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Signature Items


Roamineye

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Becuase our geocaching nickname is a play on the spanish phrase "Tres Amigos" (Three Friends), replacing tres with "trace" (as in we are "tracing" the route to a geocache). We chose the name for it's meaning and as a nod to California's rich Spanish heritage, so when we thought about signature items we tried looking for spanish-related swag. I stumbled upon a bag of literally thousands of the old mexican pesos and purchased them for a small fee. Boy was it heavy. It's total (now) value in USD is less than a single penny--the perfect signature token!

 

Here's a picture of our signature item "old peso": (worth 1/1000 of a single US penny)

TAsigItem.jpg

 

Our logo used on cache pages and print media is:

TraceAmigos.jpg

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I started leaving Tibetan Prayer Flags as my sig item in caches in the fall of 2001. Then I had a CD made of some of my photos from Nepal that show while a Sherpa folk tune plays. I also leave sig cards in the caches that are photos from Nepal that I print on transparency film, then laminate. There are ten different cards. Some cachers try to collect all 10 cards and 5 flag colors.

You can see a lot of other sig items here in the MIGO Sig Item Database

http://sigitemdb.mi-geocaching.org/

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Speaking of signature items...

 

Someone said "who said signature items aren't tradeable" and here's my question: is it kosher to pick up a signature item (by trading for it), hang onto it for a while, then put it in another cache? It seems that a signature item is supposed to signify that a certain person visited a certain cache. So if their item gets put into a cache without their having visited, that doesn't seem quite right. Or am I misunderstanding signature items?

 

Is the purpose only to trade your own signature item for one you think is neat, then keep it forever?

 

thanks,

 

Team EBBJr.

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:rolleyes: Hello I am new to geo-caching and have noticed some of the caches around me are just for sig cards or sig items. I made up a card that I think is cute but need to know if there is certain things that need to go on the card be sides the geo-caching web site??? Is there more that must be added like an e-mail or not. Please advise as I am a new member.March 21,2006 and do not know as yet what all the rules or requirements are. Thank you for any help that anyone can give. I made my first 3 finds today and am hooked.
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:) Hello I am new to geo-caching and have noticed some of the caches around me are just for sig cards or sig items. I made up a card that I think is cute but need to know if there is certain things that need to go on the card be sides the geo-caching web site??? Is there more that must be added like an e-mail or not. Please advise as I am a new member.March 21,2006 and do not know as yet what all the rules or requirements are. Thank you for any help that anyone can give. I made my first 3 finds today and am hooked.

 

You can leave whatever you want as a sig item (well, anything family friendly). You can put as much or as little as you'd like on it. A few local cachers' sig items are a lizard, a quartz crystal point, a polished stone, a plastic fireman, a happy face ping pong ball, and our wooden nickel. Most of these don't even have the cacher's name on them, we just know that Mr Bloodhound leaves firemen, Crystal Sound leaves quartz, Harry Meister leaves stones, and ASB (also known as Salamander) leaves lizards.

 

There is nothing wrong with leaving someone else's sig piece as a trade item. I have found my wooden nickels in caches I've not visited before and thought "Wow! That's kinda neat!"

 

BTW, my wooden nickels are wooden blanks I bought on a wooden nickel website with a picture printed on heavy cardstock, cut out with a hole punch (1" round), glued onto the nickel blank, then sealed with polyurethane spray. I usually paint the blanks first with spray paint. Last year's were blue with a photo of our deceased Belgian mare, Sis. This year's will be green with photo of Sis' daughter Belgian Waffle for my husband, Wafflesdad, or blue with a picture of my Clydesdale mare Bonnie the Clyde for me.

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My signature item is an ancient Roman coin. Hopefully it thrills both young and old as a trade item. I package it with coin detail, a notation that its a sig item, and my geo-caching handle. I get to combine two obsess...er, hobbies in one!

 

But I've yet to come across a non-business card sig item. :)

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I make our signature item i brade copperwire and place colored glass beads in the brades and we call them geocaching good luck charms you can hang them off of you gps, lanyard or whatever you want they have a zipper pull clip on them so it is easy to attach to stuff!! Alot of times I put czech beads in them so there not just the same old beads there NICE ones!! alot of people pick them up. We also leave business cards that we hole punch and attach them too.

Edited by the butterfly effect
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:laughing: thank you maggie I see I am on the right track so hope to have them done to add to the next one will enjoy do different things with sig card tc have a good one wiccasmom

:unsure: Hello I am new to geo-caching and have noticed some of the caches around me are just for sig cards or sig items. I made up a card that I think is cute but need to know if there is certain things that need to go on the card be sides the geo-caching web site??? Is there more that must be added like an e-mail or not. Please advise as I am a new member.March 21,2006 and do not know as yet what all the rules or requirements are. Thank you for any help that anyone can give. I made my first 3 finds today and am hooked.

 

You can leave whatever you want as a sig item (well, anything family friendly). You can put as much or as little as you'd like on it. A few local cachers' sig items are a lizard, a quartz crystal point, a polished stone, a plastic fireman, a happy face ping pong ball, and our wooden nickel. Most of these don't even have the cacher's name on them, we just know that Mr Bloodhound leaves firemen, Crystal Sound leaves quartz, Harry Meister leaves stones, and ASB (also known as Salamander) leaves lizards.

 

There is nothing wrong with leaving someone else's sig piece as a trade item. I have found my wooden nickels in caches I've not visited before and thought "Wow! That's kinda neat!"

 

BTW, my wooden nickels are wooden blanks I bought on a wooden nickel website with a picture printed on heavy cardstock, cut out with a hole punch (1" round), glued onto the nickel blank, then sealed with polyurethane spray. I usually paint the blanks first with spray paint. Last year's were blue with a photo of our deceased Belgian mare, Sis. This year's will be green with photo of Sis' daughter Belgian Waffle for my husband, Wafflesdad, or blue with a picture of my Clydesdale mare Bonnie the Clyde for me.

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I make mine, but the most popular sig item around here is a small rubber chicken that's not handmade. It's popular because everyone likes the guy who leaves them, and because it fits his personality.

 

cdca1c55-c8eb-4cf0-a32f-c364be2dbc60.jpg

Edited by Kacky
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My sig item is a Geocaching bindrune. Basically it's a good luck charm created with runes. I used Ansuz, the signal rune; Raido, the journey rune; and Wunjo, the joy rune. These are for good satellite reception, a pleasant trip, and a happy ending. It's made from sculpey and hemp chord.

 

I'm also working on some wooden nickels. One side has my new Monkey logo. I'm not sure what's going on the reverse yet. Maybe, "Good for one beer from MonkeyToes" or something.

 

Hello ... That rune is very cool! I love runes and I thought a handmade rune would be a good item but I never would've thought to combine them! & the cord is a nice touch ... would make a kewl keychain!! :laughing:

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This was a great thread! I started reading with some skepticism and ended by seeing real value in all the sig items...Understanding them and what people put into thinking them up makes them seem pretty cool and worth collecting.

 

Thanks for educating me and helping me appreciate this new cultural art form :laughing: ..it will make my finds even more fun as i begin to look for sig items

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OK... I'm new here too, like several people that I see have posted here. But I have a question. Is is ok to leave an actual business card? Company name, realname, phonenumber, email kind of card with my screenname on the back? I have only searched for one cache, and found it. It was a microcache, so there was no room to leave anything there and of course, nothing to take. Most of the caches that I would be doing would be local, and I wouldn't mind hearing from another cacher via email, or phone. But I'm afraid to do so. I wouldn't want to offend.

 

I love how creative some of you are with your sig items. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to buy any coins right now, and I'm not exactly the crafty type. :)

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OK... I'm new here too, like several people that I see have posted here. But I have a question. Is is ok to leave an actual business card? Company name, realname, phonenumber, email kind of card with my screenname on the back? I have only searched for one cache, and found it. It was a microcache, so there was no room to leave anything there and of course, nothing to take. Most of the caches that I would be doing would be local, and I wouldn't mind hearing from another cacher via email, or phone. But I'm afraid to do so. I wouldn't want to offend.

 

I love how creative some of you are with your sig items. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to buy any coins right now, and I'm not exactly the crafty type. :)

 

Welcome to the game/sport/obsession, Twister15! Sig items can be almost anything. The geo-nickels that Team JSAM uses cost very little money to make. I know people that buy little figures or the devil ducks and put them in caches. I know someone who cuts out paper chickens and then laminates them. Anything will work, as long as people can assiciate it with you. Put something in a cache with a sticker on it that includes your caching name, and you've got a sig item!

 

I would advise against a business card, though, with real names and information. First, you never know who will find the cache, accidentally or intentionally, or what their state of mind is. Second, it can seem to the finder to be commercial solicitation, which is very much frowned upon. Instead of a real business card, buy business card paper from a stationary store (or Office Depot/Staples/etc.) and use your home printer (color or B&W) to make your own geocaching cards. See above for various ideas, but including your name and avatar, and a "This cache found by Twister15!" or "Twister15 really liked this cache!" would work fine! You can even buy a pocket laminator at for under $20, and make it last longer.

 

There are a lot of inexpensive options out there. Fiddle with some ideas and you too will soon have your sig item! Also, other cachers can always email you through the gc.com site in an internet-privacy-safe way.

 

Hope this is helpful...

 

Team Maccabee

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I've seen a few cool signature items in caches. I was just wondering what kinds of signature items everyone has? Does your sig item correspond with your user name? Or does it have some other meaning?

 

I leave a wooden nickel from the RMS convention and a book of my personalized matches.

My #1 hobby is matchbook collecting.

http://home.sc.rr.com/scmatches/HTML/Index.htm

 

I also leave a flashlight on a key chain.

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I'm just getting into Geocaching. I've only found 2 caches so far but I'm hooked. I'm going to be placing my own cache in the next few days pretty close to home. I just ordered some customized golf tees with "Rynamite" on them as a signature item. I love to golf so it suits me well. A lot of you guys have some great ideas.

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The matches are a nice idea, and hubby loves the poker chips, He goes by Gambler everywhere.. but he's not on here... yet.. :) Been thinking about maybe a geocoin.. but I made up some geocards for now.

 

Front:

geocardfront.jpg

Back:

geocardback.jpg

 

Those are great I would go with laminating them almost all the cards I find in caches look like trash and mess up the cache.

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We make our own sig items. Painted a variety of colors, and stamped all sorts of different ways. Here is front and back of one of them (sorry, this is a grey one).

 

48ddc115-7af6-4b3f-aa6c-daad2986f2a2.jpg

 

4b24f482-f328-47e1-ac9b-fc83efdced7e.jpg

 

We are starting a new series of sig items, to be announced later on. In addition, this winter, we will put out some tiny crocheted snowflakes, hand crocheted and delicate. I know those are not for everyone, but hopefully some cachers will like them.

Edited by Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking
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The matches are a nice idea, and hubby loves the poker chips, He goes by Gambler everywhere.. but he's not on here... yet.. <_< Been thinking about maybe a geocoin.. but I made up some geocards for now.

 

Front:

geocardfront.jpg

Back:

geocardback.jpg

 

Nice card. Nice avatar. Nice name. :rolleyes:

 

Twister65

(aka Scott)

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The matches are a nice idea, and hubby loves the poker chips, He goes by Gambler everywhere.. but he's not on here... yet.. :rolleyes: Been thinking about maybe a geocoin.. but I made up some geocards for now.

 

Front:

geocardfront.jpg

Back:

geocardback.jpg

 

Great card, but the only thing I see missing is a cow. :huh:

 

You can buy lamanated sheets and do it yourself. Almost any Wal-mart, Staples, etc carries them, in business card sizes too.

 

Yeah, the twister needs a cow to make it pefect in my book. *Been watching to many "Twister" movies.*

 

I still think Wizard of Oz needed a cow in its twister scene. The witch should have been hit by a bovine, not a house. <_<

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Thanks, prolly a good idea to laminate them... but how? Laminating machines are expensive... arent they?

I believe at the local Wally Mart they're about $26.00 plus the cost of the laminating sheets (I want to say a buck something for 50). For the self laminating sheets they're about 4.75 for a 10 pack. Depending on how many you would use and make it might be worth getting the laminating machine.

 

I'll show off my signature card when I get home and have access to it :rolleyes:

Edited by HunterGC
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The matches are a nice idea, and hubby loves the poker chips, He goes by Gambler everywhere.. but he's not on here... yet.. :huh: Been thinking about maybe a geocoin.. but I made up some geocards for now.

 

Front:

geocardfront.jpg

Back:

geocardback.jpg

 

Nice card. Nice avatar. Nice name. :rolleyes:

 

Twister65

(aka Scott)

 

Hehehe... Thanks... I like your avatar too.. and of course the name... talk about ironic... hubby's name.. is Scott.. <_<

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Great card, but the only thing I see missing is a cow. :huh:

 

You can buy lamanated sheets and do it yourself. Almost any Wal-mart, Staples, etc carries them, in business card sizes too.

 

Yeah, the twister needs a cow to make it pefect in my book. *Been watching to many "Twister" movies.*

 

I still think Wizard of Oz needed a cow in its twister scene. The witch should have been hit by a bovine, not a house. <_<

 

lol.. I'll see what I can do about adding a cow. I do have to agree about the wizard of oz films though... definately be funnier.. :rolleyes:

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I believe at the local Wally Mart they're about $26.00 plus the cost of the laminating sheets (I want to say a buck something for 50). For the self laminating sheets they're about 4.75 for a 10 pack. Depending on how many you would use and make it might be worth getting the laminating machine.

 

I'll show off my signature card when I get home and have access to it <_<

 

Ok.. this is the last post for a few minutes in this board... three in a row is pushing it.. :rolleyes:

 

But I do have a question.. I like the idea of laminating them... and using the self lamination sheets are economical... BUT... if they are laminated they won't fit into a micro.. will they?

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But I do have a question.. I like the idea of laminating them... and using the self lamination sheets are economical... BUT... if they are laminated they won't fit into a micro.. will they?
To answer your question, I'm not entirely sure, I haven't found a Micro as of yet :D

 

Here's what I'll be leaving in the Cache's I find... if they fit that is. If by some chance they don't fit, I'll probably make up some handcrafted poker chips.

 

SigItem.jpg

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I leave all sorts of coins, regular coins, silver coins, foreign coins, trade dollars, commerative dollars, silver bars, medallions etc as long as I can stamp them with my Ham Radio Call Sign which I use as my name on here. I use a 3/16 inch high stamp, five taps of a small hammer and I have a sig item. Of course the real coins can be spent but the other ones are just sig items.

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