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I will move coins that aren’t mine if the moment strikes me, otherwise its list and discover. I currently have 3 coins, 2 are not activated, they were ftf prizes, no particular reason that I haven’t gotten them going other than I thought I’d put them as ftf prizes in one of mine..but being that I’m not that hip on putting out new caches and doing the maintenance of them…they sit..along with a half dozen ammo cans.
We have close to 2000 coins, all in a collection that we bring to most events with us, they stay home at WWFM’s but otherwise we usually bring them, all are activated and owned by us. Find us at an event some time and take some time to enjoy them, some day they might loose their appeal to us but as for now we still purchase them for our collection, we have started to focus on coins that are from MI and WI and personals from friends, and now pathtags are beginning on being Vals latest collection, now she has over 600 or so of them too
Barry of sweetlife
@Team Black-Cat wrote:
The point of geocoins is whatever you want it to be. Or not to be if that’s your choice.
I love to find a coin in a cache and add to it’s story. I also have a collection (not from caches!) of about a hundred coins. We’ve had rotten luck with coins we’ve released, so we probably won’t be releasing very many. Putting an unactivated coin in a new cache for FTF is very rewarding. At least you know where it went, and it’s appreciated by the lucky cacher that gets it.
Our first coin was from an FTF on one of Mathman’s caches. That’s what got us started.
Pretty much share BC’s sentiments on coins here. There are some really neat coins out there and there are as many or more not so neat ones. I think if you’re into collecting, you probably get more out of discovering them than others who aren’t.
I understand the point that GR is making. It’s a real bummer when a trackable or coin goes MIA. Even worse when someone else’s coin goes MIA from your own cache. I’ve had that happen a handfull of times and for every one that has gone missing, TB or GC, I have either replaced it or offered to replace it.
I also enjoy stashing FTF unregistered coins when I get the urge. Although, for a while I was just stocking up a fellow cacher’s collection, but then I also know he prizes coins and takes great care in making sure others get a chance to see them. He is even more sensitive to the ethics of uneven trading or outright pillaging of trackables, and in a recent discussion divulged that he is nearing the end of the frequent courtesy calls to keep his caches well-stocked for others since it seems the majority tend to take more than they give.
It’s tough on all of us when out caches, travel bugs and geocoins are mistreated or misappropriated. I recently had an ammo can that I invested $40 into creating go MIA right under the nose of many many geocachers. It stings. Many of us continue to give and give and give to the sport and once it a while it does come back around again, but the scales certainly seem to be tipped in the favor of the cache kiper.
I’ve had decent luck with mine but know so many that have disappeared. I like the laminate idea, but agree that it defeats the purpose. I’d say hang on to them if you fear you’re going to loose them. I know the kids want to see them travel, though, so maybe some really gaudy and nasty looking TB’s are the answer. Like Scooby Doody Doo… oh wait, that one went MIA too!!!
Well, this post topic has kind of sent me into a little depression.
in checking my trackables I own, of the 37 released, currently 12 have questionable fates (8 unknown locations, the other 4 may be in the hands of a cacher,or in their swag bag, in their glovebox, under the sofa cusions…..) But on the bright side, the other 25 all have recent logs in 2009 with a majority within the past 2 months. Many have weekly logs and are overseas or in Canada. Always fun to see the bugs and coins get large numbers of miles as they travel over the oceans and back.so, is it worth it? Yeah, I think it can be. It can be a bit discouraging to loose one but as it has been said, when they turn up somewhere, it is exciting to welcome it back.
I don’t know if any frequent the GC geocoin forums but the question about missing/stolen coins comes up frequently and the responses are usually the same…. once released, it is out of your control and you must rely on the integrity of those who find it to move it on as requested. And the fact that an activated coin is someone’s property and not to be added to one’s own collection. One of the better ways to protect a released coin, at least to begin with is to place them only in caches that require some effort to retrieve whether by D/T rating or Puzzle cache, or premium member caches. Caches that are subject to muggling should be avoided for any trackable. Again and again, education is the key. understanding Trackables is something new cachers must be clued in on.
that coins and bugs are not trade items and that if you do not plan to move the item along, don’t bother grabbing it in the first place. Also educating on how to log the grab/drop/discovery would be important too.while it can take some time if you have several missing trackables, researching the cache logs can give you a good idea who may have had the item last. Drop ’em an email and see if they still have it.
That’s what I did with 8 of them today…. let’s see if I get some responses.Disclaimer : Always answering to a higher power.
@labrat_wr wrote:
Again and again, education is the key. understanding Trackables is something new cachers must be clued in on.
that coins and bugs are not trade items and that if you do not plan to move the item along, don’t bother grabbing it in the first place. Also educating on how to log the grab/drop/discovery would be important too.This thread interests me because when I started geocaching I had never heard of geocoins and travelbugs and only learned about them through these forums. I did know enough to leave them there for those who know what to do with them. I still don’t know how to log the grab/drop/discovery, and that is ok, because it is an aspect of this hobby that I don’t need to get into. As stated previously, it is costly. I wouldn’t want to be the cacher that forgets I have one I should have moved. Collecting is just not my thing. But for those who do, I suppose it is like anything we could collect–if it has value of any kind (monetary, collectible, sentimental, ornamental…), it could be taken. Those who respect the process are the only ones who should participate. Sadly, that is not the reality. But it is nice to see responsible geocachers coming up with alternatives to preserve their investments and still enjoy this aspect of geocaching. Thanks to all for helping me understand this a little better.
We started collecting coins that we enjoyed or that we earned in raffles or as FTF prizes. We always activated them and put them out to travel. We no longer do that anymore because of the rampant stealing of coins especially in this area. We are now into Pathtags for collecting as the trades only cost the price of a stamp or are fun face to face.
At any rate, what really sealed our decision about the coin issue was our recent trip to Geowoodstock. We went to the coin and pathtag trading event with about a dozen or so coins we still had left and all my daughter’s pathtags. The room was standing room only and we managed to find a table to sit at and spread out all our “stuff”. After about 10 minutes a couple from Texas sat across from us and opened a huge box full of coins and put up a sign that read ” Any coin $5″. They had at least 1000 or more coins. I looked through some of the coins and noticed some with holes or other markings on them. I memorized one of the tracking numbers and looked it up the next morning and it was registered to a cacher in Alabama. His business was brisk to say the least with many individuals looking for coins to complete series, etc. I remember hearing him tell some of the lookers that all the coins were unactivated.
I like finding geocoins in caches. They are usually smaller and more durable than many travel bugs, and many are quite beautiful and artistic. I like the heavy feel of holding them. I like when they are well-protected and have their missions along with them. If I can help them on their missions, I will usually retrieve them from a cache and get them moving.
Sometimes they have stayed too long with us (hate to have any TB or coin around for more than a couple of weeks), and sometimes we have put them in our new caches. We do not usually discover trackables, but I know that a note as to this can let the owner know where one is.
We have no travel bugs of our own, but we purchased two 2008 WGA cow coins. One is to keep and the other is to put out to travel. Before we could do that, however, that one went missing somewhere in the house. 😳 Maybe by the time we find it and release it, coinnappers will be on to something else.
Trackables are for some people and not for for others. Be willing to accept the loss (financial and emotional) in trade for the enjoyment of watching the travels.
Almost two years, I retrieved a coin from a cache near Antigo and moved it to Menomonee Falls. It was one like a dollar bill in shape, but I don’t remember what was on it. My son was with me when I made the drop. I remember dropping the coin when I retrieved the cache container and pointed to it with my foot so my son could pick it up for me. He put it in along with one that he was dropping off. After a few weeks, I received an email from the coin owner inquiring a bout it. I thought perhaps that I forgot to log the drop so I looked up the cache. The cache page said that it was in there. Then I looked at some of the cache logs. Sure enough, one stated that there was no coin in it. I emailed the owner back and told him that I would go and check on it. Yep, it was gone. I even spent about an hour there looking around in case somebody dropped it and was maybe embarrassed about losing it. I still feel bad about it missing, especially seeing that I was the last one known to have had it. I only hope that it turns up somewhere and is placed back into a cache.
We can feel bad if we were the last ones to move the trackable or if it disappeared from one of our caches, but we can’t be responsible for the actions and lack of caching ethics of others. We can help educate for the future, and maybe make different choices when moving trackables. And we can always go above and beyond as you did, furfool, to see if by any chance there was some way to locate the missing trackable. I’m sure the owner appreciated your attempts.
What a jerk!! Too bad you did not know his name! 👿 I have found many coins that have no identification of their purpose also – which I think tends to make them look like trade items. If they were better packaged and marked when first sent out, I think a few less would get stolen.
@The Crippler wrote:We started collecting coins that we enjoyed or that we earned in raffles or as FTF prizes. We always activated them and put them out to travel. We no longer do that anymore because of the rampant stealing of coins especially in this area. We are now into Pathtags for collecting as the trades only cost the price of a stamp or are fun face to face.
At any rate, what really sealed our decision about the coin issue was our recent trip to Geowoodstock. We went to the coin and pathtag trading event with about a dozen or so coins we still had left and all my daughter’s pathtags. The room was standing room only and we managed to find a table to sit at and spread out all our “stuff”. After about 10 minutes a couple from Texas sat across from us and opened a huge box full of coins and put up a sign that read ” Any coin $5″. They had at least 1000 or more coins. I looked through some of the coins and noticed some with holes or other markings on them. I memorized one of the tracking numbers and looked it up the next morning and it was registered to a cacher in Alabama. His business was brisk to say the least with many individuals looking for coins to complete series, etc. I remember hearing him tell some of the lookers that all the coins were unactivated.
@labrat_wr wrote:
One of the better ways to protect a released coin, at least to begin with is to place them only in caches that require some effort to retrieve whether by D/T rating or Puzzle cache, or premium member caches.
I think s|s can attest that this only works “to begin with.” His “it takes a pair” TB, which wasn’t supposed to leave the table at an event, and which was supposed to be placed only in 5/5 caches, was taken and put in a urban park ammo can under a bridge where kids play. Not surprisingly, it quickly disappeared.
On the Left Side of the Road...@The Crippler wrote:
After about 10 minutes a couple from Texas sat across from us and opened a huge box full of coins and put up a sign that read ” Any coin $5″.
This really surprised me, but I suppose it shouldn’t have. Any thing that has a market will cause a demand, ethical or not.
What dismays me, which is really the answer to the question that started this thread, is the attidude that coins shouldn’t really be considered trackable and that they are there for the trading (or taking). I’m willing to “take the financial loss” for things that go missing out of ignorance, but if there is simply a market out there for coins, no thanks. And that will likely be the demise of geocoins as anything other than a personal-trade item, I predict!
Like so many other things in life, there are those who choose to profit off the welfare of others. Apparently they can live with themselves, so be it, but I have no desire to perpetuate their behavior with my contributions!
On the Left Side of the Road...As with too many other things about caching ethics and courtesy, whether it be cool coins or travel bugs, nice swag intended to enhance a cache a make it fun for kids or adults, or even the well-concealed “safe” cache itself, there are increasing numbers of bad apples spoiling the barrel.
We seem to have had better luck with some of our travel bugs than really cool coins, and have followed-up on disappearances or done replacements to keep some of them moving even after going MIA. Overall we feel we have been pretty lucky compared to many with about twenty of twenty-five sent out still traveling. New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Canada. both coasts, and many states in between are present locations. It is fun to “travel” to the caches and with the cachers moving them and sometimes see photos of the travels.
For the coolest coins and even some travel bugs made for us or by us, we have been more cautious and keep them in a box for discovery by friends and others we meet at events or on the trail. In spite of precautions or follow-up, we do have some disappointments, like the loss of one of our Sunburst Nature (suncatcher series) John Muir geocoins in the past couple weeks. A very cool coin with a stained glass window center. After seeing it dropped in a cache by a cacher who kept it too long, apologized and asked for a little more time and told “no problem, just drop it in a safe cache or with a trusted cacher” it got dropped in a TB hotel in Cincinnati with three prior instances of trackable disappearance. Wrote again to the guy who dropped it, then to the cache owner, then posted a note to the cache page asking anyone who stopped at the cache to move it to a safer place. The dropper and owner didn’t reply (till after the latest disappearance of the coin and a couple other trackables from the cache) and we lost one that we really liked too soon for many others to enjoy it. The owner finally did archive that cache last week, wrote an apologetic note, mentioned his own problems with coins and collectors, and said he won’t be sending out any more coins himself. We have a death trap like that in our area that is still “active” so to speak. Needless to say, we won’t be sending out either of the two Sunburst Nature series coins we have left – too nice to risk.
When moving trackables, we try to consider the mission of the coin or TB but more importantly pick a cache that is well hidden or away from muggle traffic and has no history of muggle visits or trackable disappearances. Less and less seems certain these days and we will also be more cautious with coins and probably not send many more out after what we have seen for the past couple years. Might send out laminated front and back versions on some, but that seems to defeat the whole purpose of enjoying the heft of a good coin, or the detailed engraving, or the true colors, or some other aspect of the real thing. Too bad, that experience will be increasingly reserved to those we see in person.
From early on I realized that the coins would disappear rather quickly. I released one out and there it sat in a cachers hand for 3 months until I could coax them to put it back into a cache that I was passing later in the week. I got it back and I never released another coin after that. I currently have released 3 TB’s. 2 are active and the third was washed downstream in as flood along with the cache.
I relate this all the same way as I do gambling. If I do not have the money to lose I don’t gamble. There is a significant appeal to folks with the coins and I will not release any of the coins in my possession. TB’s on the other hand have less appeal for a collector unless they really need that little plastic airplane. I guess in the end if you can afford to lose it send them out, if not keep them and let your friends enjoy them at events.
Well if nothing, this thread has convinced me to never release the coins I have…
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