Odyssey Voyager

personally, i'm not crazy about the "round opening" in the coin (just my own preference). i just think it takes away from the design, and makes it look like an oversized pathtag. not that there is anything wrong with pathtags! okay...i also have one other observation that i hope you will not take any offense to...but, although i am sure that people in the UK are quite familiar with Somerset, and its borders...i have no idea where Somerset is in relation to the entire British Island (not without looking on a map anyway). so, the graphic shown could really be ANY location on a world map next to a large body of water. i know there is limited space on your geocoin, but if you choose this graphic for your design, might it be possible to somehow show a bit more of the surrounding land mass and and perhaps less ocean to give those not familiar with Somerset a better view of its placement within the nation? just a suggestion for your consideration, for whatever its worth. by the way, i like the updates.

yes, i agree. i only activate my "keepers" or geocoins i plan on keeping forever! wow...thats a long time! i also activate a few that i "set free" into a geocache. although, due to geocoin theft, i am more likely to just place an unactivated geocoin in a cache as a "gift" for the first person that finds it. this makes the gift receiver happy, i do not grow too attached to it as a traveler coin, and the gift receiver will perhaps either start collecting geocoins, or will "set it free" themselves. its easier for someone to release a geocoin they were given, since there is no cost involved to them. i believe it also deters "theft" of geocoins since you can't "steal" what is already given to you...lol...some people say i'm a dreamer..but i'm not the only one...

its too bad that "trackables" are not truly trackable...as in...a small transponder device that could be attached to the item and then tracked and located by your GPS whever it strayed more than 300 yards from the last cache it was placed in (just like a "LoJack" theft system for vehicles). come on japan...invent this nano technology for us! we could also use it for less important stuff, like finding your kids when they get lost at the mall, or really really really important stuff like finding the remote control for the TV!

so...has a design been picked?!

free bump!

GROAN!!! well, Simon Cowell liked it!

i believe the OP used the gold monotone shade to simulate a 3D relief with no color or gold metal finish. 3D art on a coin cannot have any colors except for antique shading to highlight the etching. a 3D graphic is difficult to imagine on a flat picture, they often look nothing like the art work...but look amazing on the finished coin!

the roadrunner doesn't like the cold weather, so Cimarron, New Mexico may be a little too far north for our fair weather feathered friend (say that 10 times really fast!). they are seen more often in southern New Mexico, although there is a cute roadrunner that lives in the brush right behind my nearest "Whataburger" in Albuquerque (in central New Mexico) where i see him hunting for insects while i'm in the drive-thru waiting for a cheeseburger! hey! that would make a good country music song! "well, i'm standing on a corner in central Albuquerque such a fine sight to see its a bird, my lord in a fast blue Ford slowing down to take a look at me take it cheesy...take it cheeeesy..."

nice design work so far! i believe your coin will be popular. especially in europe, where regional geocoins are very much collected. i personally like the "landmark" theme, with a 3D design. however, a 3D area means no color, so it limits your options. although i think the 3D is quite classic when done properly. if you have the budget to afford more options, i would go with edge texting for the "track at..." wording and the tracking number. this gives you a cleaner and less cluttered design and puts the emphasis on your main features. keep us posted on all the fine tuning details. i am looking forward to seeing this one evolve. cheers!

wow! i had never seen the one on the left before! i always thought there was only one other roadrunner geocoin. i'm surprised by "new" geocoins all the time! well,...they are "new" to me anyway.

all excellent suggestions!

their biggest "use" is to deplete your bank account of monetary funds. seriously though, a geocoin is what we call a "trackable item". among trackable items are travel bugs, geocoins, other trackable coins, and pathtags (although some coins and pathtags are tracked at websites other than geocaching.com). a trackable item is "activated" or entered into the tracking system online, and you can then place it in a geocache and watch it travel online as other cachers discover and move it from cache to cache, or you can log it into caches yourself and keep it with you or let others "discover" it. some collectors like to buy them brand new and do not ever activate them, but simply display them as decorative items or as an investment item to be sold or traded for later. i hope this helps. you may get more responses if you start a new thread here at the forum. don't worry, people here are always willing to help or answer your questions. good luck, and happy geocoin collecting!

thank you all for the replies and comments. i don't know if you have seen it or not, but there is another "roadrunner" geocoin that was produced a few years ago. here is the picture: as you can see, it is a cute geocoin, based on the cartoon character, and it features a cartoon icon too. i'm sure this one came from the ACME company! the movie that "Gatoulis" was referring to, is called "Windtalkers" (2002) here in the United States. it is a true story based on the Native American Soldier "code talkers" of World War II, who were able to transmit and receive top secret messages in a form of their unwritten languages. many of these languages were not written and recorded until just a few years ago, and they are in danger of being lost forever, since there are very few people that still speak them. the Navajo have a very beautiful language, and inspired some of the ideas behind this project. Code Talkers Wikipedia Information the "code talkers" also have their very own Congressional Gold Medal!

well, thats easy for you to say!

"Cache me if you Can" or "Cache me if you Coin" thats a good one! i like it!

by the way, sometimes these cute little roadrunners migrate from West Texas into southern New Mexico...and yes, its true what they say...EVERYTHING IS BIGGER in Texas and also in the tiny town of Las Cruces, New Mexico, too!

hello again everybody, i have several geocoin ideas on the drawing board, but as usual...the funds are very limited, so i can't have them all produced! anyway, now that the Trojan Horse Design is retired, i thought it would be a good time to produce a new project. this geocoin is still in the design phase, so i'd like to see if there is any interest in this item from the forum members and geocoin collectors here. as you can see from the image below, this will be a shaped geocoin, it will be 2 inches long, 3.5 mm thick, with a 2 dimensional front and reverse side. i have several metal finishes in mind, but i will limit them to "antique metal finishes" to enhance the front design. this geocoin is shaped and designed to resemble the "Greater Roadrunner" bird, also known as the "Chaparral Cock". The official latin name of the bird is "Geococcyx", but you probably best remember this bird as the one featured in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes Saturday morning cartoons with Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner. beep beep! (by the way, the actual bird does not make the "beep beep" sound ) anyway, this bird is very common in the Southwestern United States and especially in my home state of New Mexico, where the roadrunner is the Official State Bird! The Native American Tribes of this area, including the Hopi, Pueblo, and Navajo, believed that seeing a roadrunner was a sign of good fortune, and it protected humans from the Evil Spirits. maybe this protection is also why the roadrunner was never caught by the evil coyote! this speedy animal also reminds me of the quick "park and grab" geocachers and the ones that race to a new cache as soon as it is published so they can log one more "first to find" notch on their belt! so anyway, these are just a few of the reasons for the theme behind this geocoin. i have not decided on a name for this project yet, but here is a list of possible names i've come up with: ~ Geocachius Rapidus ~ Geocachius Supersonicus ~ Geocachius Velocitus ~ Fast to Find ~ Pronto Pedro ~ Quickie Cacher ~ Naatsédlózii (pronounced [na-ad-sed-loh-sai] which means "roadrunner" in the Navajo language) i'd appreciate some feedback on this project from the forum members here. also, let me know if you like any of the names on my list, or suggest a new name! if your suggestion is used for the official name, you might just win a FREE geocoin as a reward! as for the reverse side, or back of the geocoin...well, it will be a REALLY fun design! the mint company and myself are fine tuning the back art work as you read this, but trust me, it will be pretty cool! i'll leave it as a surprise teaser for now! so, thank you all for the feedback, ideas, and suggestions!

congrats on your new geocoins! many cachers like to "dip" their geocoins as another way to log and document their own personal miles traveled and trips taken. sort of like an online journal of your travel adventures. you can also "dip" a new geocoin into geocaches you've already found in the past, if you would like a total miles traveled while geocaching account record (although this may be a tedious and time consuming task). i had a geocoin i only dipped when it crossed a state line. it was fun to look back and view the map of my hops back and forth across the states!

i'm glad you all enjoyed the festivities. all winning geocoins will be mailed today. woohoo! by the way, the most amazing thing about this whole tournament was that a Kansas State alum actually rooted for Duke!

Thanks for the cointest.

Thanks for the cointest.

Thanks for the cointest.

i'd like to thank all 32 forum members who participated in this cointest. congrats to the final four teams too. great tournament, with fantastic games and lots of excitement. congratulations again to "gorillagal" and to "Duke" for winning the championship! i hope you all had fun playing and watching the events unfold. i know i sure enjoyed it! i would like to wish you all happy geocaching and merry geocoin collecting. take care. ~odyssey voyager~

Butler 32 Duke 33 at the half. good game! Butler 47 Duke 51 with 10:00 left to play! Butler 49 Duke 53 with 07:58 left to play! Butler 51 Duke 56 with 05:42 left to play! Butler 55 Duke 56 with 05:02 left to play! Butler 55 Duke 58 with 03:16 left to play! Butler 57 Duke 60 with 01:42 left to play! Butler 59 Duke 60 with 00:49 left to play! Butler 59 Duke 60 with 00:13 left to play! Butler 59 Duke 61 FINAL SCORE! DUKE WINS! GREAT GAME! congrats to "gorillagal" for winning all the marbles! condolences to "acadiahiker" as the runner-up, your team played well! i will contact you both for shipping information soon.