Tandemaniacs

To answer some questions: Yes, it's $1.50/coin charge to have them trackable on GC.com. If you want the special icon it's another $300. There used to be a minimum of 1000 coins made to have them trackable, but as some of you know I only minted 200 Big Bear geocoins and they're trackable on GC.com! The owners of Coins and Pins are geocachers and they work well with Groundspeak. They worked out the deal for me. As for lost coins. I agree. It sucks. I love 2 CA geocoins. People swipe them for their own collections and it's not fair. That's why people have resorted to buying a lot to trade and to share numbers with others at events (So it's like you found it). Tha way you get crediti for the find. IT didn't start out that way, but that's what it's come to. Who wants to pay $36 on ebay (which sucks anyway) for a coin just to send it out in the world to get swiped for someone's personal collection. Welcome to the world of caching. -Ronney

Be careful. This whole geocoin making and collecting bubble is going to burst. People are already getting fed up with prices and who makes them and even how people share and swap them. I suggest you enjoy the game, buy one here and there that you might like. Never ever pay for an inflated ebay bid item! They will not be worth anything in 10 years. If you think they will, look at Beanie Babies. Worth nothing. Trading can be fun, but there will always be someone who will be a real a** about it and ruin the experience for you. Do what you want for fun. -Ronney

I'm an artist. I should be paid for my time. Do you expect to buy a painting for your wall or a sculpture for the price of the materials?!?!? No, an artist gets paid for their time just like everybody else. And yes, sometimes we sell it for less, why do you think we are called starving artists. I am asking for my time on the coin to be paid, not time missed for transporting boy scouts....that's my own time and yours! -Ronney

Very amusing! In our case my husband is only interested in the mapping and GPS part and I am interested in finding the cache. He'll set up the GPS and do all the mapping, but when I say lets go all he wants to do is go for a hike and if there is a cache there, then he'll go. He won't hike to find caches. So he has used geocaching to get me on the trail with him and I keep pulling him to find more. At least he'll go.....and then there's our 3 year old daughter. -Ronney (Tandemaniacs)

OK! Has this idea been tossed around yet?!?!? How about instead of a trackable geocoin, I design a trackable geoPIN! They cost a lot less to make and people can wear them or place them in caches like originally done. -Ronney (Tandemaniacs)

Hear me now and believe me for all time!!! I posted this in another discussion: "$10 is not a lot to ask for the coins to be minted. Here's why... First I come up with an idea, then I spend days designing it and reworking it. I contact the minter and upload the work. I wait for GC to approve the design. I pay for the coins $5/coin with minting prices, special icon and trackable GC numbers. Time is spent talking to you about this, and advertising. I spend thousands of dollars upfront and then I will then sell it to a dealer to take over sales. (Because quite frankly dealing with Paypal and people's bounced checks, sucks!) I sold 200 Big Bear coins and if I took all my time for design, advertising, Excel set up of customers, time to update with each incoming check, purchasing of mailers, time to go to the post office for pricing and stamps and mailing it off as well as constant contact with customers, I am making about $ .30/hour. The Geocoin business is not a way to make money. I do it because I am an artist. You may gripe about the cost of a coin being $7 or $10, but people who have never made a coin have no idea what goes into it. And that's all I have to say about that! No hard feelings. I had to get that off my chest." -Ronney

1 for me please.

Hear me now and believe me for all time!!! $10 is not a lot to ask for the coins to be minted. Here's why... First I come up with an idea, then I spend days designing it and reworking it. I contact the minter and upload the work. I wait for GC to approve the design. I pay for the coins $5/coin with minting prices, special icon and trackable GC numbers. Time is spent talking to you about this, and advertising. I spend thousands of dollars upfront and then I will then sell it to a dealer to take over sales. (Because quite frankly dealing with Paypal and people's bounced checks, sucks!) I sold 200 Big Bear coins and if I took all my time for design, advertising, Excel set up of customers, time to update with each incoming check, purchasing of mailers, time to go to the post office for pricing and stamps and mailing it off as well as constant contact with customers, I am making about $ .30/hour. The Geocoin business is not a way to make money. I do it because I am an artist. You may gripe about the cost of a coin being $7 or $10, but people who have never made a coin have no idea what goes into it. And that's all I have to say about that! No hard feelings. I had to get that off my chest. -Ronney

Sounds like too many coins. I would bow out gracefully if it came to that.

To repy to Rupert... I am an artist and I am making a coin so that somewhere in the world, someone has my artwork. -Ronney

I don't want to step on anyone's feet. I got this idea 2 weeks ago and started on design. I sent it to coinsandpins and at this time we are waiting for GC's approval of the design. Should I stop? Should I scrap the idea? -Ronney

Here is the image I have sent for minting this coin. Image tries to show 3D using Photoshop emboss. Tandemaniacs

I have a new coin idea and image sent to coinsandpins for minting, but I would like all of your input on what you think of the coin. Are you interested in it? This coin will be a 2 sided 3D image of the world, gold in color. Matte finish for the continents and glossy for the water. East on one side, west on the other. It will bow out slightly like a globe. Around the side of the coin (not edge trim) it will read "GEOCACHING AROUND THE WORLD". The coin will be GC trackable and have it's own icon. Only 1000 will be minted and due to the extra charges for the icon and the GC trackable it may have to sell for $10 each. So, let's start with the interest! -Tandemaniacs designer of the Big Bear geocoin

Thank you all for working with one another. It's nice to see that the bickering stopped and everyone is helping one another. Thanks you ShowStop for helping our foreign friends obtain my coin. I am in the middle of designing another coin. I will be producing 2000 coins and I will ultimately sell the coin outright to one buyer who will sell it and ship it for me AND take PayPal. The next coin I hope will be even more exciting! -Ronney

I think I have written to all of you now. Those who got coins, got an invoice. Those who didn't got an apology letter. I am only one person with 200 coins. I didn't know that 600 of you would want a coin from a small town like Big Bear. I DID take the orders in the order I recieved them. I am an anal retentive neat freak! Yesterday I was busy making a spread sheet as the orders were rolling in and I put them all in order of when they came in. When it hit 200 coins, I stopped and sent out apology letters. If I didn't get your e-mail or you posted your request on the forum instead of my e-mail thru the website, I'm sorry. I will try better next time on my next coin. And I'll set up with PayPal too! -Ronney

Rusty- I used Photoshop to make my Big Bear coin and sent the artwork to www.coinsandpins.com .They appreciated the intricate work I did. -Ronney

I ordered mine! -Ronney

PLEASE, PLEASE STOP!!!! Please stop the harassing e-mails. I took the orders in the order that they came in my e-mail. If you thought you ordered them through this forum, you didn't order my coin and I'm sorry. You needed to click on the link to my website ( 1st note in this forum) and then send me an e-mail with the amount of coins you wanted. They are all gone. I only got ONE COIN! I forgot to order for myself. As for all you working stiffs... I'm sorry I didn't have more coins to offer you when you got home from work. Maybe I should design a working stiff geocoin. Please, try to be a good sport. I'm sure someone will sell theirs either here or on, G-d for bid, E-bay. -Ronney (Tandemaniacs)

Thank you all again for your responses. To answer someone's question: The coin will be listed as a personal coin. Other question was why does the coin say "geocachers ###"? The ### is the place holder for the tracking numbers. I had no idea it would be this popular. If I had known I would have done 500 coins and paid the extra money for the COOL icon! Next October, Big Bear will have it's 2nd annual "Big Bear Cache Bash". I will redesign the coin for 2006 and have 500 minted and get a cool icon! Thank you again for making my 1st venture into design and sale of a coin an huge success! Ronney

ATTENTION ATTENTION! That's it! We are sold out! We sold 200 coins in almost 4 hours! Thank you so much for all your responses. You will be getting an e-mail from me soon if I got your order. I will send you your total amount. If you do not get an e-mail from me, I am sorry I can't get back to you. I had no idea how popular this would be. I am just one person with 200 sold coins. I have a lot of work ahead of me yet. For those who ordered, www.coinsandpins.com said I should have the coins in my hand by Nov. 1st and I will be sending them off to you. Thanks also to those who purchased from Germany, Netherlands, Finland and Canada as well as the GOOD OLE USA! -Ronney (Tandemaniacs)

ATTENTION ATTENTION! OVER 130 coins have been ordered in 2 hours. We have changed the minting to 200 coins and no more! We promise not to mint more than that. Thank you all for your excitment. I will accept orders in the order I receive them. I apologize if I have to turn you away. I am very excited to see this huge interest. Those of you who ordered will get information soon about where to send your money. Only 70 MORE COINS LEFT! Thank you, thank you , thank you! -Ronney (Tandemaniacs)

Well, it's in production! Big Bear, Ca now has it's own www.GC.com trackable geocoin! They are only being sold from one place. The following website: Big Bear Geocoin http://webpages.charter.net/braunstein/geocoin/ This coin was designed by team Tandemaniacs and is being sold on their personal website. At this time only 100 coins will be minted, but if sales take off, 200 coins will be minted, but no more than that. This will truely be a collector's item. We gave the locals a chance to order 1st by posting the new site at 10pm last night. By this morning more than 1/4 of the coins have been promised! Don't miss out. It's a beautiful, unique coin. Tandemaniacs (Ronney)

I have found a few place on the internet that will mint a coin. Who do I have to contact to have it as a trackable geocaching coin? How do I tell the minter what numbers to put on it? Anyone know what geocaching would charge? -Ronney (Tandemaniacs) I'M NOT A TADPOLE!

Thank you all so much for all your great help. I too, have come up with an idea for a coin and I would like it to be tracable on geocaching.com. I have some investigating to do now. Thanks again!!!! Keep your eyes posted for Big Bear Lake geocoin! Tandemaniacs

I have been at this for a year now. I would like to purchase geocoins for myself that I and others can track on www.geocaching.com. I had a Ca geocoin, but it wasn't tracable on geocaching.com, but today I saw a MD coin and that one you could. Does anyone have a list of state coins that are geocaching.com tracable? Thank you in advance for any helpful info. -Tandemaniacs