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Choosing a club
A coin club for kids: what one is, and what to check before you join.
A coin club for kids gives a young collector two things a jar of change cannot. One is a steady supply of something new to look at, and the other is the company of people who care about the same thing. Clubs come in several forms. This guide explains them and lists what an adult should check before signing a child up.
The three kinds of coin club
The oldest kind meets in person. Local coin clubs gather in libraries and community halls, and many welcome a young collector who comes along with a parent. The American Numismatic Association keeps a directory of clubs on its website, and it runs programs for the collectors it calls young numismatists.
The second kind comes through the mailbox. A child receives a coin on a schedule, usually with something to read about it, and the collection builds a little at a time. The third kind lives online, with pages to read, quizzes to take and a place to record what has been collected. Some clubs combine the envelope and the website.
Five things to check
Whatever form a club takes, the same five checks apply. They take a few minutes, and they tell you most of what you need to know.
An adult holds the account
The account, the login and the card should belong to a grown-up. A club that asks a child to register alone has the order backwards.
The material fits the age
A page written for a teenager loses a third grader, and the reverse is true as well. Look for a club that says plainly which ages its material is written for.
The coins are real
Holding a real coin from a real place is the whole point. A replica or a token teaches far less than a worn coin that has passed through a great many hands.
Nobody pushes you to spend
A good club is content with the membership itself. Be wary of countdown clocks, of extra purchases at every turn and of talk about what the coins might sell for someday.
Privacy is taken seriously
Federal law in the United States limits what a website may collect from young children without a parent's consent. Read the privacy policy, and prefer a club that asks for as little about your child as it can.
Questions worth asking before you pay
Ask what arrives and how often. Ask who chooses the coins and where they come from. Ask how to pause or cancel, and whether you can do it yourself from an account page.
It also helps to ask what a child is expected to do with the coin once it arrives. A coin with nothing to read is a souvenir. A coin that comes with a map, a little history and a question to answer becomes a lesson that feels like play.
What a club adds to collecting at home
Collecting alone works for a while, and then the jar runs out of surprises. A club brings in coins a child would never meet in pocket change. It also adds a rhythm, because something new is always on the way, and for many children the waiting is part of the pleasure.
A club gives the adult a part to play as well. Reading the page together takes ten minutes, and those are ten minutes spent on the same side of the table.
How the Cambist Club answers those five checks
The Cambist Club is the Gold Guy's coin club for kids, and it lines up with the list above. An adult signs up and holds the account, and the privacy policy lists what the club keeps.
The club has two age groups, ages 8 to 12 and ages 13 to 17, and the reading is written separately for each. The age group chooses only the lessons and the games, and it never changes the price. Every month we mail one real coin from another country, chosen from the foreign coins people sell or donate to our shop in Grand Junction, Colorado. A country sheet comes with each coin, and membership includes the club online.
Membership comes in three levels, Apprentice, Journeyman and Guild Cambist, and the adult chooses one. The first month is half price, shipping is included, and a year paid up front costs ten percent less than twelve months. The account page is where you pause the coins or cancel at any time, and nobody has to be asked. Coins are mailed to addresses in the United States.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a coin club for kids?
It is a group or a membership that helps a young person collect coins and learn from them. Some clubs meet in person, some send a coin through the mailbox, and some run online.
How do I find a local coin club that welcomes children?
The American Numismatic Association lists clubs on its website, and a nearby club can tell you whether young collectors attend. Go to the first meeting together.
What ages is the Cambist Club for?
It has two groups, ages 8 to 12 and ages 13 to 17. The adult picks one at sign-up and can switch later from the account page. The group chooses only the lessons and the games, and the price depends on the level of membership, never on the age group.
Does my child have to give any personal information?
An adult signs up and sets up the profile, which needs only a nickname and an age group. A birthday month and day, a reminder address and coin photographs are optional. The privacy policy lists what is kept.
Will the coins from a club be worth a lot someday?
Nobody can promise that, and a club that hints at it deserves a second look. The Cambist Club is about learning, and we make no promise about what any coin is or will be worth.
See the Cambist Club.
The club page shows what a member receives, a sample country sheet and the two age groups. An adult signs up, and the coin is the child's to keep.