haysonics

Maybe you bought a real templar coin by mistake Using your logic, if I buy a fake Rolex watch and put a Groundspeak tracking number on it then it magically becomes a real Rolex Think I'll go engrave a Barbie doll Don't worry, we understand your point. You are saying a legit tracking number makes it a real geocoin. The only problem with that argument is that you could turn anything into a "real geocoin" by putting a Groundspeak tracking number on it. Tattoo a tracking number on your head and call yourself a geocoin. Tell em Groundspeak said so when the men in white coats come to collect you. "I am a real geocoin I tell ya" "Of course you are" "No, no, stay back" "But we only want to help you" ...

I'll have a antique bronze and antique silver for trade if you are interested. Your personals are neat so I am sure we can work something out.

Good question. I think most of us had to have a hard think about this when starting out as there are so many good looking geocoins. For me, it depends on the coin. If the design looks unique (say an interestingly shaped coin) I will pick a favourite metal/colour rather than having two or more finishes which might detract from the "uniqueness". With other coins that I really like but that maybe arn't so "unique" I'll pick 2 or 3 favourite finishes. There were a few designs I was so enamoured with that I just had to get in every finish. It is rare that I will like every colour/metal produced. I think you get a feel for it as your habit matures. I am thankfull for not being born a "set collector". If there are 3 finishes but I only like 2 I feel no angst about not having the set. Sometimes a particular finish will only be available if you buy a set and so people do that, keep one or two finishes they like, then trade off the remainder. You can often pickup copper and black nickel coins in trade with people who don't like those metals.

Lucky you PaRacers! If you don't mind me asking, what kind of plastic case did they come in? Thanks, pasha I believe they're called "proof cases" they're round, made of hard clear plastic and completely enclose the coins They are also known as capsules but I would get your coins out of them asap as they are probably poor quality ones that will do your coins more harm than good (aka chemical fumes)

I'm guessing Rising Sun Mint is ameropaintball. I have resisted the temptation of his 100% nickel, aluminium and copper investments. Adding different stickers and tracking numbers to these "coins" don't make em geocoins in my book. I imagine he is making a couple of bucks per coin and even more per geocoin. How many designs were approved ? How many tracking numbers did he buy for each design ? Did he mint more coins for each design than he had tracking numbers for ? Did he put bogus numbers on the extras ? Or is he just inept and stuffed up the numbers on multiple coins ? Should Groundspeak invalidate all his trackings numbers asap in order to save the reputation of trackable geocoins ? If not, should we all buy circular saws and adhesive labels and get to work making junk geocoins ?

Maybe they are in shock. Just think, if you can come up with 10 different scenes (4 finishes per scene) you can beat the Tranquility and retire

I love coins with The Great Seal on them so count me in Yours has more depth than any the US Mint's ever cranked out.

A GMT (-# or +#) reference would be handy for us that live out where theyre be dragons.

Yep, seems it'll be a set. Back to eating dog food for a week

Look at the picture of the fake and you will see it looks like it says "Track this templar coin at www.geocaching.com" It is hard to tell whether it uses the word "geocaching" or something else because of the picture the seller uses. Either way, that statement on the coin seems clearly designed to misrepresent the coin as being trackable on geocaching.com Caveat emptor does not apply here. Also, I'd love to see a picture of any historical Knights Templar shield image that looks the same as Mambomania's cross and shield design. The Templars' shields looked different. The seller has copied Mambomania's design. If he bothered to do his own design or even use the original Templar Shield design he might have a leg to stand on. Numismatists have been battling Chinese copies for a few hundred years now. It is "just a coin" until you start to pay serious $$$ for them ! How about fake U.S. currency ? Under spec (aka fake) cabling on the Brooklyn Bridge ? Fake AIDS medication ? Edit: Provocative examples but there is no grey line with fakes.

In a museum according to Post #1 Great design, I'd love to know the souce as well. Make a good cointest. I am guessing a pendant. Tranquility eat your heart out

I have just reported the Hong Kong Seller + the two U.S. sellers of this templar geocoin copy to ebay for copyright infringement as the front of the coin is a clear copy of mambomania's design. FYI: Search on "Templar Coin" rather than "Templar Geocoin" to find all the copies. The more people that report this the better.

I believe that is the case as well. I assume Eartha needed to know whether the coin is intended to be trackable as Groundspeak policy only comes into play in regards to approval for trackables. If Eartha is asking the powers that be about it she may wish to inquire about the Jesus Goes Caching idea as well. Its also in that grey area. It neither promotes nor mocks Christianity but does use the central character of the religion. Vishnu is (for some) the central character in Hinduism. For others it is Brahma or Indra.

You could go with "Cacheu, God of Finds" if you want as the Bhagavad Gita mentions there are 40 million gods living in the stomach of a cow. Cacheu could just as easily be one of those. The Simpsons send Hinduism (and other religions) up all the time. I haven't heard of anyone bombing their animation studio. There are fanatics in all religions. Would a fanatic Vishnu follower discover your coin one day and then seek you out? Who knows. Consider this; Would you be offended by a "Jesus Goes Caching" coin; a coin depicting Jesus in the forest with a GPS in hand? Do you think some people would be offended by it? Would you make the Jesus Goes Caching coin if Groundspeak gave approval for the design? I'd probably buy both coins but thats just me. Should any particular religion be sent up? Should some religions be sent up but not others? Should they all be sent up? BTW; I think "Pseudo-religious, but not really" is the same as "Pseudo-pregnant, but not really". Do you really believe anyone is not going to think your coin is a parody of Hinduism? Does anyone out there consider themselves "Pseudo-religious, but not really"? I know some people say they are spiritual but don't follow a religion but we all know they are just embarrassed to admit they are Jedi As far as Groundspeak policy goes; I assume you want the coin to be trackable? signed haysonics, Jedi Master (out of the closet at last)

bump

Coins and Pins put aside the recent compass rose set I ordered for a month while I went travelling and then posted them the day I had requested. The coins arrived the day after I returned. They are precise, professional, rave, rave ! They once had an issue with a mint that printed different tracking numbers on coins to what was requested and they then worked with Groundspeak to adjust the tracking database and solved that massive issue in a couple of weeks. If there is a better vendor out there I haven't come across them yet. Their fans are loyal and quite happy to let everyone know they are a great company. I wouldn't worry. C&P are probably just as loyal to their internet service provider (who seem to be the one having the issue).

Yep, the top layer of a coin is coroding when it is tarnishing but eventually stabilises and protects the underlying layers from oxidisation. Once tarnish is removed the coin has lost some of its top layer. If you continue the tarnish/clean cycle in 100 years you'll have no coin left. The hope is that when a cleaned coin tarnishes 2nd time round it will be more attractive. If so, the cleaning will have been worth doing. I have my fingers crossed for the coins I chose to clean. At the moment they look much better cleaned. Many collectors don't value cleaned coins so I am hoping for better tarnish 2nd time round. I owned both tranquilities that were done in the rhodium finish. They are called the "Light Rhodium" and "Dark Rhodium". The "Light" and "Dark" bit are references to their colour combos. BUT real rhodium wasn't used alongside the enamels. The coating used just approximated the colour of real rhodium. Castleman can correct me if I am wrong. If I find out he did use real rhodium then I'll be sorry I traded them I kept their counterparts ("Light Gold" and "Dark Gold") Edit: Coin conservation and Tranquilities discussed in the same thread !!! Bless you

Great links Eartha and you made some great points. Tarnish and Dirt (both called Toning) can be attractive and removing attractive toning will decrease a "real" coin's value however unattractive toning is often removed so as to increase a coin's value and many collectors do this (whether they admit it or not). A significant proportion of a coin's value comes from the grade it is given and uncovering details will give the coin a higher grade (as long as those details are in good condition). Attractiveness is subjective but the majority of collectors usually agree when asked if a particular coin's toning looks good. If so, then it is better to leave the toning on (even if it is obscuring the details). There is also strong support for "conservation" of coins. This is where you clean a coin so as to remove a corrosive element (not general dirt or tarnish) so as to protect the coin from further damage. PVC damage is a good example that justifies cleaning as it will further damage a coin if left on. If you do choose to clean a coin, there is one thing that almost everyone agrees on. Do not use abrasive elements unless absolutely necessary for conservation (this includes acids). It is due to the use of abrasive elements and also the removal of valuable attractive toning that the general advice not to clean coins is given.

Rinse your coins in non-clorinated water after you have done that, then pat dry. It could be residue from your cleaning solution thats made them tarnish OR the salt in the solution has abrasively damaged the coins coating OR the metal is unstable. Unstable polished metal coatings (easy to tarnish) are used by some of our friends in China. Its the price we pay for NOT using expensive metal coatings like silver. This is especially evident on geocoins with "proof like" finishes.

I assume the flips are made of non-stabilised PVC and you are suffering from PVC damage/rot. This is a common problem with vintage coin folders as well and is widely discussed in the "traditional" coin forums. I know that the "polished metal" coating on geocoins are thin and you should be careful BUT id suggest breathing on them and then wiping with a soft cloth of the type used for cleaning reading glasses and see what happens. This works for me but then I haven't suffered PVC corrosion. If that doesn't work you would have to look at a solvent like acetone. This can be risky even though that solvent is not an acid. Keep acetone away from hard enamels (enamels not covered with epoxy). Acetone wont react with epoxy so you can use it on soft enamels (translucent colours are covered with epoxy). Apply with a soft cloth, then lightly rub, then rinse the coin in non-clorinated water, then pat dry. Good luck !

I am looking for a In The Mood For Caching in Sandblasted Gold (looks like Polished Gold) I have for trade: Yime v2 in Antique Bronze In The Mood For Caching in Sandblasted Silver Compass Roses in Polished Gold 40 Years man On The Moon - Start - 2 Tone 40 Years man On The Moon - Earth - 2 Tone Please PM or Email me if you have one

Do they still make those? Sure do but I'd rather have a Double Eagle. That was the US $20 coin from 1907-1933. They started making Eagles again in the 80's though they cost a bit more these days. They have Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ Lady Liberty design. Best version of the ol gal. I'll settle for a plain ol dollar from 1794 if someone finds one in their change

Best Egyptian themed geocoin !

Wow. The graphics on both sides are sweet. I thought the photo was touched up until I read the comments. Double wow. The contrast between the minamilist style graphics and hi-res photo creates a great 3D effect. Really like the back as well.

Yep, there is only publicity or no-publicity. Have you seen the episode of South Park where Cartman is flicking channels and stumbles onto a doco about the Third Reich ? On the other hand, those who do not remember the past are destined to repeat it !