fox-and-the-hound

I usually consider myself pretty good at figuring these things out, but I'm stumped now. How can I remove all the caches that need maintenance from a pocket query search? Or can I at all short of using GSAK?

Just goes to show anything is possible! That's so cool

Wow, those came out really nice! I'm digging the gold one with the rich, warm tones

After last weekend's event coin trading session and all the people who talked to me one-on-one about making their very first coin in the seasons ahead, I'm more confident than ever that the interest in making personal geocoins at least is still alive and well :D

These three statements are ALL really quite inaccurate. First of all, caching has been a regular event since the dawn of mankind. The GPS makes it easier, but to call caching a fad is akin to calling man walking upright a fad and about as ludicrous. Geocaching does have an industry side, but it didn't start as an industry. On top of that, leaving personal mementos in caches has been around for a VERY long time (we're talking since the stoneage here) and certainly long before gps geocaching began. Hate to break it to you, but "the originally intended purpose" was a reward to be left to the next finder and a way of marking your presence at a cache. On top of that, commercial coins exist primarily to allow people who can not afford to go all out to make their own personal coin a chance to use a coin for it's "originally intended purpose" or even to send out a beautiful traveler to be shared by other cachers by making them available at a price more people can actually afford. I am not blind to the fact that some coins have been made in umpteen different versions, but it's not always for marketing however it might seem (although it has definitely been done). Anyone who has spent the substantial amount of money to create a coin is also aware that for the most part you usually will only get one chance to do it and so you try as many variations as you can in the hopes that at least one will be a true standout. Lastly to say the coin holds no value outside of geocaching is inaccurate, insulting and ignorant. The makeup of most coins is precious metals and they are inherritanly value for that reason alone so this is inaccurate. Many very talented people spent a lot of time and effort to create many original and beautiful pieces of art in the process of making a coin so this is a horribly insulting remark to all those people as well. You make a huge assumption to say there is no interest outside of the geocaching world as well. There are millions of people around the world who collect coins for their beauty alone and some of these coins have even appeared in galleries of art for their beautiful production alone so you are clearly ignorant of the true facts here. Basing reality on this one single forum on the web would be a mistake. There are many more conversations being had elsewhere on the web and in life that disagree strongly.

Ahhh, the time of sitting on pins and needles with constant daydreams distracting you from everything! Savor this time, it's a good thing

I have to disagree here on the value of the coins going down like the mass produced beanie babies, pokemon cards, etc., etc. There are significant differences between mass marketed millions-of-units-sold fad products and the rather expensive to create geocoins that were made in small runs and exact numbers produced. Anything sold as "collectable" from the start is most likely NOT worth collecting. It's the normal things made in limited quantities that slowly disappear through happenstance over the years that attain real value. I don't think anyone was surprised that the coin buying bubble eventually popped, but don't let it fool you that coins are suddenly worthless. The economy tanked and people are selling for less than they're worth often out of desparation, but when things swing back the other way... I honestly think that as the realm of what can be made trackable expands the rarity of the coin will increase again as the mass of options puts coins back in the niche of less attainable, more desirable and harder to get as more people start to catch on. It's like the stock market... supply, demand, economy, fad, and more all will affect it, but the hold outs for the long haul often end up very well off when all the day traders have come and gone in their race for the quick buck. There's no sure thing, but I'm betting this will be one of those threads cachers will look back on with knowing smiles when things turn around.

A good source to tap might be Chris Rake (Crake Productions) since he's done a number of these kinds of designs and might have some valuable insight for you.

Wow, where do I start? I think what impressed me most (aside from meeting so many coin legends in one place) was the sense of camaraderie of interest. Learning the stories behind the stories of some of these coins is priceless, too. There are so many coins that I was sure I knew all there was to know about and suddenly I hear a whole other side to them. Where comfortable shoes, too. You'll walk miles inside a small space as collections move about, conversations move about and people come and go repeatedly. Take a pad and pen, you'll want to jot down the names of coins you see and will want to trade for later. Get some coins to take for trading. Coin traders will often throw you a bone and trade a much harder to get coin for whatever you have on hand just in the effort to include you in the fun, share stories and passion for these treasures. Don't, don't, don't be afraid to introduce yourself and ask questions!!! There's so much to learn, so many people to meet and so little time to do it in that you can't afford to let the opportunity pass by to say hello and ask a question. Bring a camera!!! You'll have so many chances to Discover geocoins and so little time to write them down that a small digital cam can save you a lot of time recording tracking codes and you'll enjoy seeing these treasures again later at home. You definitely won't be missing out if you don't have coins to trade though. When you see everything there you'll be introduced to a really amazing facet of geocaching and maybe gain a better understanding of what drives so many of us to collect, trade and share these treasures.

There are a number of them actually. Oct. GCC 2010 "Happy Samhain" and the new April GCC 2012 (Pan and the Seelie folk) are both coins specifically related to the Gaelic people and legends. There are a number of coins showing Yggdrasil, the life tree, and other similar legendary symbols of the old world. Dozens of coins are coming to mind now, but I don't recall the individual names. You're going to have a great time hunting them all down though

Cool! Thanks for the link

Loving that border on the Bike to Cache theme! Who made that?

As a long time collector, full time coin designer and enthusiast, I see several paths colliding that's resulting in a single outcome. 1) Supply vs. Demand: Many more coins were being produced in the recent past than the current economic status will support. 2) Economy - 'nuf said 3) With so many choices, people are being far more selective in adding to their collections. 4) What seemed like a great money-making opportunity for some churned out a lot of uninspired designs with little or no corrolation to caching unfortunately. 5) Coins with tracking numbers have those numbers to record their travels whether by personal discover or travel in caches. When coins become so desirable that they start dissappearing at an alarming rate people are less inclined to spend good money to release these coins which drives the demand down as well. 6) Dwindling number of personals being created. Coins are expensive to produce and require a serious commitment. Personals have always seemed to be the highest on the hit list of must-haves because they can't be made endlessly as the market demands so they're more desirable. Unfortunately the first 5 factors have taken a heavy toll on this factor. 7) Over-policed forums. I don't think it's a coincidence that the moment threads on coins started being closed (because people hadn't decided yet whether to make a coin trackable yet) and the shared creative process came to screaming halt helped anyone. This place used to be buzzing with dozens of excited people 24hours a day sharing ideas, asking questions and generally a hot bed of excitement. Now it's almost empty. A new section for non-trackables or something might have helped, but it seems too little too late. Coincidentally, dozens of conversations shifted immediately to other social websites or forums and still continue there with more fervor than here. (Coincidentally, the vast majority of them ARE or WILL BE trackable at geocaching.com anyway, but people don't seem inclined to share their projects here anymore.) Coins are still very popular, but with so many choices, so little money and so many people with interest being afraid to ask questions it's going to be awhile before the fervor revives. I believe that it will though in time. It's like the stock market I think. The bubble burst, the strongest producers withdrew a bit, are recovering and will continue to do well over time, but there is now a large supply of dwindling value coins out there. Hopefully as the market rebounds so will the interest and excitement. Afterall, geocoins ARE a luxury and luxury items are the first to suffer during hard times.

What? You couldn't get a bigger picture??? Is it as heavy as we thought it would be?

This is looking to be a beautiful piece! I'm impressed with the thought process and story as much as I am with the design Great work and I'm looking forward to seeing the results of your labor!

Nice! How about some details like size, thickness, icon, etc.? BTW, is that the sound (or part of it) to the left of the ferry?

There's no good answer, but I see it like this... If I'm standing at the counter of a store and the item I wish to purchase is in the hands of the teller at the cash register I hand them my cache ha! I meant "cash". In return they put the item I've bought into my posession. It's not my problem how they hand it to me, but if it doesn't arrive into my hands I'm not leaving the store without another or without my money back. So I believe it's up to the seller to make it happen. That being said, however, if the seller is having a regular problem with shipping they need to do whatever they have to (insurance, tracking, etc.) and add the cost of that extra effort to the customer if need be. If it doesn't reach the customer, they have the ability to seek restitution if they've taken the proper precautions. Unfortunately that means everyone loses because the prices just go up. I see a lot of these reports of missing international packages and it seems most of them are either items going through or arriving in/from Germany. I have learned over time and personal experience in trading that I have a 100% success rate of shipping and receiving packages marked "Metal Game Token" and only about a 75% success rate of anything marked with the word "coin". Apparently, many countries routinely open packages marked with any wording that sounds like "coin" and then confiscate those items unless they've had their appropriate fees paid in advance. I guess any coin with dollar value has to be claimed and appropriate monies paid when being shipped by their laws. If the value can't be determined their travel ends right there. I can't claim first hand knowledge if this is true and I can't guarantee your success rate, but it certainly can't hurt to mark your packages differently. I thought I recalled a post by someone in the postal service there along those lines about 2 years ago. Anybody recall which thread that was?

Ouch!, it hurts just trying to think of narrowing it down to coolest!! They're all so cool for different reasons! What ranks as "cool" for you? Maybe that would help (btw, EVERY coin is available for trade... it's just a matter of how tough the convincing will need to be!)

This is great to hear!! A sad bit having to part with something you love being tossed on top of everything else you've endured, but glad to see it's behind you now. I'll pass the word to those I know looking to pick up a nice stock of coins if it helps

I've done quite a few of these (not this particular coin, but ones just like it - cache critters, NEPAG, team ace, etc.) for myself and friends and learned there are a few tricks that help avoid excessive cracking. 1) Use a NEW drill bit. Old ones often have burrs or are just not terribly sharp and both add to the cracking/splitting element. 2) Use some cutting oil or even just some motor oil, vegetable oil or anything to keep the heat down. 3) Go slow with light pressure! A drill press works best, but you can use a hand drill if you're carefull. 4) Drill from the clear enamel side (picture side). When you drill from the opposite side of a clear enamel side it tends to push the clear enamel (and everything attached to it) out of its setting. 5) Drill on a solid background that keeps pressure even on the coin and pressure on the the other side's enamel to avoid pushing enamel of of the setting. On a side note, using coins with a hole hasn't seemed to work as well for me as drilling. Once there's purposeful damage to a coin it seems to travel quite well, but a coin that has a pre-drilled hole can just have a tag removed and end up in some anonymous collection. Sad trend I know, but it does seem to be a trend.

I'll definitely bring some for the expo and maybe one or two impossible-to-get pieces Nothing quite like seeing a cacher holding a geocoin for the first time!

Outstanding!!! I love this coin Very well thought out and executed!

The original Antique Golds are long gone and the Antique Silver will be soon, but the Satin Golds are finally here!! Check it out!

That's beautiful! There are going to be a lot of happy glow-tag people out there! And I love the new easy-remove system, very cool

Love it!!! Hope to see one in person soon