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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Hobo, post: 389537, member: 11521&quot;]I guess I am in the minority here. I am a member of ANA. I am a Life Member so I don&#039;t have to renew every year but if I were a regular member I would renew. Contrary to what others have said I think the ANA does a lot for the coin collecting community. I don&#039;t think &quot;they are only in it for themselves&quot;. That is a pretty jaded and inaccurate view IMO. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Yes, ANA has had some issues the last few years but I really feel they are getting things righted and headed in the right direction. ANA had some bad leadership and consequently lost their focus for a while but that has now changed. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Today Larry Shepherd (the new ANA Executive Director) came to my grading class and spoke to us at length. He told us many of the things that have been changed to get ANA back going in the right direction. But like a ship changing directions it will take time for all these changes to take effect. I asked when we might expect the lawsuits to end and Larry&#039;s answer was &quot;soon&quot;. I think the lawsuits were a big issue and a big negative for many ANA members - and rightly so. (I am VERY unhappy with the nature of the lawsuits and the amount of money being wasted on lawyers.) Keep in mind these lawsuits (other than the eBay-related suit) were initiated by the former Executive Director who is no longer around.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>ANA offers a lot of educational opportunities - but it&#039;s up to you to take advantage of them. If all you do is read the Numismatist magazine you are missing out on a lot of what ANA has to offer. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>If $36 a year for dues is considered &quot;usurious&quot; I have to ask &quot;What should the dues be priced?&quot; $10? $5? Come on! $36 a year is a good deal for the magazine alone. If you took advantage of the other things ANA offers you might just learn something that could save you MUCH more than the price of your dues. Learning just ONE thing about grading or counterfeit detection could save you HUNDREDS of dollars on just one coin. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I don&#039;t understand why some people find the need to bash ANA so much. If you don&#039;t like ANA or if it&#039;s not your cup of tea that&#039;s fine. But it would be hypocritical to bash ANA and then attend an ANA coin show. You should stay away from the ANA World&#039;s Fair of Money and the other national shows. Guess what you will be missing. Larry Shepherd announced to us that ANA has reached an agreement with the Smithsonian to display some of the Smithsonian&#039;s unseen rarities at their national shows. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Bash away but I think the ANA does a lot more for the hobby than any coin message board can ever do (no offense to CoinTalk).</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Tomorrow I will continue my education at ANA Summer Seminar and expand my knowledge of grading coins. (Let&#039;s see you do that on a message board.)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I&#039;m putting on my asbestos suit so flame away.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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