ANA REVAMPS MEDIATION PROCESS

To better serve members, the American Numismatic Association (ANA) has updated, codified and redefined its mediation process.

Under the new process, which took effect on October 1, 2001, ANA members and non-members can seek resolutions to problems, with all complaints handled first by a newly formed Mediation Committee composed of five past members of the ANA Board of Governors. The committee will have the authority to impose disciplinary measures against those found in violation of the ANA's bylaws or codes of ethics. Appeals will be heard by the Board of Governors, which retains the sole authority to suspend or expel members.

The revised Article III of the ANA Bylaws continues to enforce penalties on members who:

• Sell and/or trade on three or more occasions counterfeit or altered numismatic items "irrespective of the seller's lack of knowledge as to the material's authenticity."
• Sell and/or trade on one occasion counterfeit or altered numismatic items while knowing the material was not authentic.
• Advertise or offer for sale or trade any coin "which has been chemically or mechanically altered by means not generally accepted by numismatic standards and which is represented to be of a higher or of a more nearly perfect condition than was the coin" prior to being altered.

The revised bylaws do permit the selling or trading of reproductions or other altered numismatic items that are not "in any way" misrepresented as genuine and are generally accepted and collected by numismatists.

Those seeking resolution through the ANA's mediation process generally must file complaints within 90 days of the alleged violation. Under the revised bylaws, the Association also may file a complaint without waiting for an individual to take action.

Respondents will be provided a copy of the complaint and all the supporting documentation within 15 days of the filing and have 30 days within which to answer. Failure to respond in a "timely fashion" or refusal to accept a complaint from the ANA "shall be deemed an admission of the complaint," according to the bylaw.

The Mediation Committee, meeting via telephone conference, will rule on the complaint and may issue reprimands, assess loss of privileges, order restitution or return of numismatic materials, assess fines or penalties, reimburse fees, place a respondent on probation, or "fashion any other discipline which (it) deems appropriate." Appeals to the Board of Governors will be heard during its meetings held in conjunction with the Association's spring and summer conventions. Appeals decided by the Board will be considered final and binding.

The Board of Governors will automatically review situations that involve any member who has had three or more complaints filed against him or her within the preceding two years, even if the case has been settled without a mediation hearing. Any complainant who files three or more cases in two years will be reviewed by the Board. Those found to file repeated unfounded complaints can be expelled from the Association.

Non-ANA members who file complaints against members through the new mediation process will have to pay a processing fee of $50 for each case handled by the Mediation Committee and $100 for each case appealed to the Board of Governors. For complaints filed by ANA members, there will be a $50 processing fee for cases involving numismatic transactions valued at $250 or less; $25 for cases involving numismatic transactions valued at $250.01 to $500; and no fee for transactions valued at more than $500 or for any complaint not involving a numismatic transaction.

The revised ANA Bylaws are posted on the ANA's web site (www.money.org/bylaws.html) and will be published in the January issue of The Numismatist, the Association's monthly journal.