Letters to the Editor: April 2026

In 1967, I attended my first Coin Club Meeting in San Jose, Calif., and won the door prize: a circulated 1889 Silver Dollar. Various members shared their interest in coins, and an auction was held. The enjoyable experience motivated me to join.

I have been a member of coin clubs in California and Hawaii. Three of the clubs no longer exist. Other clubs are presently in conditions from barely existing to thriving.

The size and success of a coin club does not correlate to the population of the city where it is located. A small community like Visalia, Calif., may have a coin club, while a large city like San Francisco has had its club dissolve.
In Livermore, Calif., club membership has ranged from about 25 ten years ago to an all-time high of 89 last year. Implementing changes to make meetings more fun resulted in increased membership.

We eliminated regular business from general membership meetings. A board of ten members meets separately on a different night. Any club member may attend a Board meeting.

At the Board meeting, we schedule fun events for the membership meeting. Business reports like Treasurer, Secretary, Coin Show, and other Committees are discussed.

A majority of club members get bored with business and prefer to discuss hobby interests and trade coins. The purpose of every membership meeting is to have fun while providing education about various aspects of our hobby.
The Livermore Club Board works on improving club activities and is not complacent, asking: What can we do better?
We have contests. Every six months, members predict the closing price of silver as of a specific future date. At one meeting, each attendee submits one guess. The person with the closest guess wins a silver eagle. Participation is limited to meeting attendees and is free.

We streamlined auction rules to eliminate time waste. Consignors enter up to 15 lots. Before the auction, potential bidders place a check mark on the consignment sheet next to the lots that they want to bid on. If no one checks the lot, the auctioneer passes over it. As a result, very few lots are auctioned that do not sell. No time is wasted attempting to sell overpriced or unwanted coins.

At $10 per year, dues remain low to encourage continuity of membership. If someone’s membership lapses for non-payment of dues, we continue to email the free monthly newsletter. We let folks know that they will have fun when they return. Since the cost to send an email is nothing, why discontinue sending the newsletter unless someone requests us to stop?

Dues are not considered the primary revenue source of the club. Payment of dues is a matter of personal responsibility, and guilt is not used to gain compliance. People ask whether they owe dues when they cannot remember.

The bulk of club income is from the proceeds of our annual coin show. Anonymous donations supplement our income.
After 20 years of paying dues, members earn a life membership. This policy removes politics from decision-making. Has any club member ever resented being passed over for a life membership in favor of someone with less tenure?
Different methods can be employed to recognize service to the club. The Livermore Club may award a dinner at the Christmas banquet or a gift card for exceptional service.

Each meeting, we have drawings for prizes. A cardinal rule is that the prizes must be coins that collectors want. Every coin must have nice eye appeal. No junk. Members enjoy meetings more when they can win coins needed for their collections.

The success of any coin club depends on enjoyable meetings. When a meeting is so boring that a member would prefer to stay home and watch a moth die on a lamp, he will quit the club. Arguing over trivial issues that could be resolved in a separate Board meeting drives members away.

Meetings must be comfortable to attend. A club that meets in a dingy, poorly lit location may discourage attendance. Members should be periodically polled to evaluate the present venue; better alternatives should be scouted.
Livermore’s attendance started rising after its meeting site was changed from a library meeting room to a steakhouse serving great food. Members have a delicious dinner and get into a good mood to enjoy the meeting. However, no food or drink purchase is required to attend.

Clubs that suffer low attendance could have a problem with meeting quality or the choice of meeting night. Sometimes, the leadership refuses to try something new. If no effort is made to improve meetings, the club may become stale.

The person who runs the club gathering, typically the President, should have the skill and energy to run a fun and interesting meeting. Rather than try to do everything, he should delegate responsibility to encourage other members to participate. He should not allow a meeting to become a gripe session about trivial issues. Having separate Board meetings makes diffusing situations easy, as problems can be referred to a business meeting.

Coin clubs typically have a shortage of members willing to serve as club officers. The more members a club has, the easier recruitment of new officers becomes. In addition to traditional officers, every club should have additional Board members who can help make good decisions and pitch in as needed. The best decisions are made by a Board with everyone participating in the conversation.

A coin show is an excellent event for attracting potential new members. When a club puts on a coin show, attendees should be told about the club and invited to a meeting.

A visitor who accepts an invitation may become a member if they receive a warm welcome at the meeting. Members should be encouraged to interact with visitors. When a visitor is ignored or made to feel unwelcome or as an outsider, they will not return.

I learned about some coin clubs through coin shows I attended. When club members at the show were warm and welcoming, I became willing to visit a meeting.

Coin dealers are essential to the survival of a club and should be treasured as members. Dealers have the contacts for selling tables at a club coin show, have the inventory to provide nice prizes at reasonable prices, and have great knowledge of the hobby to help educate members.

Visiting other coin clubs to see how they run their meetings is useful. Clubs that are run differently provide inspiration as to how we may improve ours. Sometimes, we are able to coax members of other clubs to join ours, too!

The Livermore Valley Coin Club meets at 7:15 PM on the third Tuesday of the month at Cattlemen’s Steakhouse in Livermore, Calif. Doors open at 5 PM.

Bruce R Frohman, Modesto, Calif.

It has been a slow but continuing trend that the United States Mint has been charging more and more for less and less. It is one thing to raise prices for precious metal products. I understand that. However, when the 2025 proof set of 10 coins, face value $2.91, all base metal, costs $40.25, there is plenty of profit for the mint. Also, when mint sets, again all base metal in 2025, cost $33.25 for a $5.92 face value, I again see plenty of profit for the mint.

So, I was both amazed and astounded when the prices were announced for 2026 proof and mint sets. $107 for a proof set and $125.50 for a mint set. The innovation dollar reverse proof sets were also doubled from $30 to $60. The only thing I can see in these extreme price increases is price gouging by the mint, which has become a government profit center. Coin purchases are discretionary. We collectors are being treated by the mint as golden geese. The marketing arm at the mint should read the fairy tale.

My response to this outrageous development was to call the mint and cancel my standing order for 1 proof set, 2 mint sets, and an innovation dollar reverse proof set. There are a multitude of reasonably priced coins to collect. This mint development has NOT led to Happy Collecting.

Name and Address withheld

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