Plastic triumphs over all
What are we teaching the children?
That question sprang to mind as I read a report of the activities at the Blue Ridge Numismatic Association convention Aug. 20-22 in Dalton, Ga.
Now I know to even ask that question implies criticism. That is not my intent. But I do think that the world is changing so fast and numismatics is changing with it whether we realize it or not.
What caught my eye were the details of the Young Numismatists auction where kids get to buy things with funds donated to them for that purpose.
This has been a pretty standard feature at many YN programs for many years. It teaches kids how to conduct themselves at auctions and it, of course, is just plain fun to compete for desirable coins.
At Blue Ridge, the funds to the kids came in the form of debit cards on which were written the amounts loaded into them, ranging from $100 to $200. The kids got to randomly pick a card before the sale.
This seems to me to be another indication of how rapidly we as a society are moving away from the actual use of cash and are simply using plastic.
Isn't this the largest lesson of all taught to the YNs? What will their numismatic world look like when they reach the prime collecting years of middle age?
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