do this or that, or vow to achieve something that day only to forget about it for the rest of the year.
Instead, this year how about some Numismatic Resolutions? Most, I’m sure would be far easier to accomplish than quitting smoking or losing forty pounds, and I know I could really do both of those. So, instead, here are a few of my numismatic resolutions.
Get the final draft prepared of Colonial Coinages of Canada, and get it to print.
Get my token collection organized; it seems I’ve become more of an accumulator rather than a collector over the past few years.
Write my Closing Comments column earlier, to prevent situations like today where I’m away on holidays, it’s 6:00 am in the morning and I have to email this back to the office by nine because I’m already late with the column.
Those are my resolutions for the year. There are lots of other resolutions for the year. Just pick one or two from the list below and help us all with a few Canadian Numismatic Resolutions of your own.
Write an article for the CN Journal. I’m sure the editor of the CNJ will appreciate that.
Get out to a local coin club meeting.
Get a friend to join the C.N.A., a regional organization (ONA, APNA. etc.), or your local coin club.
Attend this year’s C.N.A. convention or a regional convention.
Take the C.N.A./N.E.S.A. numismatic correspondence course.
Make a donation to N.E.S.A..
Donate some coins to a school or a junior’s program and help some youngsters begin their collections.
Tidy up your numismatic library and donate a book or two to The Canadian Numismatic Association library.
I’m sure there are lots of other numismatic resolutions you could choose. Just pick one or two and stick to your guns on them. I’m sure you’ll get it done. With that I wish you a very happy numismatic New Year.
Listening Outside The Gates
A few years ago The Rolling Stones were in town for a concert. My wife and I were in the city the evening they played in our local Commonwealth Stadium. On the way home we stopped by the parking lot. Because of the loud volume the concert was easy to listen to outside the gates, notwithstanding the distance from the stage to the parking lot and the size of the stadium walls. Knowing this who would want to purchase tickets for the next time? Do you think we got the full concert experience? If you answered no you have already figured out where my comments are going. Attending The Canadian Numismatic Association Annual Convention without belonging to the C.N.A. is a little like listening to a concert without paying to enter the concert hall. Yes, you can register for the convention, visit the dealer tables and the Royal Canadian Mint booth, and view all of the many fine exhibits and register for the auction. You can even attend the Royal Canadian Mint reception, C.N.A. annual general meeting, educational seminars and the banquet. If you are new to the hobby you are even encouraged to take in all of these. Considering all of the above, why apply for membership? There are different aspects associated with joining a collector organization such as the C.N.A. For most members the primary benefit is the monthly CN Journal. Every issue includes interesting articles, editorials, reviews and timely communication on upcoming events and activities. Some members have experienced firsthand that access to the Library is an aid to research and study. The feeling of being part of a group is important to serious collectors as well as donating to a cause. The right to exhibit competitively at the annual convention can enhance the pride of ownership that a fine collection provides. Do not judge the value of membership until you have tried it. Belonging to The Canadian Numismatic Association may trigger your evolution from collector to numismatist. Are you only taking from the hobby or are you willing to give something back? As that famous credit card advertises: membership has its rewards.
We get so impatient these days. Especially, I think with air travel. I’m not sure if having internet access, gives us extra speed or simply extra frustration in accomplishing a few simple tasks. It does make me wonder? How long would it have taken, let’s say a Roman in the days of my favourite emperor Trajan to arrange transport across the Aegean to visit a friend in the Greek islands? A silver denarius in hand, or more likely a bag of them or maybe a shiny aureus to pay the fare, how long and how detailed would the negotiation be?
Or perhaps, a merchant in 1700’s Quebec City, a pouch of card money, to exchange for specie or credits to arrange his transport to France. How long would it take to negotiate the fare and complete this exchange. Is it quicker today?
I hope so, though I wonder, having spent the afternoon watching a friend negotiate her way through the intricacies of award travel on Canada’s favourite national airline. Mind you I had just spent several hours of frustrating crashes and failures negotiating a few simple tasks with my reward miles. How did she do, let’s see, one hour on the internet determining the optimum travel schedule, three hours of busy signals trying to make telephone contact, 55 minutes on hold with bad music and a nice message implying that you could do it all on the net despite contrary advice from the printed literature. Then fortunately success, by booking eight months in advance, she could get the flights she wanted.
Moral of the story. If you plan on using award miles to get to the C.N.A. convention in Vancouver this year, don’t delay. Do it now and allow plenty of time to negotiate the process. Hope you get there, I understand the crew is planning a great weekend, a land and sea tour to Victoria, a coach tour to Whistler resort, an escorted city tour, a walking tour of Chinatown and Sun Yat Sen Gardens, a land and water tour to the North Shore. Do it all this summer in Vancouver, more than just meetings, lots of friends, lots of coins, lots of tours, a fabulous venue and lots of fun.
Make plans to attend The Canadian Numismatic Association Convention - 2002, Vancouver, British Columbia, July 10 - 14, 2002 at the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside. Be there.
Shameless Plugs
It’s the well overdue, shameless plugs edition for this column. Especially where kudos are deserved. I’ll take the pleasure of delivery only laurels and no darts or commentary of a negative nature.
Best wished to Dan Gosling whose name has graced these pages many times. Dan is recovering from a multiple bypass operation. What was scheduled as simple angioplasty turned into a far more complex surgery. Sadly Dan was scheduled to play a key role in presenting a one-day numismatic seminar in Edmonton last month and his hospitalization forced the cancellation of the program. The Edmonton Numismatic Society will be rescheduling the event.
Speaking of numismatic seminars the rumours are that Paul Johnson has been hard at work on scheduling another C.N.A./N.E.S.A. seminar for Toronto this November. Hats off to Paul for all the hard work on the seminar program. I understand he’s exceptionally busy right now in completing the planning portion of a second numismatic course, an advanced version of the extremely popular Canadian Numismatic Correspondence course.
Call it a sequel if you like, but on that theme, what a success it’s been. The second printing is nearly sold out and Paul Johnson and crew are also busy preparing updates and additional information for a third printing. I know Paul Petch will be hard at it updating the decimal section to include all the changes since the course was first prepared.
With almost a thousand graduates from the correspondence course program, I can’t imagine the look on our poor executive secretary’s face when the orders flood in for the second edition. Laurels to Ken Prophet, who has turned packing and shipping course materials into a precision science.
As always hats off for all the contributors to C.N.A. Journal. Your contribution does not go unnoticed. Thanks to Barrie Renwick for his recent articles on Canadian medals, Nancy Martindale for her piece on Shinplasters and of course our more frequent contributors, Ron Greene, Don Allen, Jean-Luc Giroux, Jerry Remick and Wayne Jacobs. Laurels go to Earl Salterio who spent most of March chasing his committee to work up a great plan for more improvements to the Journal starting this October.
Remember, the CNAJ is our membership communication forum, so write us a letter, send in an article, we’re at our best when we have the whole membership participating.
Your Obligation
Our hobby has a lot invested in you. If you do not believe this statement to be true, then consider all the time and effort others have contributed to make you the numismatist that you are today. There may have been a kind bank teller or a favourite Aunt that helped you fill in the holes in your Whitman folder. I am certain that your parents allowed you to look through their loose change after you started your first collection. Your local coin shop owner probably spent many hours teaching you what to look for and how to collect. He may have given you a special discount on the more expensive items. The members of your local club could have generously given you their spare items to encourage your interest in our hobby. Your first coin catalogue was no doubt previously used and may have been donated to you by a more advanced collector after they had purchased the latest edition. You may not recall the many articles you read in newspapers and association journals that were written especially for beginners. The contribution of time and knowledge by the authors gave you insight on collecting, historical background, identification, and grading. All of these acts of kindness encouraged you and contributed to your enjoyment of the hobby of coin collecting.
After completing your apprenticeship, you may have stopped collecting while you grew up, became an adult and perhaps even started a family. Many people who collected during their youth return to the hobby later in their life. Their enthusiasm is often rekindled by purchasing the missing dates and rarities that eluded them in the past. The thirst for numismatic knowledge leads to joining regional or specialized numismatic associations. Introductory membership offers and special subscription promotions for new subscribers are designed to assist you in this next phase of becoming a numismatist. Once your collection reaches that “advanced” phase (as in “you have spent a bundle”) and you receive loads of newspapers, journals, newsletters, and auction catalogues every month and you are trying to remember to book your flight to the next Canadian Numismatic Association Annual Convention you probably qualify as a “numismatist.”
Can you see why I say “our hobby has a lot invested in you?” Don't you agree we have a right to look after our investment? Your future contributions to our hobby are the key to its success and are dependent on your continuing good health. A disciplined approach to exercise and diet is mandatory if you hope to give back to a hobby that has given you endless hours of pleasure and countless number of friends. If you won't do this for our hobby then why not for your loved one’s? Taking care of your health is not selfish it’s an obligation!
Members Can Make the Difference
Recently, I had the opportunity to look over our association’s strategic plan. It was an impressive document, to say the least.
It is obvious that the C.N.A. is looking towards the future with an optimistic, and sound, approach towards growth of both the Association and the hobby.
However, members are the real lifeblood of any organization, and their involvement is critical to the success of any organization.
With a handful of volunteers, and one paid employee, the C.N.A.’s most valuable resource is the energy and enthusiasm of the individual collectors. Unfortunately, too many of us just don’t get involved in making this organization meaningful and relevant. I include myself in this category, I have been a member of the C.N.A. for years. Since 1991 I have attended almost every annual meeting and been on a first name basis with every president of the organization.
In all that time, I have never really offered any significant input into this body, or volunteered much of my time or ability to the organization. That really is a shame, because as a C.N.A. member, I am a part owner of the Association.
For years I have been content to leave the affairs of the C.N.A. to the executive, as the running of this organization was none of my business. Well, as a member I should make it my business. Not only should I be willing to offer my opinions of the executive of this organization, but I should also be willing to offer my services.
Collectively, the members of the C.N.A. comprise a group of knowledgeable and enthusiastic numismatists, representing virtually every corner of Canada. The future of the C.N.A. may very well be up to us.
Ex Libris
The C.N.A. Library is pleased to announce that two new publications are available to members. The Audio-Visual Catalogue has numerous slide presentations that are ideal for either coin club pro-grams or individual study. This booklet is free to members and contains series on Canadian coinage, tokens and medals, pa-per money, coin quizzes, ancient coins, US coinage, tokens and medals, English coinage, tokens and medals and foreign coinage, tokens and medals. There is also a wide variety of videos available that cover a wide spectrum of topics. There is something of interest for every numismatic taste.
The second catalogue is the Book Catalogue. Our Library is one of the largest of its kind in Canada and features books on coins, tokens, medals and paper money. There is also a great variety of background reference books that are wonderful for research purposes. This is the first major upgrade of the Book Catalogue in 5 years. Because of mailing costs, there is a nominal fee of $5.00 for this catalogue. If you request both catalogues, we will gladly send them for the same $5.00. Order your personal copies from the C.N.A. Library, P.O. Box 5228, Shediac, N.B., E4P 8T9. (editor's note effective Sep. 2005: this address has changed to 49 Sierra Grande Estates, Sherwood Park AB T8G 1A2)
Both catalogues will be on our website at www.rcna.ca
You can borrow AV programs at $5.00 each and books at one way postage plus $1.00. What an inexpensive way to find out whether you want to purchase for your own library. Remember we get a special library mailing rate that is well below the first class rates. We look forward to serving you.
Once again, this organization’s annual convention is over, and once again it was packed full of fond memories.
It may seem a bit trite, but it really is a shame that more members haven’t made the effort to attend the convention. It is, after all, by definition Canada’s premier numismatic event.
Yet the sad truth is, that year after year, people find a reason to avoid stopping by for even few hours. Granted, this year’s event was in Vancouver, and travel costs can be quite a deterrent, but that has its advantages. While it may have been an expensive trip for those of us in the east, members in Western Canada had an opportunity to get there on a short commute. Those who did brave a long plane ride, found that Vancouver is a lovely city, and a great place to spend a few days. In fact, attending the convention can be organized around vacation plans, that’s one of the reasons it’s held in the summer.
For 2003 however, Ontario-based collectors can’t complain. Windsor is centrally located, affordable, and possesses both an airport and great highway access. Those of you who made it to Vancouver probably had a chance to talk to some of the Windsor committee, and if you did you were probably impressed with both their organization and enthusiasm.
So let’s make 2003 the year that we finally keep our promise to “get there one day.”
See you at the show.
I have always believed that a strong, national...nay, international...organization, whose aims and objectives include the promotion of Canadian numismatics, was vital in assuring that material was preserved for future collectors. As well, we could enjoy the fun and fellowship, whether at an annual convention, local annual coin show, at club meetings or having coin collecting friends over for dinner or coffee for socializing.
Since I was appointed Executive Secretary, one of my emphases has been to see what I could personally do to increase the membership in the C.N.A. I, therefore, arranged for complimentary information tables at shows, setting up a table at the recent Humber College seminar, answering a lot of inquiries and showing up at club meetings with sample Journals and application forms. Thanks to organizations such as Torex and CAND, just to name two, we have been able to obtain members at absolutely no cost to the C.N.A.
As can be seen in the Executive Secretary Report in this issue, membership promotion has been quite successful. I believe that there have not been more membership applications published in one issue since the Royal Canadian Mint mailing some years ago.
If one person can staff a table and accomplish so much, imagine what we can collectively do if we all chip in! If you are agreeable to staff a table at a show that you at-tend and wish some sample Journals and membership application forms to hand out, write, phone or e-mail me and we will send them to you without cost or obligation. Won't you do your part?
One way you can help your Association is to give a friend a gift membership in the C.N.A.. For $33, your gift will keep on giving all year long, 10 times over. And we'll send them a card telling them who gave the gift if you wish. Remember to make payment in Canadian funds if shipped to Canadian addresses and in U.S. funds for U.S. addresses (other foreign addresses are $49 to cover the extra cost of first class postage.
Starting with the next issue, Paul Petch will be taking over as the new editor of The CN Journal.
Paul is a long-time numismatist, and dedicated individual who will, we are sure, take the Journal on to new heights.
We wish him well in these endeavours. For us, working on the Journal has been a pleasure, One of the greatest pleasure has been the wonderful people we have been able to be in contact with over these past few years.
Some of them, we’re sorry to say, are no longer with us, it only makes us cherish their memories even more.
Just because Mr. Petch is taking over as editor, don’t think that our involvement in The Canadian Numismatic Association is over. As members of the association, we will continue to support the C.N.A. in everything it does, and offer our services whenever possible to the furtherance of Canada’s national body for collectors of coins, notes, medals and other numismatic items.
We encourage you, our fellow C.N.A. members, to make a similar commitment to be of service to the organization. Even an effort as simple as staffing a show table and selling C.N.A. memberships can make a significant contribution to the growth of this organization. If you have something to say, or have conducted some interesting research, put an article together for the Journal. We can tell you from personal experience, that the editor is always interested in new submissions.
Once again, thanks for the fun. Just don’t think you’ve seen the last of us.