President's Message by SCC president Rick Schulz.

For more recent messages, please see the newsletters.

Note: The club was named the Seattle Numismatic Society (SNS) from 2003 to 2022.

June 2019 - Greetings SNS-tonians. Looks like spring/summer weather is finally upon us. I hope everyone is enjoying it in the proper fashion, sitting on a beach, deck, camp site, sipping an ice-cold beverage, with your favorite significant other and not stuck in an office cubicle, meeting or traffic tie up on I-5. I know this seems contrary to most everything numismatic, but sometimes you have push away from the desk lamp and magnifying glass and breath in some of the sights sounds and smells of the season. Besides, we still have a monthly meeting to fuel our numismatic passions.

Speaking of numismatic passions, they certainly were evident at our last meeting. In the years I’ve been a member of the Seattle Numismatic Society and have been coming to meetings I have never seen so many people participating in our Table Topics. Twelve members showed off their treasures. This represented over half of the total number of members in attendance. This tells me that the interest in keeping Seattle Numismatic Society an active and vital club is strong. Let’s keep it up.

Speaking of Table Topics, the category for the upcoming meeting will be "Altered Coins." If it is a coin, token, medal or currency and it has been altered in any way it qualifies for this category. So bring your love tokens, hobo nickels, or 1944-D penny made to look like a ’14-D. Got a Santa Claus dollar bill? Bring it to the meeting. And, as always, if altered coins don’t turn your crank you can always show us a new acquisition or something Northwest related.

Last meeting we talked a bit on the possibility of including an auction during our meeting. As I recall I said something about checking out other club’s auction rules and put something together for SNS. I’m still working on it and starting next month, at our July meeting, we will have an auction. So let’s plan for it. Put together a few auction lots and see if someone in the club needs them more than you. I’ll have a complete set of rules for your perusal before the July meeting.

Now its time for my pitch for the PNNA’s display at the upcoming Washington State Fair. As most of you probably know I am a coordinator of the annual event and my job is to recruit volunteers to man the display. I want to thank those of you who have already signed up for a shift or two or three. For those of you still on the fence there’s still a lot of good shifts available and remember, everyone who signs up for a shift gets a free pass to get into the Fair. When you’re not at the display you can be doing the Puyallup. If you’d like to see what shifts are available you can see the schedule on the PNNA web site, pnna.org. And, if you find a shift or two or three that you’d like to fill or you have any questions just give me a call at 253-535-0690 or send me an email – richardf53@yahoo.com.

That’s about it for this month. I hope to see you all at the June meeting, 7:00 p.m., Thursday, June 13, at the Tukwila Community Center. We will have fun.

May 2019 - Happy May, SNS-ters! As we head into our fourth meeting at the Tukwila Community Center I am heartened with our turnouts. I believe we have solved at least part of our problem with dwindling attendance. We still have a ways to go in the process of making Seattle Numismatic Society once again a healthy club, but an active membership is the most important piece of the puzzle. Let's keep coming to the meetings. We'll have a good time and, who knows, we might just learn something new.

The officers and board members held their second board meeting earlier this month. Board meetings are scheduled once a quarter and are open to club members. Our next meeting will be around the first of August. Everyone is encouraged to attend and see the decision making process that goes into running a club such as ours. And, who knows, maybe you might find something you'd like to participate in.

At our last board meeting we touched upon a few items we'd like to present to the membership. The first is our need for a secretary. Article IV, Section 5. of our Bylaws states: "Section 5. The SECRETARY will keep a written record of all transactions and report the minutes of all meetings, and in addition act as publicity chair." Which means take notes and record minutes of meetings. Is it a challenging job? It can be, especially if you're a crummy note taker like me. (How I made it through school I'll never understand.) But what if you only had to do it once a year or so? It was suggested that that secretary's task could rotate from meeting to meeting. I feel this is a truly inspired idea that allows more members the opportunity to contribute to the club. We'll discuss the idea more at our May meeting.

We were also looking at dues, not to increase them but to possibly eliminate them. The last couple times this move has been brought up there has been some pushback and we felt it's time to consult the membership. What do you think?

Finally, we talked about starting a monthly auction. Many local clubs have auctions, not as money makers for the club, but as a way to get more numismatic material for our members to see and possible add to their own collections. We'll talk about this some more at our next meeting as well.

Speaking of our next meeting, 7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 9, 2019, in Room B at the Tukwila Community Center, our speaker for the evening will be me, Rick Schulz, with a topic yet to be determined. Surprises are always fun, right?

The category for Table Topics this month will be "continents."

That's about all the SNS news this month but while I've got the space I'd like to remind all that I'm still looking for volunteers to fill shifts at the PNNA's Hobby Hall Display in the Washington State Fair that runs from August 30 to September 22. A copy of the schedule as it currently stands is posted on the PNNA web site at http://pnna.org/info/Fair_signup_2019.pdf. Check it out. If you find a shift or two or three you'd like to fill just let me know.

April 2019 - Happy April all you SNS-ingers! Is it possible? Has winter finally left us and spring is now busting out all over? Looks that way. Besides the obvious sunshine mixed with showers and trees budding and sprouts poking above the ground, I know its spring because the PNNA spring show is over. Did you get a chance to stop by the Tukwila Community Center for the show last month? By all accounts it was a great show, both for dealers and collectors.

I know some of you were in Tukwila the evening before the start of the show. That Thursday was our second meeting at the Tukwila Community Center and boy, was it great to see so many faces there. Of course there was the attraction of having Jeff Shevlin as our speaker for the evening, but I think our new meeting place is going to work out fine. Our April meeting will be in the same room at the same time, 7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 11.

I must disclose to you at this time that I have been known to wear more than one hat in the local numismatic community. And, at his time I am changing my SNS President's hat for my PNNA Washington State Fair Hobby Hall Coordinator's hat. As some of you know around this time of year I show up at local coin club meetings seeking volunteers to fill shifts at the PNNA's display at the Fair. If this is all new to you here's a brief explanation.

The Washington State Fair (for years it's been known as the Puyallup Fair) runs from August 30 to September 22. The PNNA sets up a numismatic display in the Hobby Hall of the Fair that must be manned during the run of the Fair. That is where volunteers come in. For this years schedule it works out to 144 four hour shifts. I know at first glance the math doesn't look right but I'd like to see three volunteers for each of the first two shifts of each day and two for the third shift. That is a lot of spots to fill.

The shift duties are pretty easy and always fun. I'd like to think we are there to answer question and this is certainly the case. But kids are our big thing. They come to play a penny game and get free stuff. This has been going on for generations with kids that visited us years ago now are bring their kids. Last year we 2x2ed and passed out over 5,000 birth year cents kids found in our trays. We also have the penny press there to crank out special fair elongateds for everyone. About 5,000 of these were sent home with visitors last year. On top of all this there are always a lot of other giveaways as well.

So, what do you get for volunteering? Every volunteer gets passes to the Fair. When you are not manning the display you can be Doing the Puyallup. With your passes you get free parking at employee lots. But the most biggest benefit for volunteering is the fun you'll have interacting with all the visitors. There are many volunteers that come back year after year because it is so much fun. And, many of those volunteers for two or three or more shifts during the run of the Fair.

I will have the signup schedule at our April meeting but, if you cant wait, you can find it on the PNNA web site, pnna.org. If you have any questions or you find shifts you'd like to volunteer for just let me know via email, richardf53@yahoo.com, or phone 253-535-0690, as soon as possible as signups are on a first come basis.

March 2019 - Greetings fellow SNS-sters! Well, we finally did it. We've moved! Our first meeting at the Tukwila Community Center was quite a success. We more than doubled our average attendance over the past couple years. We even had a few long-time members come down from the wilds of Snohomish county. I believe with this new meeting location we've turned a corner that's leading use toward a bright future for our club.

Our next meeting will be held in the same room at the Tukwila Community Center but will be on a different day, Thursday, March 14, at 7pm. This will be a special meeting held the evening before the start of the PNNA's convention. Our guest speaker will be the So-Called guy, Jeff Shevlin who is coming up to participate in the convention. Jeff is an author, researcher, publisher, public speaker and nationally recognized expert on So-Called Dollars, historical U.S. commemorative medals. He has also held the position of executive director of the ANA. We are quite fortunate to have this nationally known numismatist at our meeting.

We expect to have a good turnout for this meeting and for Jeff's talk. We've invited members of other area local clubs to join us. You better get there early to insure a good seat.

From now on our meetings will be held on the second Thursday of the month. We have secured classroom B at the Tukwila Community Center through October, 2019. Assuming we continue to show good membership attendance, we will likely stay in Tukwila into 2020.

While the SS SNS sailing in the right direction again there are a few things that still need attention. We lack a recording secretary who's job it is to produce the minutes of our meetings. Meeting minutes are not just nice to have, they are required if we are to remain incorporated in the State of Washington. Were you a very good note taker in school? Could you come to the meetings on a regular basis and take notes and produce the minutes? If this sounds like something you can do, it would be a great service to our club. Please let us know if you can help.

With that I will close for another month. I hope to see everyone in Tukwila on the 14th and don't forget to come back to Tukwila for the PNNA show the very next day and continuing through Sunday March 17. Happy collecting.

January 2019 - Greetings Seattle Numismatic Society-ers. As we draw to the end of our two-month winter hiatus I have to confess I inadvertently lied to you. At our last meeting and in the president’s message I sent out just prior I boldly proclaimed that when we come back together in January it would be at a new location. Unfortunately, with all that happens during the holiday season from the end of November to New Years and with my high level of procrastination, a new meeting location was never nailed down. Therefore, for another month we will be meeting at the Queen Anne Manor, on Queen Anne Hill. I will continue to work for a new meeting location and hopefully the situation will be resolved by our February meeting.

My current thinking is a site south of Seattle. I will continue to examine the possibility of our meeting at the Tukwila Community Center but the final decision is still up for grabs. A lot has to do with where our members are coming from. If you know of a suitable location please pass it along to me to check out. We need to get this done. Our current meeting room in the Queen Anne Manor is unacceptable for several reasons.

Another item I’ve been delinquent on is calling for a meeting of the board of directors of our club. It occurs to me that our board is made up of people committed to making SNS a better organization. If you are a member of the board or think you remember sometime in the dim past being elected to the board you can expect a phone call from your president calling for a meeting. If you’re not a board member but would like to sit in on our meeting you are more than welcome. When a date, place and time is determined I will send out an email to everyone with the info. I encourage everyone to consider attending a board meeting. Decisions made at upcoming meetings may just keep SNS alive.

So, until further notice, our next meeting will be held at the Queen Anne Manor, 7:15 p.m., Thursday, January 17, 2019. I hope to see a big attendance, especially board members. You know who you are. I also hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, Christmas (or other secular holiday you choose to celebrate) and New Year.

October 2018 - Good morning campers! It’s the middle of October, the days have been sunny and mild and it is time to stretch our numismatic wings. The big PNNA/Willamette Coin Club show in Portland is scheduled this coming weekend. If you’ve never been to one of these annual events it is worth a day trip to check it out.

Commonly called the PNNA Portland it is the second or third largest annual show in the Pacific Northwest and draws dealers from across the country. It’s a good opportunity to find the hard to find.

The next big show in the area is the Boeing Employee’s Coin Club show at the Kent Commons in January. And, of course, there is the big PNNA Convention in Tukwila In March.

If you can’t make it to one of these bigger shows, there are always the smaller, local shows available to satisfy your collecting desires. You can find dates and locations for area shows on the PNNA web site, or on several other available calendars.

I’ve started this message talking about what’s out there numismatically for a reason. After the upcoming October meeting of the Seattle Numismatic Society we will not meet again until the third Thursday in January. This is a change we’ve instituted a year ago to, hopefully, help some of our members make it to meeting in the summer when there is more daylight and better weather for driving. Also, as we approach the holiday season it is one less thing to be concerned with during a hectic time of year.

I hate to report it, but our club is still in trouble. Even with a modest influx of new members, meeting attendance is still very light. It is hard to convince someone to give a presentation when you can’t count on a respectable number of members showing up. Also, other club activities have had to be cancelled because so few members attend.

Why can’t we attract more members? In a city the size of Seattle there’s got to be thousands of collectors. There certainly are enough coin shops in the city to suggest there are collectors out there. Why can’t we convince some of them to join us?

I know this is a discussion we’ve had often, and we’ve tried a few things with a little success. We’ve increased our presence in some of the local coin shows where our club information, hopefully, is being made available. Last month at the PNNA display at the Washington State Fair we handed out hundreds of club fliers and advised visitors about when and where our club meets. At this coming meeting, we will see if our Fair effort has yielded any positive results.

There are a number of other ideas we’ve talked about that we may need to start pursuing. We know our meetings are hard to get to. Getting to Queen Anne Hill on a Thursday evening can be challenging no matter where you’re coming from. Lately most members who have come to meeting do not even live in the City of Seattle. Do we really have to have our meetings within the city limits? Why can’t we meet in one of the suburbs? We’ve met at the Queen Anne Manor for a number of years now and have been moved from a large common room to a very small room in the dining area. We do not have very much room to expand even if we need to. It is time to look for something better.

While we are in our winter hiatus we will start looking for another place to meet. If you know of a suitable place let me know and we’ll check it out. One thing I’ll be looking for is a meeting room associated with a restaurant. I’ve been to meetings in such venues and found club members like such dual purpose sites.

We also need to do more to get our name out there. Hopefully our effort at the Fair will help, but we need to make sure our fliers are available at all local coin shows and shops. I know that some of you have taken fliers to your local coin shop and that’s great. If you would like more fliers to pass out let me know. I’ll email you our flier. My email address is, richardf53@yahoo.com.

If we can get up to 15 or 20 active members coming to each meeting we can start thinking about other activities that can increase our visibility. There is no reason why we can’t put on a coin show. There is no reason why we can’t try for a presence at other local fairs or events.

Some people will try to tell you that with the advent of the internet local coin clubs are passee. Do you believe this to be the case? The internet is great. It will answer a lot of your questions, but it will not anticipate the questions for which you need answers. In a coin club you can interact with other real collectors and if you pay attention you might learn somethings you hadn’t even thought about. This kind of interaction will make you a better collector. We need to revive SNS and make it, once again, an important asset to the local numismatic community.

On a sad note I’m sorry to report the passing of a long-time member of the Seattle Numismatic Society. Del Cushing passed away last month. I wish to express my condolences to his families for their loss. He will be missed by the numismatic community.

On a happier note, I want to put on one of my other hats, my PNNA Fair Display Coordinator hat, and thank all of you who volunteered for the Fair. Without you the PNNA wouldn’t be able to have such a great display and we wouldn’t have the great opportunity to get the message of coin collecting and the Seattle Numismatic Society out to a very large audience. Thank-you and I hope you had a great time and you’ll want to do it again next year.

I hope to see you all at our next meeting, Thursday, October 18. Our planned program will be a presentation Cathy Colcord-Moen on her collection of coin jewelry. A couple meetings ago she brought some of her fascinating collection. Please come and see some more. Until then, have a great October.

July 2018 - If you are a longtime member of SNS you probably think you have July off from our regular meeting. Think again. Last winter we decided to change our months off from July and August to November and December. The idea being that with longer daylight hours and better weather in the summer we’d have a chance of seeing members at meetings that otherwise would be reluctant to fight Seattle traffic in the dark and dismal winter months. Also, since our winter meetings were close to Thanksgiving and Christmas, we’ve eliminated some of the stress from the already hectic holiday season. So, the weatherman says that the day of our next meeting will be sunny and warm. If you can put down the iced tea and drag yourself away from poolside, come join us, 7:15 p.m., Thursday, July 19, at the Queen Anne Manor.

Summertime also tends to be a slow season for local coin shows. However, there are still a few in July and August to satisfy your numismatic needs. Check your favorite show calendar for the time and place of shows in your area. On the national level the show season is just heating up with the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association getting together in Mississauga, Ontario, August 7-11, and the ANA meeting in Philadelphia, August 14-18.

If you are looking for some numismatic fun late this summer come out to the Washington State Fair and visit the PNNA display in the Hobby Hall. Better yet, why not sign up to work a four hour shift at the display. For your time you get free passes to the whole Fair so after (or before) your stint you can do the Puyallup (to us long time Washingtonians it will always be the Puyallup Fair). The Fair runs from August 31 to September 23 and there are still a lot of good shifts available. If this sounds like something you’d like to do give me a call (I’m the display coordinator) at 253-535-0690 or email me at richardf53@yahoo.com.

That’s about all I’ve got to talk about. Pretty weak this month. If you feel a bit creative and would like to put some numismatic thoughts down on your computer, send them to me and I will add them to my drivel. Believe me, I don’t mind being outdone by a better turn of a phrase or wittier prose. And, who knows, maybe we can start putting together a newsletter again. I have heard that someone in our club has considered becoming the editor. I say, go for it! You’ve got my support and at least my one page of content.

So, we’ll see you all at the next meeting. For those of you that get this in time our monthly Table Talk topic for July is "The Sun." Show and tell us something numismatically interesting. Related to Ol’e Sol. Of course, you can still show us your new acquisitions or something Pacific Northwest.

June 2018 - Have you heard the one about the guy that spent years putting together a very nice collection of Mercury dimes? He only needed one more to finish his collection. You guessed it, the 16-D. It had taken him a long time, but finally he had the cash to finish his collection. So, off to his local coin dealer who told him that yes, he had a piece in his price range. The dealer disappeared into the back room of his shop and soon returned with a beautifully toned 1916-D dime in AU condition. The collector marveled at the dime and its quality strike but told the dealer that the rest of his collection was bright silver colored and was afraid that, though quite lovely, the toned piece would just stand out too much. He asked the dealer if he had an example that wasn't toned. The dealer though for a moment and replied that yes he did have one that should work. He then picked up the toned dime and returned to the back room where his chemistry set was waiting. After a quick rinse in his special solution the beautifully toned dime emerged as a blast white specimen. The dealer returned to the front of his shop a few minutes later and presented his customer with a "new" dime for his approval. Our collector, having some time to think it over, told the dealer that the 1916-D was such a special piece he felt it should stand out among the rest of the collection so he asked the dealer to show him the toned dime again!

Whether you are a dealer or a collector, I hope this never happens to you. Whether or not this scenario ever actually occurred it does bring up some interesting questions. If you were the collector and just realized that the dealer tried to trick you, what would you do? In all likelihood you'd turn on your heal and head for the door. But, what if the dealer apologized for his actions and offered you the coin for $500 less? It's the same coin that just minutes before you were so impressed by. The only difference is that the tarnish had been removed with no detectable damage to the surfaces of the coin. It will look splendid in your Whitman album and you're $500 ahead. Is it important to you that all the coins in your collection be 100% original?

The question now becomes, what is your goal as a collector? I think most would say they collect for the beautiful small pieces of art and the histories and stories surrounding each issue. Another large segment of the coin collecting community would say they are investors and some day expect to cash in on the holdings. The third group are those that are out for bragging rights. The ones that must have to have the finest of whatever they collect. For groups two and three it's clear they must have totally original 100% trouble free coins, but if you identify yourself as a member of group one does it really matter if a piece in your collection has been lightly cleaned?

Now certainly there are going to be spillovers from one group to another. There are times when you have to have the best possible coin you can afford, but you don't always have to reject a beautiful coin just because some third-party grader with a microscope detected a minute trace of metal loss from its surface.

I know this flies up into the face of what every collector learns from the first day they enter the hobby - never clean coins! But, think about this: there was a time when cleaning your collection was expected. You'd be surprised how many collectable coins from the mid 19th century were cleaned. And how about today's grading services? Many have conservation departments that, for a fee, will clean your coins "the proper way."

The hobby of coin collecting has a lot of rules: Buy the book, then the coin; Buy the coin not the holder; Never clean coins; etc. The truth is that you, as a collector, need to make your own rules. Collect what you want. Make your own limits. If you are in it just to fill holes, fill holes. If you love the artistic beauty, by the highest grade you can afford. If it is simply an investment, buy bullion or ultra rarities.

No matter what or how you collect make sure to follow the most important rule, have fun.

There, I've vented. The above opinions are my own and, in all likelihood, do not reflect those of SNS or its members. If you are seeking an apology for something I've said you won't get it. When you become president you can write whatever you want.

Now, on to the next meeting. Our program for the evening will be, "Washington State Tax Tokens: History and Collecting." Your speaker for the evening will be me (you lucky devils).

The theme for Table Topics is "tokens, any type, shape or usage." If you can't find a token or two to talk about you can always bring new acquisitions or Pacific Northwest related. Hope to see you all at the Queen Anne Manor, June 21, at 7:15 p.m. Happy collecting.

May 2018 - Is it just me or does it seem like this year is racing by? Coin shows I've been looking forward to for months have quickly come and gone. Events I've been planning are catching up to me and catching me off guard. I guess the old adage holds true: Time flies when you're having fun. When I'm not wearing my SNS president hat I don one of the other several hats that keep me busy.

One of my hats represents my position as coordinator and head volunteer wrangler for the PNNA's Hobby Hall display at the Washington State Fair. I encourage everyone to sign up for a shift at the Fair, not because I need the volunteers (well maybe a little), but because it is such a fun way to interact with kids of all ages and share your passion for our hobby. And, you get free passes to the Fair!

Enough of the hat swapping, lets get back to SNS concerns.

You might have noticed that instead of a monthly newsletter you've just been receiving my monthly message. We need a new newsletter editor. What we miss by not having a monthly newsletter is a reminder of when and where our next meeting will be. We don't get updates on news items that can affect our membership. And, for Pete's sake, we need to be reminded what our monthly Table Topic category will be! That is about all that's necessary though the editor has the freedom to add any item he or she feels is appropriate (internet articles, news stories, member submitted articles, etc). If you'd like to try your hand at editing our newsletter, let me know.

Oh, by the way, our Table Topic category for the May meeting will be Africa. Got an old dusty Krugerrand that has been sitting around since the 70's? Bring it to the meeting.

Here's another reminder for you. We changed our no-meeting months to November and December. We will continue to have monthly meetings through the summer.

That is about all I've got this time. I look forward to seeing all of you at our meeting, 7:15 p.m., Thursday, May 17, at the Queen Anne Manor.

April 2018 - Well, here it is already. April showers time, income tax time, NBA playoffs, first month of baseball, and May flowers just around the corner. The Seahawks have a new kicker and a new backup QB and the draft is coming up. Days are getting longer though you may not have known it because of the gloomy rainclouds that have descended upon our fair corner of the world. Moss and lawn are fighting for dominance and both need to be mowed. And the world of numismatics continues to roll along.

Have you got any plans for celebrating National Coin Week? The PNNA awards cash for the best (club) exhibits. If you are planning to set up a display take some pictures and write a brief narrative and send it to the PNNA. (Check out the PNNA website for more info.) Your effort could mean a hundred bucks for our treasury!

Speaking of the PNNA, I saw a lot of familiar faces at their Convention and show last month. All reports suggest it was a pretty darn good show. I hope you all got a chance to go. Don't you know. (sorry)

Our April meeting is coming up this week. After a one-month change of venue we will be back at the Queen Anne Manor this Thursday, April 19 at 7:15 p.m. I hope you all have a chance to join us. This month's Table Topics theme is the Seattle Worlds Fair since the 21st of this month marks 56 years since the Fair first opened in 1962. I know we have a lot of members old enough to have gone to the Fair. Join us and tell us your favorite Fair story.

It's signup time for the Washington State Fair. I'll have a schedule available for all who want to volunteer. If you can't make it to the meeting but still want to sign up for a shift at the Fair, email me at richardf53@yahoo.com or call me at 253-535-0690.

Do we want to do a Seattle Numismatic Society Day at the Fair again this year? Last year our effort was a bit disorganized. If we can cover a day we can use the opportunity to get the word out that we exist as a coin club. Last year we managed to get a couple new members who learned about us at the Fair. Let's do it again.

That is all the tidbits I have for this month. Here's hoping we all see each other at the upcoming April meeting. I'll be looking for you!

March 2018 - It is approaching spring again, a time when old men's fancy lightly turns to thoughts numismatic (My apology to Mr. Tennyson). Hopefully, some of the young men and women in our collecting community will also have thoughts numismatic. Now is the time of year that coin shows, local and national, really start to ramp up.

For our area, the biggest show of the year is just days away, the PNNA's 69th Annual Convention and Show. I know a number of our membership will be there working as volunteers or manning a table as a dealer or helper. Several will be there Thursday the 15th for setup. It is for this reason that we've decided to hold the upcoming SNS meeting at the Tukwila Community Center - the site of the show. Here's a chance for some of you to beat some of the awful Seattle traffic. Our meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. in what will be the hospitality room for the show. It is located on the opposite side of the center from where the show is held. I hope you all can make it.

Whether or not you make it to our meeting Thursday evening, do come to the show sometime Friday through Sunday, March 16-18. Our collecting community can only thrive if we participate. The PNNA brings things to the Northwest that we don't normally see. If you only go to a few local shows a year you probably notice you tend to see a lot of the same stuff. The PNNA draws dealers from outside our region, from as far away as the East Coast who often bring pieces new to our area. Even if you don't buy, you might just learn something.

Have you taken all your friends to a coin show yet? Are they still your friends? Good. If you have friends or family you'd like to introduce to collecting the PNNA show is a great place to start. Kids always have a good time with the treasure hunt. and Walt Ostromeki will be there to guide kids (of all ages) through the magical kingdom of coins. Older folks with different collecting interests are encouraged to seek our numismatic items that fit their hobby as cross collectables. A Civil War buff would certainly be interested in Civil War tokens. A collector of seafairing memorabilia could put together a fine collection of ships on coins, tokens, medals and currency. The possibilities are endless. And, who knows, some of your friends might just join you at the next coin club meeting.

I hope I'll see you, and your friends, at our meeting and at the PNNA show.

November 2017 - Seattle Numismatic Society is a club in crisis. I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but it is true. Seven or eight years ago when I started coming to SNS, the attending membership was robust, by local standards, with as many as 25 or more at meetings. We had an healthy mix of older collectors and dealers, youngish collectors and dealers and even a YN or two coming to our monthly meetings. Over the past couple years we've witnessed a steady decline in attendance to the point where in the past year we are lucky if we see eight or nine members at a meeting.

This trend has been a frequent topic of conversation at recent meetings. The consensus is that we are an aging club with very few new members joining. Also, we've lost a few members who have passed on. I believe all of this to be true, but not the whole picture. In the years I've been associated with SNS I do not remember any effort to get our name out there to the collecting public of Greater Seattle. We do have a web page, thanks to Eric Holcomb who keeps it updated, and Eric also makes sure our club info is current on the PNNA web page. Aside from that we have very little contact with the public. I believe it is time for us to become more proactive. All aspects of our club need to be evaluated:

• Day and time of our meetings. Is there a better day? Should we start the meeting earlier?
• Meeting location. Is it too hard to get to in the evening? Is it now too small? Should we consider a location outside of Seattle (Tukwila, Edmonds, Bellevue)?
• Activities. Take advantage of opportunities to spread the word about SNS. Be better prepared for SNS day at the Puyallup Fair. Have club info handouts available for local shows and at area coin shops.
• Coin Show. Should we put on a Seattle Numismatic Society Coin Show? It wouldn't have to be in the Seattle city limits.
• Greater digital presence. Should we have a FaceBook, Twitter, etc, presence?

What do you think? I'd like to hear your thoughts on these topics and any other ideas you might have. I'd also like to ask everyone - Is there a specific reason or reasons why you are not making our monthly meetings (traffic, weather, darkness, time, conflicts)? Is there anything we can do to get you back? Please email any comments or questions to richardf53@yahoo.com or, better yet, come to a meeting and tell us what you think.

At the last meeting we agreed to start implementing some new ideas and policies that we hope will bring some members back to our monthly meetings and maybe interest new people into giving us a try. First, we know we have some members that do not like to drive after dark and/or in stormy rush hour traffic. To address this issue starting next year, summer, 2018, we've decided to change the months we take off, July and August to December and January. Also, we are going to make up some fliers and take them around to local coin clubs so at least they know we have meetings and can advise their customers that there is an organization called Seattle Numismatic Society. Finally, at least for the next six months or so, we will remain at Queen Anne Manor. We'll see how it goes.

Seattle Numismatic Society, formerly Seattle Coin Club, has been around for more than eighty years. It will not fail on my watch.