Team Tecmage

Hi Dave, You are down for three coins.

Gotcha added to the list.

Paid for our shipping charges as well.

Same here.

Oh my God, BD is still alive! BTW, it's Mars Blackmon.

There are several companies that mint coins. KVCoins, Aaron Charles, Coinsforanything, Pressed Metal, etc.

UPDATE- I am working with a quote right now. Depending on the answers I get back and a couple of other things I have going, we should be calling for orders and payment within a week. Richard

If you look at some of the threads for state coins, you'll see it took LOTS of people a lot of time to pull together designs. Take your time, play with lots of ideas and you'll find what you're looking for.

Got mine today! Size doesn't matter because these are well-crafted coins!

Okay, first off, I think the conversation in this thread has been more civil than that of many of the previous threads that have discussed race and Geocaching. Having said that, I am going to WARN you right now that some of what I have to say in this post may ruffle some feathers, but I ask that you 1) read what I post carefully, 2) think about what I am posting, and then 3) post or PM me if you want clarifcation. Having posted a warning, let me say that somethings just don't make sense, and it has to do with perspective. Until you can see something from someelse's perspective, you are not going to believe it possible. For example, I am a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity- a predominantly Black Fraternity. Unlike many predominantly white fraternities, I can remain an active member until I die (after that, active membership becomes problematic). So, when I go to confernces, it's not unusual to see 19 year old and 90 year old men in the same room, discussing fraternity matters. It IS unusual to see white men in those rooms discussing fraternity matters. While there are White, Asian, Native American, and etc members, this fraternity is predominantly black. We usually don't sit around discussing why there aren't more whites in Sigma, or ideas for diversifying more. Men that come to the fraternity with an interest and desire are usually invited to join. This has a lot to do with a lot of organizations- when you are in the majority- you don't think about what it's like to be in the minority, or how your organization/ sport/activity is viewed by them. Hence seeing pictures of nothing but Whites will drive some minorities away, just as "too many" pictures of minorities will drive some whites away. Pater mentioned the Jeep thread. For those unfamiliar, a writer for Jeep's Magazine (for Jeep owners) wanted to do a story about Geocachers that used their Jeeps to cache in North Carolina. That would have been fine, but they were looking for minority cachers, and were willing to loan a Jeep for the story. That wasn't not right, and a couple of Cachers got irrate about it. There was another thread about Black Enterprise Magazine wanting to do a story on Geocaching, and as you might have guessed, particularly black cachers. A couple of cachers got irrate about that too. Tracy and I were interviewed for the story. My point is this- why are we so uncomfortable talking about something that most of us live with on a daily basis (race)? Issues of race did not end with Brown v Board of Ed, or the Civil Rights Movement- they still exist. I understand that every eligible voter in the United States was not guaranteed that right until 1964- the year I was born (yep, that makes me 40). I also realize that race is not always an issue for those in the majority, and usually is for those in the minority. It will always be an issue until we learn that seeing differences and questioning them is not the same as complaining about, or acting on them. Meanwhile, if you see us out on the trail, know that we probably share a lot in common and will stop and talk if you want. Also, I have a few friends that need to get out in the woods to find a cache or two- they just don't know it yet.

This is a topic we should be able to discuss. We have had this topic come up a few times in the past, in different forms. If you look back on those threads, you'll see why the issue of race still comes up- even in the 21st century. Some Geocachers have a problem with diversity. That's their problem, no mine. As far as this thread goes, I'm glad to see others minorities chiming in. BTW, my high school and organizations I have belonged to over the years have and continue to sponsor Ski Trips and other outdoor activities. Please, please, please remember that a very small percentage of Cachers bother to post here.

Editing to say these should be non-trackable coins. Many trackable coins are travel bugs and not regular trade items. Great point.

This is a workshop for potential Cachers. We have a good working relationship with VPR. The Director of Recreation is a Geocacher, and open to new activities to increase utilitzation of the parks here. VPR asked if we would be interested in doing the workshop last year, after giving us permission to place our first cache in the area. This is a joint workshop with VPR.

Tracy, Solana and I are teaming up with Valparaiso Parks and Rec to put on a Geocaching Workshop on May 24th. It's nice to work with a department that is very excited about Caching.

1) Find coins in caches 2) Buy coins 3) Trade for coins

Thanks for the comments. You're right though about the bridges- there are only TWO in NW Indiana and they were built in the 1990s! Originally, we were looking to incorporate the Gx logo like Michigan, but the combination of the state and state flag made that idea redundant. At least one company has a two-tone coin that might produce a real dazzling effect for the coin.

It can and it should. These coins are collectiable. To have an employee snag a few that should have been destroyed to preseve the collecability of the customers coins is no small matter. The comanies integrety is at stake. I'm glad this issue was brought up as it's one more point of negotiaton that I recieve all coins including tests samples etc. Thanks RK. I wasn't really clear on why I mentioned that incident. I followed a link to EBAY, and the same employee had more than just Blazerfan's coin for sale. He had several challenge coins for auction too. Yes, it is a single employee doing something, but my concern is how does/did the company deal with the issue once they were aware of it.

You nailed what Tracy and I were thinking. We're fairly new to NW Indiana. In trying to come up with an image that represented Indiana, we learned about the numerous covered bridges, and other Indiana features. We originally tried a four-panel image and it just didn't work. We are trying to do something different from other states. If you look at the Idaho Coin, with the exception of the four-panel logo, everything is Idaho-related. The four-panel is filled with images from the state bird to state seal. I really think we have the opportunity to make something distinct and recognizable. Rupert2 is so right- if you have any ideas, please let us know.

It's worth mentioning that Aaron Charles started a MOVE while working on your coin!

Yes, Military Challenge Coins are the bread and butter bsuiness for many of these firms. BUt good customer service means you keep your customers informed on what's happening with their orders. If it is an issue of giving military orders first priority, they could save some customers some grief by stating that upfront. I've read a couple of problems with them moving deadlines on Ray&Rose, only minting part of the South African Coin order, then not giving them a deadline on when the rest of the order would be completed, and lastly, someone selling one of Blazerfan's Production Test coins on EBAY. On the other hand, I have many coins that were produced by KV. They're nice coins. Many people have gone to them based on good work and price, and are completly satisfied with their work. I shopping for quotes on the Indiana coin now, and will probably get a quote from them as well.

Thanks, and you are added to the list. Once we get a quote and give approval, we're looking at approximately one month for production and delivery.

Any chance of getting one?

Yeah, you gotta buy 2 tho. Hey ghostwriter, buy 2 and trade me the other for my coin! I still need a Vacman also. I just bought two Vacman Coins, so I have one for trade.

Rupert2 did a lot of great work on the coin. The date will appear on the reverse (bridge side). That will be the side that gets changed annually. I submitted the design to Aaron Charles Productions (Coins and Pins) for a quote. Once we have a final design, I'll shut down this thread, and open one in the Travel Bug Forum. Right now, we have requests for about 370 coins. At minimum we should have 500 minted- possibly 750 minimum once we see the final orders.

UPDATE- Here are the images of the obverse and reverse: