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If You Belong to the C.N.A.by Les Copan, FCNRS, FCNA. e-mail: lescopan@shaw.ca
I think you'll agree that 10-cents doesn't buy much these days and even 10-cents per day not much more than you lose in the sofa cushions from your pants pocket. Which makes a membership in the Canadian Numismatic Association one of the biggest bargains in Canada today for any coin/note/token collector. There's a reason I've belonged to the C. N.A. for more than 40 years. The benefits were good then and they're bigger and better today. A lot of Canadian collectors remain "lone wolves", not being aware that the C.N.A. offers them the doorway to a vast new world of collecting pleasure. When I first joined, C.N.A. dues were only a few dollars per year - they're $35 now - but taking into consideration the shrinking value of the dollar, inflation and how much more you get, membership in the C.N.A. is a much better deal today than it was then. And think of it this way: present dues are less than $3 per month, the cost of a cup of coffee every two or three weeks, less than 10-cents per day! Below, I've tried to highlight the main benefits of joining. The most direct contact a member has with the C.N.A. is through The C.N. Journal , the "house organ" that appears 10 times per year (January/February and July/August are single issues). This is a high-quality publication containing original articles that frequently appear no where else. In addition are various columns, press releases, upcoming events and the like. It also contains classified ads and dealers' cards in the Directory. As a matter of prudence, your Journal is mailed in a plain white envelope with the return reading only "The CN Journal" in case you prefer to not advertise your coin collecting activities. Each issue, hot off the press, is delivered to your door. Individually, the copies are valued at $5 each, but you receive all 10 as part of your dues if you are a C.N.A. member. The C.N.A. also possesses one of the best numismatic lending libraries in the world, having built it by purchase and donation for more than 50 years. The Library Catalogue, letter size and comb-bound, comprises some 155 pages with up to a dozen works listed per page. There is a charge of $5 for the most recent Catalogue - but that's less than cost. Every field in numismatics is covered. The works may be borrowed for a 3-week period simply for the cost of the low "Library Rate" postage plus $1 to defray packing materials and the like. On your own, you probably could not possibly duplicate this library for any amount of money - some works are just too scarce. And you would be out many thousands of dollars in trying . Yet, as part of your dues, this whole service is at your disposal - if you are a C.N.A. member. Associated with the "book" Library is another of VCR tapes, DVDs and slides. Any of these are available to C.N.A. member clubs for postage plus $5 (the mail can sometimes be quite hard on these items). So if you have no guest speaker for your meeting, or the one scheduled backs out with a week or so to go, a frantic e-mail to your C.N.A. Librarian might easily fill this "dead spot". But only if your club is a C.N.A. member. No one wants to think about their collection lost or stolen but it happens once in a while. For this reason, the C.N.A. did considerable research in locating the best possible insurance firm and negotiating the best possible rates for our members of such coverage. Hugh Wood Canada Ltd. will insure your collection (including books or anything of a numismatic nature) at a premium of only 60-cents per $100 coverage per year. There is a minimum premium of $50. The policy can scarcely be typed up for anything less. This is a firm that has a proven track record of settling quickly and fully when disaster strikes. The C.N.A. been unable to find a better deal - and probably you can't either. But this affordable protection is yours if you are a C.N.A. member. Some ten years ago, the C.N.A. brought out the first of its correspondence courses which allowed subscribers a course of study in Canadian numismatics, each chapter written by one of the (if not the ) acknowledged leaders in the field. At each mailing, two chapters were received as well as the test sheets to be returned and graded. At the end, the whole course was housed in a looseleaf binder and the successful student issued a certificate to hang on the wall. In 2005, a second, larger course was released - bigger, deeper, more specialized with each chapter again authored by the appropriate top Canadian numismatic writers. It, too, is released at the rate of two chapters per mailing with a certificate upon successful completion. Those who pass these courses will find that their knowledge has been greatly broadened. Each is available to non-C.N.A. members as part of a deal: The Correspondence Course Part 1 costs $40 to C.N.A. members and $75 to non-members - but the last includes a year's C.N.A. membership. Correspondence Course Part 2 is $50 to C.N.A. members, $85 to non-members but, again, with a year's membership included for non-members. It is recommended that the first course be taken before the second. Just another benefit if you are a C.N.A. member. Every year the C.N.A. holds its annual convention - which is Canada 's biggest coin show of the year. Generally speaking, it is held one year in the east, one year in the west and two years somewhere in central Canada . In this way, all members are reasonably close to a convention every few years at the least. Few members who attend one ever regret doing so. There you will meet the dealers and "names" that you only heard about before. There will be a big bourse floor, exhibits of material you may never see again, at least a couple of educational talks and much, much more. The convention is always held in one of the best hotels available and yet the C.N.A. negotiates on your behalf for the best rates in blocks of rooms. The room rate can be made even less if two - or even three- collectors share one. The 2006 "convention rate" was $169 per room but this was Niagara Falls , in the summertime , in a top hotel ! Do you know what the regular rate would be?! Let's just say the "convention rate" would pay your C.N.A. annual dues every day you stayed - and with two or three in a room, not much more than a small-town motel. But you can get this rate only if you are a C.N.A. member. Every year, awards are given out at the C.N.A. convention: The Louise Graham Award (Best club in Canada - and this one carries a cash prize as well); the Guy Potter Award (Best article in the CN Journal ); the Jerome Remick Award (Best article in a local club newsletter); the "Best Local Club Newsletter" award; the "Best Local Club Newsletter Editor" award - and others as well. There are also awards for exhibitors at the Convention, ranging from "Best in Show" to those of the various categories. But you're eligible only if you are a C.N.A. member. Membership in the C.N.A. gives you and your club a voice that you ordinarily wouldn't have. As C.N.A. Director of the British Columbia/Yukon region, Les Copan stands ready to receive you, or your club's, complaints and suggestions so that they may be dealt with in an appropriate manner by the executive of the Association. In the past, what could have been future problems were identified and corrected before they became problems due to complaints from individual members. So they serve a very real purpose. There is also your Director of Club Services (name and address in the front of the C.N.J. ) to contact - or even your C.N.A. President (name and address in same place). Finally, there is a General Meeting of the C.N.A. at every Convention and each member club is urged to send one or two delegates. Motions of one sort or another may be introduced there. So you see you and your club do have a voice whereas by yourself, you're largely unheard. But you can be heard only if you are a C.N.A. member. The C.N.A. can also be a conduit by which you are introduced to specialized areas of collecting. At each Convention, a number of other associations also hold their annual meetings. Quite frequently, C.N.A. members are members of two or more clubs, depending on their special interests. Perhaps I'm preaching to the choir. I hope I am. But give this a thought: if you have a "collecting friend" who is not yet a member, one of those people it is "impossible" to buy for, why not consider a membership in the C.N.A. as a Christmas present. Or birthday. Or whatever. ($35 per year). In the same way, think about a gift membership to an under-18 "junior collector" - dues there are only a little over half as much ($16.50 per year or about 5-cents per day!). It just may be the longest-lasting, most-appreciated gift you ever give. Canadian Numismatic Association, (Hint: Type in Numismatics Canada on your search engine for the CNA and other webpages)
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