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Icon Collecting


flask

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lately i've seen people trading NUMBERS of coins so they can get the icon. not the coins, just the numbers. you know, by email. they never even see the coing let alone pick it up.

 

am i the only one who thinks this is a sleazy way to get icons?

 

granted, you can cheat is you want to 'coz we're not playing by tournament rules, but how do these people hold their heads up in the presence of people who have actually FOUND or even traded the things?

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*shrug* I only pay attention to what I think is important for me. If someone else thinks that's groovy, who am I to tell them differently?

I play by my own code of ethics. That's the beauty of geocaching, it really doesn't matter, it's not a contest, it's all about what is fun for you. Fake logging and swapping bugs and coins is not for me, but it may be for someone else.

To thine own self be true, to heck with everyone else. :(

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Yup, seen lots of it.

 

Personally, it's not for me. I like to only have the stats/icons for things that I own or find, but I don't hold it against anybody that does it. It's just a little subgame within the game.

 

For me, it made the Moun10Bike icon that much more cool when I actually got the coin/icon together rather than just 'grabbing' it at an event.

 

That reminds me, I have new coins that I haven't activated yet.......must get those icons! :(

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I've been asked a couple of times for them by foreign cachers. I'm guessing because they don't get the amount of coins there that we get here. I'm happy to share them. However, for myself, I have to at least see the coin. (Ph0t0M0Ms posted coin was enough for me to feel ok doing it.)

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Does it really matter? I have seen the coins, I OWN the coins that have icons. But I can't log my own coin to get the icon. I share my numbers with whoever wants them. I see no shame in it. If I paid the money for the coin, I can have the flipping icon and so can others.

 

BTW-Have fun trying to "find" geocoins that are trackable in a geocache so you can get the icon.

Edited by ladycacher
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BTW-Have fun trying to "find" geocoins that are trackable in a geocache so you can get the icon.

Well, if you come to where I live, you can find them. I have put a few coins out to have people find them. I am planning to put out about 50 of them over the next few months.

 

I am looking for people on each continent where I can send them coins to put out for local cachers. I already have Europe but would like to find South America, Australia, Africa. If you want me to send you coins to put in local caches, please email me.

 

Thanks.

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I'm guilty of it to some extent. For new coins/icons, I like to see the actual coin first before I log it. For coins that I've already seen/logged, I might log them virtually. Especially for friends who's coins I will likely see at the next event, so why not just log them now while I'm sitting at the computer. Others just bring the list of their tracking numbers rather than carting around the coins with them everywhere they go. I have no problem with logging those either, even though I never held the actual coin in my hand. But, as I said at the beginning, if it's a new coin that I've never seen before, I like to actually see one before I logged it.

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I went to an event where they brought out a Moun10bike coin on a pillow while maidens scattered rose petals before the coin bearers. Then when the coin was brought before me I was allowed to touch it...but not for too long, and if I wished I could write down the number so I could shout from the streetcorners that a Moun10bike coin had stopped by the hinterlands and honored me with it's presence.

 

At the time I knewith not what this was for. Now I do. Icons are a new type of cache to seek.

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Well, if you come to where I live, you can find them. I have put a few coins out to have people find them. I am planning to put out about 50 of them over the next few months.

 

I am looking for people on each continent where I can send them coins to put out for local cachers. I already have Europe but would like to find South America, Australia, Africa. If you want me to send you coins to put in local caches, please email me.

 

 

What I am saying is that even if somebodys puts one out for logging, it's gone the first time somebody finds it, and never to be logged again. This makes it harder to find trackable coins and log them the "right way".

 

I take my coins to events so people who have a problem with the logging thing can feel better about themselfs and sleep at night.

 

And to cover my rear end here-Not ALL people take the coin and keep it, I know that. I am speaking as a in general, so no attacks please on how you let it travel.

Edited by ladycacher
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Since coins are pretty much impossible to find in actual caches, (the way nature intended), I don't see much of a distinction between getting tracking numbers directly off physical coins at events or by getting them over the internet. Getting them off the internet is probably more efficient, saves time and gas, and you get a better variety of coins.

 

I've tried to do my part to fix the cache coin shortage by making laminated copies of my coins and actually putting the copies in caches for people to find and log. My hope is that most people won't be inclined to keep a picture of the coin like they would the actual coins. So far it seems to be working reasonably well.

Edited by Cache-bert
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lately i've seen people trading NUMBERS of coins so they can get the icon. not the coins, just the numbers. you know, by email. they never even see the coing let alone pick it up.

 

am i the only one who thinks this is a sleazy way to get icons?

 

Do I think its cheap? yes.

But then I don't think stats ever could be read at face value.

They have XXX finds, but how many are easy? or hard? or far away?

Did they actually find and move those TBs or just bring a notepad an event?

and so on and so forth.

My opinion of you may be biased by how much your actions appeal (or not) to me.

If that bothers you, then play by my rules! :(

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Since coins are pretty much impossible to find in actual caches, (the way nature intended), I don't see much of a distinction between getting tracking numbers directly off physical coins at events or by getting them over the internet. Getting them off the internet is probably more efficient, saves time and gas, and you get a better variety of coins.

 

I've tried to do my part to fix the cache coin shortage by making laminated copies of my coins and actually putting the copies in caches for people to find and log. My hope is that most people won't be inclined to keep a picture of the coin like they would the actual coins. So far it seems to be working reasonably well.

That is an AWESOME idea!! I am going to have to make something like that.

 

{maybe you should sell your service on ebay :( }

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Since coins are pretty much impossible to find in actual caches, (the way nature  intended), I don't see much of a distinction between getting tracking numbers  directly off physical coins at events or by getting them over the internet. Getting them off the internet is probably more efficient, saves time and gas, and you get a better variety of coins.

 

I've tried to do my part to fix the cache coin shortage by making laminated copies of my coins and actually putting the copies in caches for people to find and log. My hope is that most people won't be inclined to keep a picture of the coin like they would the actual coins. So far it seems to be working reasonably well.

That is an AWESOME idea!! I am going to have to make something like that.

 

{maybe you should sell your service on ebay :( }

I already had Photoshop and a little cheap laminator. It's not hard at all to download a copy of a coin and type your own tracking number on it. There may even be an easier way to make durable copies of the coins.

 

One nice thing about putting "simulated" coins out is that you can always print new ones and restart them if something goes wrong. It's kind of like having your cake and eating it too, (only with geocoins).

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I don't see much of a distinction between getting tracking numbers directly off physical coins at events or by getting them over the internet.

Yep.

 

It's like a kid's sticker book collection. At least stickers aren't virtual.

 

Let me know when they come out with a Pokémon or Beanie Baby coins.

 

Gotta have'em all!

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Aside from Moun10Bike, what does everyone think is the most sought after coin icon?

I don't know about the most sought after, but I kind of like the German icon the best, mainly because of its 3D look. I also like the Compass Rose and TN icons too.

Edited by Mauison
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I used to think it was heresy to log Travel Bugs and coins this way. After all, the numbers on your profile are supposed to be a record of those you helped travel, right?

 

Now I see this as a new aspect of geocaching (or at least geocaching events) that is widely accepted and I no longer have issues with it. In fact, I have now converted my coin collection to a mobile storage format (binder rather than wood stand) so that I can haul it around to events. Now people can actually see geocoin #1 rather than have it collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. Of course, I only allow those who actually look through the collection to log the coins.

 

Hmmm, I hope this doesn't mean my ethics are slipping! :(

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Let me know when they come out with a Pokémon or Beanie Baby coins.

 

Gotta have'em all!

There actually are beanie baby coins... I kid you not.

 

They were available in one of the Clubby Kits... 1998 I think. The coin was hidden in the kit, so you didn't know which one you would get when you bought the kit. Many collectors, including yours truely *blush*, bought several kits in an attempt to get all the coins. I was able to get them all by trading the duplicates for the ones I didn't have. The coins are 1.5", silver and look very much like the Ladybug Kids coin with one of each of the original 9 beanie babies on it.

 

Probably more information than you wanted to know, but I thought I'd share anyway.

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Let me know when they come out with a Pokémon or Beanie Baby coins.

 

Gotta have'em all!

There actually are beanie baby coins... I kid you not.

 

They were available in one of the Clubby Kits... 1998 I think. The coin was hidden in the kit, so you didn't know which one you would get when you bought the kit. Many collectors, including yours truely *blush*, bought several kits in an attempt to get all the coins. I was able to get them all by trading the duplicates for the ones I didn't have. The coins are 1.5", silver and look very much like the Ladybug Kids coin with one of each of the original 9 beanie babies on it.

 

Probably more information than you wanted to know, but I thought I'd share anyway.

That's cool. I hope you enjoy them.

 

I used to collect comic books, until I moved out on my own and needed money. I ended up selling them back to the store I bought them from for probably half of what I paid.

The only saving grace is that I enjoyed collecting, reading, and just having them. Still wish I did. (I can't say I'm happy about the money I doled out. :( )

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There actually are beanie baby coins... I kid you not.

 

They were available in one of the Clubby Kits... 1998 I think. The coin was hidden in the kit, so you didn't know which one you would get when you bought the kit. Many collectors, including yours truely *blush*, bought several kits in an attempt to get all the coins. I was able to get them all by trading the duplicates for the ones I didn't have. The coins are 1.5", silver and look very much like the Ladybug Kids coin with one of each of the original 9 beanie babies on it.

 

Probably more information than you wanted to know, but I thought I'd share anyway.

That's what you get for spending all of your time on eBay. :(

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That's cool. I hope you enjoy them.

 

I used to collect comic books, until I moved out on my own and needed money. I ended up selling them back to the store I bought them from for probably half of what I paid.

The only saving grace is that I enjoyed collecting, reading, and just having them. Still wish I did. (I can't say I'm happy about the money I doled out.  :( )

Enjoy? Have you seen Toy Story II by chance? All that stuff is packed away in a climate controlled area. So other than the enjoyment when I first get the item, there is none afterward, lol.

 

I can't say I enjoyed all the money I shelled out on all the many TY products I collected/collect, however, everything from back then was completely paid for by selling off extras of whatever item I happened to have. So the hobby cost nothing to me but my time. Of course anything I've bought in the last 2 years to add to that collection is a cost to me, but I don't collect that stuff like I used to.... Now it's geocoins :(

 

I did sell off a lot of the non-beanie parts of my collection. Lost my shirt on some of the items and made a bunch of money on others. So in the end I probably broke close to even.

Edited by AtlantaGal
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Even though we (as of right now) have 401 finds we still consider ourselves newbies. I can remember what it felt like to log our first Moun10Bike coin or GASP!!! actually find a YJTB IN A CACHE (hard to believe I know) but eventualy all of the YJTB's and WJTB's will be in someone's collection or The Travel Bug Graveyard. As such we try to help others out with icons now. Whenever we get a YJTB or WJTB we try to take it to our next event and find some one in the room who hasn't had the fortune of driving 90 miles to do a multi-cache just to find a Jeep.

 

We have also started collecting GC Trackable coins so that others can log the icins. We usually take our binder to events and let people hold them (for those of you who are anal about this kind of thing) and we always have the coin numbers on 3x5 cards (for those who didn't bring a scanning electron microscope to read those teeenny numbers.)

 

Share the wealth and have fun at the same time.

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I went to an event where they brought out a Moun10bike coin on a pillow while maidens scattered rose petals before the coin bearers. Then when the coin was brought before me I was allowed to touch it...but not for too long, and if I wished I could write down the number so I could shout from the streetcorners that a Moun10bike coin had stopped by the hinterlands and honored me with it's presence.

 

At the time I knewith not what this was for. Now I do. Icons are a new type of cache to seek.

You now owe me a new monitor. Soda doesn't sit to well with electronic innards. :o

 

This was just TOO FUNNY!

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I guess this is the "new" thing, I agree with if you actually hold the geocoin that you can log it. Find a geocoin in cache thats even better. Log virtual coins to get icons seems a little low...I’ve since pictures of caches/spoilers, but I don’t log these as finds.

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I gotta admit, I REALLY like that "laminated coin photo" idea.... :o

Oooh, oooh! Go ahead and adopt the laminate-coin-card-idea joe...please do, by all means! So next time on LI, I'll hunt the laminate of your coin! After all, look what I did for one of your marshmellow guns. :D Which by the way, we love the marshmellow gun, it's one of my favorite sig items. KD

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Just got my MI coins tonight. I am going to put this MI Geocoin in a chache tonight/tomorrow to start it on its way. Hopefully this last long enough to get back to my home town in 2008!

Oh, that's hysterical!! :blink:;)

 

It won't be in that cache for more than a few hours, and will never see the light of day, let alone your hometown, ever again.

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Just got my MI coins tonight. I am going to put this MI Geocoin in a chache tonight/tomorrow to start it on its way. Hopefully this last long enough to get back to my home town in 2008!

Oh, that's hysterical!! :blink:;)

 

It won't be in that cache for more than a few hours, and will never see the light of day, let alone your hometown, ever again.

Well, here are my MD and NJ coins.

 

They seem to be doing ok.

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I gotta admit, I REALLY like that "laminated coin photo" idea....  ;)

:blink::blink:

I agree that putting real geocoins in caches is preferable to putting a picture of a geocoin in a cache, but real geocoins just don't last long out in the wild. Before you know it, they're stashed away in somebody's sock drawer. Who wants a to take their coin that's selling for $50 on eBay and have it end up in some greedy weasel's sock drawer? I've put out several $5 USA geocoins over the years and had some of them never even make it to the second cache.

 

If you can't put out real coins with the expectation of them surviving over a few weeks at most, what choice are you left with if you want to offer your coins to others to promote geocaching? Does it make more sense to give the tracking numbers out at events to friends or put them on laminated cards in caches for everyone to find? I've noticed that most casual cachers don't ever go to events and most have never found a geocoin at all. Why not give these people a chance to log a few coin finds, even if it's just a copy of the coin? Why does that seem like such a lame idea?

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