By Barry Stuppler

(Numismatic News) - At the ANA National Money Show in Kansas City April 8-10, it was exciting to see the Johnson County Coin Club volunteers work to make the gathering an overwhelming success. You could see the pride they took in bringing an ANA convention to their city. (Later in this article I'll talk about how your coin club can do the same.) By enabling its clubs to realize their full potential, the ANA could mobilize an army that could accomplish wonders. Clubs could, for example, play a key role in keeping numismatics free from taxation and harmful government regulation.

Twenty-one states have sales tax exemptions (five others have no sales tax at all) on numismatic and bullion items (based on viewing them as investments, often with a minimum purchase of $500 to $1,000). If members of ANA coin clubs in states without exemptions were so motivated, with professional assistance from the ANA they could likely win exemptions within 2-3 years. I speak from experience: years ago I helped lead the successful fight for exemption from California's 8.25% sales tax.

Now we're working in California to thwart legislation, pushed by pawnbrokers, to force coin dealers to fingerprint collectors and hold numismatic items for 30 days. This legislation treats collectors as suspected criminals, and the added costs it imposes on dealers would be passed on to collectors. As I testify against this legislation in Sacramento, it would be great to know that ANA coin clubs, working under the direction of the ANA, could become a viable arm of an email/fax/phone campaign to persuade legislators to vote with the numismatic community.

The ANA Board of Governors has given our executive director the authority to explore how the ANA can become more proactive in state and federal legislative affairs. Club members could help by monitoring their state legislatures and alerting the ANA of any proposed legislation that would hamper the free exchange of numismatics.

To select sites for the National Money Show and the World's Fair of Money, the ANA Board hears presentations from coin clubs, which prepare them in conjunction with their area convention and visitors bureaus. The bureaus do about 90% of the presentation work; the club needs to commit the time and volunteers required to help the ANA run the show. To submit a proposal, contact Brenda Bishop at the ANA.

Whether it's fighting bad taxes or bad laws, or working together to attract an ANA convention, activity makes coin clubs thrive and grow. There is nothing like the camaraderie of uniting to achieve worthy goals to energize veteran collectors and attract new members. Renewed ANA commitment to strengthening clubs will pay off big for the Association and our hobby.