Lifetime of errors

Computer records take on lives of their own – and sometimes not in a good way.

I expect you can vouch for that statement and cite examples.

In the Internet age we have all been identified in some fashion in a way that is not correct, or is not current, or is in some fashion not quite right even if the origin of the record was at one time correct.

My lesson in this part of computer life this morning occurred when I read my email.

I received a communication from the American Numismatic Association about the organization’s very popular offer of its 125th anniversary slabbed silver American Eagle.

With a dues payment, a new member can obtain an MS-69 Numismatic Guaranty Corporation slabbed 2016 silver American Eagle coin. New members can get a coin and a membership at the Platinum level for $46.

It is a darn good deal. The coin will be a collectible in its own right.

Current members can renew for three years and also get the coin.

A third alternative is simply to make a donation to ANA in the amount of $125 to honor the anniversary.

From the buzz I have been hearing, there have been quite a few individuals who have taken advantage of the offer, including signing up spouses as new members.

If you have not done so yet, please consider joining ANA or renewing membership now.

This I know is a sales pitch. So after all this, what is my problem? It is a small detail, really.

The email ANA sent to me is called, “We want you back.” The text begins, “Rejoin as a Platinum member ...”

The fact is, I am a current ANA member and have been so since 1978. I am a Life Member and have been so since 1988.

I will put receipt of this email down to a computer glitch of a kind all of us in this computer age have experienced.

But I would like to see something good come out of this glitch. If you are not an ANA member, this is a great opportunity. This email has given me a reason to write about it.

Check out the ANA website for details.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper has twice won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."