The Vital Role A Member Plays

Written by Peter Becker - May 2007

 

The Waterloo Coin Society prides itself on the many active members in the numismatic community who make up our membership.  Everyone has different goals and reasons for joining and each valued member has the freedom to choose the level of involvement best suited to their needs and lifestyle. 

 

Below are a few suggestions on how to get the most enjoyment out of the hobby and benefit from being a member.  We hope that you will consider a few of them and appreciate any help you can give us to make this a healthy, thriving and growing club with our meetings a fun and exciting place to be.   

 

Finances

We depend entirely on our members for support financially and though active participation.  Membership dues cover only a portion of the operating costs of running this club.  Postage, printing, room rental, membership and attendance draws, refreshments, Guest Speakers, A/V rentals, equipment and special events are just some of the many expenses that we are faced with.  Technology however has allowed significantly reduce our printing and mailing costs for the monthly newsletter.  We are able to offer it electronically to over 75% of our members and thereby keep our membership costs down.   

 

For these reasons whenever possible we host our own coin show or assist with the occasional ONA or RCNA (formerly CNA) Convention.  At each meeting we encourage our members to purchase special draw tickets and contribute to the refreshment counter.  Some members chose to generously donate items in our Auctions with the proceeds going to the club or make private donations.  Zehrs Tapes are collected by our members and submitted with the proceeds going back into the club's coffers.  Voluntary donations towards a coffee and snacks helps to cover most of the refreshment expenses.  We do not solicit additional funding or ask any more of our members than their annual dues.  Our Executive team works hard to keep operating expenses down and is grateful for the success of past shows that have kept us afloat and allow us to provide you with top notch meetings.  Supporting WCS through the purchase and sales of ONA Raffle tickets are additional ways everyone can help.  

 

Membership

Each of us has a role to play in the growth and success of WCS.  One of the simplest ways to do that is to invite friends and other coin collectors to join our meetings.  We are always looking for ways to promote WCS and the hobby through our shows, mall promo days and local advertising.  Some of our members have started up coin clubs in their schools or designed courses specifically geared to the beginner collector and young numismatist.  In this day and age of the internet, computer games and various other distractions, it is difficult to find the time to devote to a fascinating hobby such as this.  Numismatics doesn't seem to have the attraction to the younger crowd it did more than a generation ago.  We can affect that by sharing our enthusiasm  of coins  with others.  Whether it's the artistry, design, rarity, theme, metal composition or historic value, there are endless reasons why people collect coins that we can speak directly to.  More often than not, friends will ask you for help in evaluating their coins take an interest in your hobby or have questions on collecting.   You can do your part by sharing your enthusiasm and knowledge of the hobby or simply direct them to someone you know who does.

 

Involvement

WCS is dependant on the talents and dedication of its members and everyone is encouraged to volunteer their time to serve on the Executive, take on various duties or tasks and share their collecting interests/knowledge with those in attendance during the educational segment.  By preparing a 20-30 minute presentation and sharing it at one of the monthly meetings we all benefit and expand our knowledge of numismatics.  Occasionally interest in a little known area of collecting is expanded and new collectors are therefore added.  You may find others in the group with more knowledge on a topic of study willing to share with you and help you reach some of your goals.  Not everyone is comfortable speaking, but the time and effort you put into a presentation is well worth it!   Volunteering to become a Director or take on various positions is an area where you can really serve our members and shape our club.  Think about where you could fit in and what role you want to play.  Your talents and input will never go to waste!  Strong leadership direction combined with the support and dedication from our members makes the workload much lighter.  Membership is more than just paying your dues.

 

Education

Simply collecting coins for the sake of collecting with no goal in mind will make it difficult to maintain interest in whatever you've chosen to collect.  Fortunately there is a great deal of information available thanks to dedicated collectors who have done a lot of research and study on the subject.  Try to learn as much as you can through reputable Coin Dealers and various books and magazines such as Charlton Coin Guides, Canadian Coin News and articles written by other collectors.