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Some Coins Trackable Others Not?


GrnXnham

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I'm sure this has probably been answered here somewhere but I haven't seen it.

 

Why are some states coins trackable on the geocaching.com site and others not. I just got a few Alaska coins. Apparently they are not trackable on geocaching.com. Now I see that the Maryland and New Jersey coins that will be coming out soon ARE trackable on geocaching.com.

 

I followed the design of our Washington state geocoin closely last year. I remember that someone (Moun10bike I think) talked to Jeremy about making the WA coin trackable and it was decided that none of the State coins would be trackable because there are too many of them and it would be too many for the servers to track or something like that.

 

What has changed? Are all State coins from now on going to be trackable? Why some states and not others? I even saw some coin called the Geowoodstock coin that's trackable. I'm guessing that must be some event coin. How about personal coins--are they trackable?

 

Like I said, this must have been discussed earlier but I just missed it. Any info on this?

 

Thanks

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Right, there is an extra charge per coin (paid to Groundspeak) with a minimum order that may not be possible for some. To us it was worth it to have the option, and we kept the price as low as possible. We make a small amount per coin but when all coins are sold we'll have a nice little chunk of change but our main goal was to get coins out there, not make money on them.

 

:)

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Best place, if interested in pursuing trackable geocoins, is to contact the TPTB at Groundspeak Inc. for their official geocoin policy.

I believe the minimum (the CO Geocoins 2005 did get only 700 this year though) is 1500 codes at a time and the "numbering criteria" is random alpha-numeric like the Jeep Travel Bugs i.e. AB1C2D, ABC5E6, ...

 

Edited: For clarity?!?!

Edited by MrCOgeo
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Why are some states coins trackable on the geocaching.com site and others not. I just got a few Alaska coins. Apparently they are not trackable on geocaching.com.

 

<snip>

 

What has changed? Are all State coins from now on going to be trackable? Why some states and not others?

 

<snip>

The Alaska coins are trackable at www.log4.us/ak, which is stamped on the edge of the coin.

 

We got feedback early on in the project from some collectors that $5 was about the upper end of what people would be willing to pay for a state geocoin. Given that, we opted to put the money into a detailed design rather than Groundspeak tracking and still hold the price at $5. We also liked the idea of working with an in-state company, The Alaska Mint, which has the ability to sequential serial numbers, but not "random" alpha-numeric as required by Groundspeak.

 

Bottom line is that the decision to track coins on gc.com is at the discretion of the coin producers and whether they decide to put their money into production or tracking and hold the price at ~$5. Alternatively, if there is groundswell support from the geocaching community that Groundspeak tracking is highly desirable and cachers are willing to pay for it, then that could be the wave of the future.

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I followed the design of our Washington state geocoin closely last year. I remember that someone (Moun10bike I think) talked to Jeremy about making the WA coin trackable and it was decided that none of the State coins would be trackable because there are too many of them and it would be too many for the servers to track or something like that.

 

What has changed? Are all State coins from now on going to be trackable? Why some states and not others? I even saw some coin called the Geowoodstock coin that's trackable. I'm guessing that must be some event coin. How about personal coins--are they trackable?

Yes, in the past Groundspeak didn't sell blocks of numbers to make coins/etc trackable. Now they are, what changed is something you'd have to get from TPTB.\

No, not all coins will be trackable, only those that go threw whatever's involved with buying the numbers. The cost numbers going around the forum are $1.50 each X 1500 numbers. So far the new ones are only for states/countries (maryland, NJ, Germany), and at least one huge event (geowoodstockIII) have gotten trackable on gc.com, no personal ones.

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So far the new ones are only for states/countries (maryland, NJ, Germany), and at least one huge event (geowoodstockIII) have gotten trackable on gc.com, no personal ones.

All new MiGO std coins and upcoming summer & fall seasonal coins are gc.com trackable and so are the Midwest Geobash coins. In addition they have a find icon which (?) I think (?) is included when you pony up for the 1500 numbers. Check my profile I was activating my MiGO coins yesterday as a test.

 

To me all the other tracking mechanisms are a waste of time, it comes down to either its trackable on gc.com or not. I can see pros and cons for both sides of that but I wouldn't spend extra money for any other tracking method.

 

Rusty...

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So far the new ones are only for states/countries (maryland, NJ, Germany), and at least one huge event (geowoodstockIII) have gotten trackable on gc.com, no personal ones.

All new MiGO std coins and upcoming summer & fall seasonal coins are gc.com trackable and so are the Midwest Geobash coins. In addition they have a find icon which (?) I think (?) is included when you pony up for the 1500 numbers. Check my profile I was activating my MiGO coins yesterday as a test.

 

To me all the other tracking mechanisms are a waste of time, it comes down to either its trackable on gc.com or not. I can see pros and cons for both sides of that but I wouldn't spend extra money for any other tracking method.

 

Rusty...

Oops wrong profile :lol:

 

doh!!!! I did that yesterday when I was testing them too :lol:

 

Rusty...

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We went back and forth about tracking while developing the Maryland coin. Some felt the added cost was not worth it as some(maybe most)would never travel.Others felt tracking was essential to the basic concept. Other tracking options did not make much sense if we could order 1500. There is such strong demand for coins in general we were sure they would sell to others.We decided to use GC.com tracking and have requested a custom icon. I have visions of some of our coins traveling for years to come.Remember you are reading the Travel Bug thread. I have a rubber duck in Sweeden,a motorcycle in Germany,a matchbox car that has been to China and back and numerous others that I love to see and hear about.Tracking definitely!

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I think that most coins disappear from traveling much quicker than regular Travel Bugs. Maybe some people can comment. I put out a couple of California coins to travel and they disappeared fairly quickly. I will not put out anymore coins for the purpose of traveling. In the past I have placed 4 coins as trade items, and currently have 2 coins in my caches as trade items. Past trades have been fair, but I now have a note on them that the expected value of their trade be something of $4 to $5 value.

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I plan on using a sealed hard plastic case with a laminated note attached explaining the goal for my coins. I use the laminated cards for travel bugs as well.Most people are honest and will move a travel bug along.Coins are different but given proper marking "most" people will move them along too.I just released an USA coin I carried for 100 finds and I will wait and see how it turns out

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So far from what I have gathered, these are the coins that are trackable on gc.com:

 

USA Geocoins

German Geocoins

Moun10Bike Geocoins

Geowoodstock III Geocoins

Geobash Geocoins

Colorado Geocoins

Michigan Geocoins

Maryland Geocoins (not yet released)

New Jersey Geocoins (not yet released)

Ohio Geocoins (not yet released)

Geocoin Club Geocoins (1 each month) (not released yet)

 

If I missed any let me know. Also, I am looking for a geowoodstock III and Colorado coin if anyone knows where I can get one let me know. Thanks.

Edited by Kilted Cacher
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So far from what I have gathered, these are the coins that are trackable on gc.com:

 

USA Geocoins

German Geocoins

Moun10Bike Geocoins

Geowoodstock III Geocoins

Geobash Geocoins

Colorado Geocoins

Michigan Geocoins

Maryland Geocoins (not yet released)

New Jersey Geocoins (not yet released)

Ohio Geocoins (not yet released)

UK Geocoins (not yet released)

Geocoin Club Geocoins (1 each month) (not released yet)

 

If I missed any let me know. Also, I am looking for a geowoodstock III and Colorado coin if anyone knows where I can get one let me know. Thanks.

where does it say UK coins are gc.com trackable?

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I don't understand why people activate coins are don't exist yet. Just because you have the numbers and it's just too tempting?

If you're referring to me...

 

In order to ensure that the icon would actually work and look correctly, Groundspeak said to go ahead and activate a "keeper coin". It turns out the icon wasn't quite right, and I was able to adjust it. ;)

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I don't understand why people activate coins are don't exist yet. Just because you have the numbers and it's just too tempting?

If you're referring to me...

 

In order to ensure that the icon would actually work and look correctly, Groundspeak said to go ahead and activate a "keeper coin". It turns out the icon wasn't quite right, and I was able to adjust it. ;)

Okay, that's a good reason. :D

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I don't understand why people activate coins are don't exist yet. Just because you have the numbers and it's just too tempting?

Like YemonYime, when we got our numbers I activated the first one on the list to see if the icon was "installed". Wasn't the first day or so, but then it appeared. If it wasn't ready on gc.com, I still had time from when I checked it (since we were just then giving the numbers to the coin people) and get it fixed before people got their coins.

 

Saved on the "I thought it would have its own icon?!?" posts.... good customer service. :(

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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

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So far from what I have gathered, these are the coins that are trackable on gc.com:

 

USA Geocoins

German Geocoins

Moun10Bike Geocoins

Geowoodstock III Geocoins

Geobash Geocoins

Colorado Geocoins

Michigan Geocoins

Maryland Geocoins (not yet released)

New Jersey Geocoins (not yet released)

Ohio Geocoins (not yet released)

Geocoin Club Geocoins (1 each month) (not released yet)

 

  If I missed any let me know. Also, I am looking for a geowoodstock III and Colorado coin if anyone knows where I can get one let me know. Thanks.

Add to the list:

 

European Union

Tennessee

F0t0m0m

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