Fiery Searcher

Excellent advice and suggestions! I am looking forward to this mission, and to seeing what types of coins get exchanged. Thanks, EyeD10T!

Does this mean that event/club coins are considered "lesser" coins? As a newbie I have no idea how to tell if a coin is "good" or "bad", I just go for whatever is visually appealing to me Not at all! Some of the most popular coins have been then 9-9-9 and 10-10-10 coins. I haven't been able to trade for any of them! My point was that one way to define a "fair trade" is to trade a like coin for a like coin: a club coin for a club coin, an oakcoin for an oakcoin, etc. I think we all try to acquire coins that we find "visually appealing," but what I find pretty may not be so appealing to the receiver. This is subjective. I gave several examples in my post, not just event/club coins. How does a sold out, hard-to-find coin measure up to something that's still available on a website? My thought was to initiate a discussion about what could constitute a "fair trade" to see if there IS a way to have objective criteria to help us decide what is "fair." This would help ALL of us out, newbies and mission veterans alike, in that the expectations would be clearly stated. I certainly didn't mean to single out anything as "lesser." If someone is taking it that way, then I can only blame my wording and assure everyone that my intent was otherwise. Having participated in several missions, I think I understand where usyoopers is coming from. It is not unheard of to receive a mission where it is difficult to believe that someone put any thought into it at all. Moreover, missions can be misinterpreted as a way to get rid of coins that you've been gifted but really didn't care for, and the justification is merely "unactivated and trackable." I get the impression that a few coiners have given up on missions because it is no fun to put thought, effort, and coins that are more coveted than the average coin into a mission, and not receive nearly the same in return.

I'll second this emotion, usyoopers. I know "fair trade" means something different for everyone, but some guidance is in order here. Given the variety of coins available AND the fact that we have a lot of variety in terms of familiarity with coins among the participants, some discussion might not be such a bad thing. I notice that there are no "event" coins in the initial eight offering, so maybe those should be precluded from the mission? A couple(?) come from one of the clubs out there, so those might be replaced with other club coins? If any coins are sold out, is it fair to replace it with a newly minted coin that is available through one of the vendors? Then, there's the simplest (if not equitable?) option: trade 1 unactivated/trackable coin for another unactivated/trackable. As the mission leader, perhaps EyeD10T should make the final decision...

I like that there is an "order" for mission participants to follow. It may take some of the "surprise" element out, but I think we'll be saved the "where did it go?" guessing game. Those are some great coins to start the mission! Makes me wish I were the first recipient...

Updates in BOLD. Given the lack of ranting and the fact that my package to Australia made it already, I'd like to presume that t@ndre and The 4 F's have also received their packages from me... Received on or before 15 February: ~Eleanor~ x 1 2golfers x 1 acasim x 2 Mauison x 3 Model Citizen x 2 Nikon-ing x 3 numakeh x 3 pingos x 2 Ruud4d x 1 tadpole379 x 2 WheresMyMarbles x 2 YemonYime x 1 Mailed out on 10 February 2011: 2golfers x 1 ACASIM x 2 AtlantaGal x1 DresselDragons x 1 Greenish x 2 Model Citizen x 1 Nikon-ING x 3 Pingos x 1 Redwingrr x 1 scificollector x 5 t@ndre x 1 The 4 F's x 3 The Moop Along x 1 Where'sMyMarbles x 1

I'm in! Thanks for hosting the Easter Mission this year, Firefly03. Sign-up: Today, 21 February 2011 Name received: Package sent: Package received:

As with many things in geocaching and geocoins, there are NO concretes. :~/ I can offer myself as an example: I began collecting geocoins in 2008 but haven't really purchased any since mid-2010. That said, I wouldn't mind receiving some of the newer coins out there. I used my geocaching.com profile to add a few things about myself and my interests. Although not a seeking list per se, you could definitely use the information there and try to find something similar in new coin releases. For example, I really like the color GREEN. A pretty green geocoin would make me happy, no matter what it is. In short, I think newer coins are fine if they meet the requirements (trackable, unactivated, non-micro, whatever) of the mission. By trying to match some of these newer coins with interests/hobbies of your recipient, you can add some thoughtfulness to the mission and your recipient should appreciate this effort. Again, it's all about fun.

Hi, mamoreb, The face that you even asked this question about how to be a good mission participant makes me think you'll be great! My first recommendation would be to use the "Search..." field in this forum and type MISSION. Pick a mission that sounded interesting, find the post that lists the instructions (usually Post #1), and then go through all of the responses, particularly those that offer pictures of what they received in their mission. This will take some time, but I don't think you'll need to scour more than 1-2 missions to get the general idea. When you look at the pictures, think to yourself, "Would I have been happy to receive that?" or "Would I have been proud to have my name on that as a sender?" Also, every mission is different. The minimum requirement is usually to send an UNACTIVATED coin that's trackable. I don't think there's a mission out there that asks us to "trade up or trade even," because it's impossible to know what you'll receive. Depending on how the mission organizer runs the mission, you might be receiving from someone completely different than to whom you're sending. There is NO WAY you can anticipate what everyone has on their wish list, and some of the coins may be long sold out, difficult to come by, or impossible to find without going to the eBay (ugh). I think if you send a coin that you'd like to have in your collection, then you're doing just fine. It's not rocket science, but it should be fun. I hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy your first mission!

I really like this variation on the "52 Pick-Up" mission, which was GREAT fun while it lasted. I would love to participate! I've done plenty of missions, so you can count on me to trade up/trade even AND to mail it on promptly. Email sent! Name: Penny and Kona Date pass received: Date pass sent: Coins took Coins put into pass:

Updates in BOLD Received on or before 15 February: ~Eleanor~ x 1 2golfers x 1 acasim x 2 Mauison x 3 Model Citizen x 2 Nikon-ing x 3 numakeh x 3 pingos x 2 Ruud4d x 1 tadpole379 x 2 WheresMyMarbles x 2 YemonYime x 1 Mailed out on 10 February 2011: 2golfers x 1 ACASIM x 2 AtlantaGal x1 DresselDragons x 1 Greenish x 2 Model Citizen x 1 Nikon-ING x 3 Pingos x 1 Redwingrr x 1 scificollector x 5 t@ndre x 1 The 4 F's x 3 The Moop Along x 1 Where'sMyMarbles x 1

Does anyone have an extra geo-goblin coin to trade? I missed it in the math trade...must've been a bad trip on my part. Also, I would like to trade for Davy Jones' Locker coins, any versions. I would prefer to trade for coins from the same vendor. Thanks for considering!

Updates in BOLD Received on or before 15 February: ~Eleanor~ x 1 2golfers x 1 acasim x 2 Mauison x 3 Model Citizen x 2 Nikon-ing x 3 numakeh x 3 pingos x 2 Ruud4d x 1 tadpole379 x 2 WheresMyMarbles x 2 YemonYime x 1 Mailed out on 10 February 2011: 2golfers x 1 ACASIM x 2 AtlantaGal x1 DresselDragons x 1 Greenish x 2 Model Citizen x 1 Nikon-ING x 3 Pingos x 1 Redwingrr x 1 scificollector x 5 t@ndre x 1 The 4 F's x 3 The Moop Along x 1 Where'sMyMarbles x 1

Update: I've collected the mail from the post office after escaping the ice storm of a lifetime. What a fantastic bunch of mail to come home to! Thank you to everyone for offering up some great coins and for wanting some of the things I offered! I think most if not all of my domestic (U.S.) packages have arrived. The international packages are still outstanding but have been mailed. Received on or before 15 February: ~Eleanor~ x 1 2golfers x 1 acasim x 2 Mauison x 3 Model Citizen x 2 Nikon-ing x 3 numakeh x 3 pingos x 2 Ruud4d x 1 tadpole379 x 2 WheresMyMarbles x 2 YemonYime x 1 Mailed out on 10 February 2011: 2golfers x 1 ACASIM x 2 AtlantaGal x1 DresselDragons x 1 Greenish x 2 Model Citizen x 1 Nikon-ING x 3 Pingos x 1 Redwingrr x 1 scificollector x 5 t@ndre x 1 The 4 F's x 3 The Moop Along x 1 Where'sMyMarbles x 1

Say, HEY! I was checking on the coins I adopted over for this mission and saw that one has made it to it's destination! This "Little Wing" geocoin was adopted to fairyhoney, and evidently it is in the cache she requested? I'm wondering if she picked it up? It's awesome to see a geocoin make it to it's goal/destination, especially a geocoin with moving parts that's cute. It renews my faith in humanity. Here's the link to the geocoin if anyone is interested: TB35ZJM

OK, I have FINALLY made it to the post office and sent everything. I'll have to wait until I get back to share what as actually arrived, but I'm looking forward to it! Mailed out on 10 February 2011: 2golfers x 1 ACASIM x 2 AtlantaGal x1 DresselDragons x 1 Greenish x 2 Model Citizen x 1 Nikon-ING x 3 Pingos x 1 Redwingrr x 1 scificollector x 5 t@ndre x 1 The 4 F's x 3 The Moop Along x 1 Where'sMyMarbles x 1 Received: TBA

NICE. congratulations!

We attempted to make it to the post office but had to abandon the journey after less than 1 mile. The roads are terrible here just north of Fort Worth. I think the only people in the D/FW area who know how to deal with such weather are busy with media day. The packaging is all finished, and that is usually the most time-consuming for me. I'll keep my fingers crossed for some thaw and sand for tomorrow, and will post my status here.

I'm thinking.....I'm thinking......I'm thinking.....

I agree with AG - any chance we'll have another math trade later in the year? As for increasing trade percentage, I think a dose of reality and a broad array of "wants" always helps. If you want "coveted" coins, you need to offer coveted coins. I guess what I mean by coveted is coins that you can "do something" with, and this something is not going to be the same for all people. Everyone trades and seeks coins for different reasons, and the end result is a coin is not a coin is not a coin, even if they are all unactivated and trackable. I traded 24 of 49 coins offered, for 48.9%, and I received nearly everything I wanted. I tried to look at a few variables to see if there were any trends: who sold the coin (the vendor)? is the coin still available for purchase? coin edition (LE/XLE/AE/etc)? The only solid trend I saw in my set of coins was a coin made by tsunrisebey. Of the nine coins I offered made by that vendor, eight traded. The only reason the 9th did not trade was because I didn't list any possible trades. Otherwise, I'm sure I'd be packing it up an mailing it off. I guess you can "do something" with these coins. If we really wanted some meaningful statistics behind this, we'd have to look at the entire list of coins offered and see which of these coins occurred most often in people's want lists. Only Chuck has access to this very valuable data, and I'm thinking he has a life outside of math trades and probably won't be investing too much time in that! Plus, I'm not sure it's publishable, although the history of the math trade and some sort of analysis of the "most valuable geocoins" might be an interesting topic for the geocaching blog... As for my wants, I wanted some sold out coins as well as some more recent coins that I simply missed out on purchasing. On a personal note, I like to have two versions of coins: one to keep and one to send out. Receiving duplicates wasn't a problem for me, and in fact I looked for ways to trade for two identical coins. As a result, I think some folks benefited from my desire for a "Mood" coin, and of course I made out because I got more than one!

All of my trades look spot-on and I'm very pleased with the results! I think I may have missed out on two of my "wants," but everything I have in-coming is sure to make me smile. Special thanks to Chuck for organizing, and to everyone for participating! Till next time....

Doh! Guess I need my eyes checked? Sorry, Chur, but congratulations, Chicka!

Congratulations, Chur Chicka! I sent her the mission - *smile* - and so feel a part of the prize. This was a great mission, and great fun to watch while it lasted. I think life sometimes gets the better of all of us, so I'll be thankful for the fun that was had and not cry at all for what was missed or misplaced. Thanks for organizing, opalsns, and thanks to everyone who did participate for the journey. Edited, for my eyes they did deceive me.

Been out of it for a while, but no regrouping for me - thanks!

Mmmm....GREEN.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! (and happy geocaching in the New Year!)