Paul Johnson, executive secretary of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA), was among four speakers at the Fourth Annual Northern California Numismatic Seminar this September.
With more than 50 attendees, the all-day educational seminar—held at the Vallejo Naval and Historic Museum in Vallejo, Calif.—was sponsored by the Northern California Numismatic Association (NCNA). In addition to Johnson, of Unionville, Ont., the four speakers at the seminar included Wisconsin’s David Harper, editor of Numismatic News, as well as Robert Luna and Roger Lyles, both of California.
COLLECTING IN TODAY’S WORLD
This year’s seminar theme was “Collecting In Today’s World,” and each speaker offered their unique perspective on the modern collecting scene.
Johnson said when he began collecting, there were no third-party grading companies; no Internet for boundless research (only printed literature); and certainly no way of acquiring material at auction without being on the bidding floor yourself. Similar to comments made in an April 2015 interview with CCN, Johnson also explained to the crowd that the social aspects of collecting remain strong.
Johnson (right) presented seminar co-ordinator Michael Turrini with an RCNA President’s Award on behalf of RCNA President Henry Nienhuis.
“Personally, I’ve had a lot of enjoyment going to clubs over the past 50 years. A lot of people don’t necessarily want to become involved in clubs because I think they’d rather have people not know – they’re more private – but I find there’s way more enjoyment to be involved in clubs,” he said, adding the emergence of online clubs is attracting more people to the hobby.
“There is a lot that can be learned by exchanging information with collectors you wouldn’t normally get together with. I’ve learned an awful lot in online clubs or informal
chat groups that have a lot of this information volunteered by their members.”
Johnson was also the banquet speaker at the recent Manitoba Coin Club (MCC) show with MCC President Susan Posluzney (left).
RCNA PRESIDENT’S AWARD
At the Sept. 16 NCNA seminar, Johnson also acted as a representative of RCNA President Henry Nienhuis to present the RCNA’s President’s Award to Michael Turrini, NCNA treasurer and seminar co-ordinator, for his dedication to Canadian numismatics. The President’s Award recognizes “supporters, whether individuals or corporations, for outstanding support of the Association.”