Time to join ANA

American Numismatic Association President Jeff Garrett has set himself the worthy goal of increasing the membership of the organization.

With numbers currently sitting around 25,000, the organization would benefit by getting a boost.

After all, what 25,000 dues-paying supporters can make possible is less than what 30,000 or 35,000 dues-paying members might.

The question is what might convince a collector in 2015 to take the plunge and join?

Most collectors have been around the block more than a few times.

If they have not joined yet, will they ever join?

I was pushed into the water when I joined.

The company policy established by Chet Krause and Clifford Mishler was that every member of the numismatic staff should be an ANA member.

They sweetened the deal by paying our dues.

I was grateful.

Being just out of college and short of money, I doubt I would have paid up on my own.

Further, by 1987, as both a gift to me and as a show of solidarity in the membership efforts of President Steve Taylor, Clifford authorized the company to pay the life membership fee on my behalf.

I have now been a life member for over 28 years.

The older I get, the more I have appreciated my ANA membership.

However, as I wrote at the beginning, what aspect of the ANA is most attractive to a potential new member now?

Is it the website?

Is it the library?

Is it the Summer Seminar?

The appeal of any of these is in the eyes of the beholder.

If you are not a member of the ANA, please consider joining.

If my own experience is any guide, the benefits of membership became much clearer to me only after I joined.

Thanks, Clifford, for giving me that push.

• The Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money is the only annual guide that provides complete coverage of U.S. currency with today’s market prices.

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