Whitman Publishing in its email newsletter this week offered a free book ... a free pamphlet really. What a magnanimous act I thought. I couldn't wait to download and print it.

Written by cherrypicker guru Bill Fivaz ten years ago he has compiled some useful tips for local coin collectors as he has in his books on identifying scarce coin varieties. The information is just as useful today as it was ten years ago.

The subject is local coin club management. Wow, is this timely. Local clubs have been dying off as membership continues to decline in recent years. Perhaps our lifestyles are changed, we have vast more opportunities for vocational activities, but here are some suggestions to increase interests in a local coin club.

The benefits of coin club membership far outweigh winging it alone in collecting. Members have a chance to learn a lot and view some numismatic items new to them. And obtain some new items for their collection.

I cannot explain why the drop-off in coin clubs recently. Perhaps it just stops being fun to attend. I have been a member of local coin clubs for 62 years, perhaps two dozen clubs over the years as I moved around the nation for military service, college and employment. I found a coin club in every new location and took an active part. Probably seen it all, experienced every possible activity at club meetings. My endorsement: The good far outweighs the bad.

Sponsored by The Metropolitan Coin Club of Atlanta, Bill's local club, the pamphlet, titled "A Guide for Organizing, Operating and Growing a Successful Coin Club," this pamphlet is well worth viewing. This should be read, not only by every club officer in America, but also by club members. Let's hope it helps reverse the current trend.

Thanks to Bill Fivaz and to Whitman for making it so accessible. And for free! Join a club.

To access the complete book, see:A Guide for Organizing, Operating and Growing a Successful Coin Club(/news.whitman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/guide-coin-club.pdf)