there are inherent differences between collecting coins & collecting casino chips that, I believe, severely limit a young person's ability to really get involved in our hobby. I started collecting coins almost 50 years ago -- sticking pennies, nickels, dimes & quarters into those old blue Whitman folders. It was fun & EASY because my dad used to have people over twice a month to pay poker & I'd go through the change at the end of the night to see if there was something cool. Or, I'd go to the bank & buy $20 in pennies & go through those. And if I saved enough, I'd go to a local coin shop & buy something. Kids can't do those same things with casino chips -- they're not readily accessible to a 12 year old since he/she can't walk into a casino to buy chips & there's no local shops (similar to a coin shop) where that kid could go & buy chips.

While I agree with everyone else that we need to get more & younger people into our hobby, I honestly don't think that bringing in 5 or 10 "Junior Members" will have any lasting impact on this club or the hobby. I personally believe that energy & efforts spent towards coming up with sound ideas to attract & sustain new members in the 21 to 50 year age group is much more important than trying to attract "junior" members. JMO.

Steve Bedo