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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10.12.16 00:50, Kate Chapman wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:CAGn7mOoxJMoV7GV+cEay_e8PVqX9YrraxhWoJNMJmiRyhgsJxA@mail.gmail.com"
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<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">... we both want to increase the
membership. </div>
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Dear Kate and Christoph,<br>
<br>
I would like to suggest an idea about increasing membership. <br>
<br>
Why not introduce ten years membership for people who were an OSMF
member for at least say three years? In some associations and
foundations there is even a life time membership [1].<br>
<br>
I would also suggest to issue ten years membership card in pure
silver with a name of a member. There are companies which produce
such metal membership cards [2]. The current price of Sterling
Silver is $14.18 per Ounce (oz), or $0.5 Per Gram (g). Sterling
silver is defined as 92.5% pure silver (that is why there is a tiny
stamp "925").<br>
<br>
One membership card from pure silver weighs 24 grams [3]. It means
the price of the precious metal itself for one card is only $ 12.00.
On this particular website a silver membership card costs really a
lot, because it is plated with white gold and rodium. Such a plating
is not necessary in our case. <br>
<br>
It is possible to find a good silversmith who could produce such
silver membership cards in good quality and with an acceptable
production price, as the cards could be mass produced and the name
& dates engraved by hand [4]. There are silversmiths
associations in the UK, in the USA, Germany [5], etc., which promote
specialists in this domain. And such a repetitive order would be a
good professional opportunity for a silversmith.<br>
<br>
A membership card in Sterling silver, a precious noble metal, will
never be thrown away. It will be kept for good. Who knows, perhaps,
in twenty or on fifty years it will be like with the first ICRC
memberships, - books are written about those people. And such a
membership card would be a good memory in itself that someone did a
right thing in her/his time. The ten-years-silver-cards could be
awarded at a conference.<br>
<br>
If this idea is accepted someday in future, I think I personally
would pay say £ 200.00 instead of £ 15.00 to get a ten years
membership and an official silver membership card.<br>
<br>
[1] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.iscb.org/iscb-membership/365">https://www.iscb.org/iscb-membership/365</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.wasbe.org/membership-info.php">http://www.wasbe.org/membership-info.php</a><br>
<br>
[2]
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.puremetalcards.com/product-category/precious-metal-cards/">https://www.puremetalcards.com/product-category/precious-metal-cards/</a><br>
<br>
[3]
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.puremetalcards.com/cards/precious-metal-cards/silver-cards/">https://www.puremetalcards.com/cards/precious-metal-cards/silver-cards/</a><br>
<br>
[4] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpEnRKk6VIg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpEnRKk6VIg</a><br>
<br>
[5] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.contemporarybritishsilversmiths.org/">http://www.contemporarybritishsilversmiths.org/</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.silversmithing.com/">http://www.silversmithing.com/</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://zentralverband-goldschmiede.de/">http://zentralverband-goldschmiede.de/</a><br>
<br>
With best regards,<br>
Oleksiy<br>
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