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Original Stash: May 3rd Is The 6th Anniversary!


Redwing_dave

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On May 3, 2000, a five-gallon bucket was placed outside of Portland, Oregon by Dave Ulmer. It contained Delorme Topo USA and 2 CD Roms, a cassette recorder, a "George of the Jungle" VHS tape, a Ross Perot book, 4 $1 bills, a slingshot handle, and a very famous can of beans (now the O.C.B. T.B.!) The coordinates were then listed on the Internet and modern-day Geocaching was born.

 

I recently made the quest from Salt Lake City, Utah to Portland, Oregon with the sole purpose of visiting the birthplace of our sport. It was a long journey (partly because we stopped for several caches along the way), but it was worth every minute and every mile when we arrived at the place of the Original Stash (also known as Stash #1 by Dave Ulmer himself). Thanks to Team360, along with the help of several other Geocachers, a commemorative plaque was placed and is maintained at the site of the Original Stash. On the 700 mile trip home, I had a good deal of time to think and ponder. Being an avid geocacher and geocoin collector, a thought popped into my head that I could not shake. That thought was "What more perfect geocoin could there be, than one paying homage to where this all started." There have been great geocoins from the Portland area mentioning that it is the birthplace of geocaching, but so far there hasn't been a coin with the sole purpose of honoring the momentous event of Stash #1. As soon as I got back home, I got in touch with Team360 to see what he thought of the idea. Since that time, Team360 and I have been working side-by-side to see this coin to fruition. We have carefully worked through every detail, to make sure that this coin will live up to the grandeur of the event it commemorates. I think we've done a pretty darn good job!

 

Yesterday we received approval from Groundspeak for the tracking and unique icon associated with this coin. I'm posting this thread to give you a sneak preview of this GREAT coin. In a few days I'll post all the other details that I'm sure you're interested in (price, when and where to order, etc.), but initially I just wanted to reflect on the humble beginnings of this great sport that brings people from all walks of life together. Whether you plan to buy a coin or not, please take the time to visit the Original Stash Tribute Plaque page. There you'll find some great information about Stash #1, including some great video clips. If you ever get the chance to visit the site of the Original Stash, I highly recommend that you take that opportunity.

 

Well I'm sure you're all chompin' at the bit to get to the coin details. It is a 2 inch square coin. The front is an exact replica of the Tribute plaque, with the addition of a space for the tracking code. The back is dedicated to Stash #1. The bucket and can of beans (which will be 2d colored objects) represent that Original Stash placed by Dave Ulmer. The satellite and GPSr (which will be in deep relief 3D) represent the removal of selective availability, which made this whole thing possible. Each coin will also come with a commemorative Tribute Plaque pin. If minting goes as planned, you will all have your coins in hand by the May 3rd anniversary. :anibad:

 

Now, what you've all been waiting for (drum roll please):

 

Originalstashforforums.jpg

 

Note: This is not a pre-order forum. I will be posting more specific ordering information to this forum within a few days. Team360 and I LOVE to know how much interest there is in this coin, but we don't want anyone to be under the impression that posting your desires here guarantees that you'll get a coin. Keep your eyes on this thread and you should be fine. :)

Edited by Redwing_dave
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Note: We're not taking preorders for this coin, although we will announce a sale date within the next couple of days.

 

2nd Note: If you want to know what's with the can of beans, check out the link to the Original Stash Tribute Plaque in my first post, and I think it will answer your question. :anibad: I dare say this might be the most famous can of beans in all of recorded history.

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Jeez, people will make coins for ANYTHING now, won't they?!?!

 

 

Oh wait! This one is actually relevant to caching - nicely done!!

 

I'm on the fence to buy one. I haven't hit that cache yet and would love for this coin to be like the APE coin where it represented the actual find (not that I'm suggesting you do that mind you).

 

What to do....what to do....?

 

 

(Go Sharks!)

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Jeez, people will make coins for ANYTHING now, won't they?!?!

 

 

Oh wait! This one is actually relevant to caching - nicely done!!

 

I'm on the fence to buy one. I haven't hit that cache yet and would love for this coin to be like the APE coin where it represented the actual find (not that I'm suggesting you do that mind you).

 

What to do....what to do....?

 

 

(Go Sharks!)

 

I love your humor Kealia. You could buy a coin, and have it sent to my house. Then when you make it to the Original Stash, let me know and I'll send it to you as a reward. :anibad: Would that make it more meaningful to you?

 

Oh, I forgot to rub in the fact that the Wings beat the Sharks last time they played (just had to get that in). :)

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Jeez, people will make coins for ANYTHING now, won't they?!?!

 

 

Oh wait! This one is actually relevant to caching - nicely done!!

 

I'm on the fence to buy one. I haven't hit that cache yet and would love for this coin to be like the APE coin where it represented the actual find (not that I'm suggesting you do that mind you).

 

What to do....what to do....?

 

 

(Go Sharks!)

 

Oh! The Jedi thing......... :laughing::anibad: C'mon, you know you want to.......... :anibad:

 

I'd love to have one. :)

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I still feel the sting don't worry :anibad: .

 

That's not a bad idea. Maybe I will buy one and have somebody hold it hostage until I get up there!

 

I think I understand now Kealia. It's sort of like the Stanley Cup...You don't touch it until you've actually won it. I can see why those feelings would be extra strong, since you cheer for the Sharks.

(Actually, being completely honest, I'd love to see the Sharks win the cup, as long as they didn't beat the Red Wings to do it. I lived in San Mateo for a few years, and loved to watch the Sharks play).

Edited by Redwing_dave
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Someday, yes someday I too will make the pilgrimage to the Orignal Stash Plaque. :anibad::)

Until then I will be content to own 1-2 of these most excellent looking coins. The fact that May 3 is also my birthday has absolutly nothing whatsoever with my uncontrollable desire and yearning to have one of these memorable exquisite tokens. :anibad::):P:laughing:

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Okay, I know I said that additional information would be available in a few days, but what can I say, I'm a softy. Here's the full Scoop:

 

Each coin/pin set will cost $10. The coins will not be sold separately from the pins or vice-versa.

 

Once Preorder starts, the coin/pin sets can be purchased via this LINK

 

PREORDER starts on Thursday, April 13, 2006

Times based on Daylight Savings Time (Click here to find your time)

Eastern European* 7:00 pm

Central European* 6:00 pm

London European* 5:00 pm

Greenwich Mean 4:00 pm

USA Eastern Time Zone* 12:00 pm

USA Central Time Zone* 11:00 am

USA Mountain Time Zone* 10:00 am

USA Pacific Time Zone* 9:00 am

 

This run will include 1000 coins (all antique bronze, colored to look like the tribute plaque). There are also 35 personalized Limited Edition coins that will be given to contributors to the plaque as a Thank You. If there is enough demand, we may consider a second run of coins, however we do not currently have plans to do so.

 

Here is an updated version of the coin (the one I originally posted left off the wording "Trackable at Geocaching.com."

 

Originalstashforforumsrevised.jpg

Edited by Redwing_dave
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My opinion on this coin, take it for what it's worth.

 

The front of the coin looks like that Plaque. That's a good thing. Keep it pure and move the "kludge" which is everthing that doesn't look like the plaque to the back of the coin.

 

The back of the coin has room for other things like who placed the cache, who made the plaque etc. The eTrex could go, The Satalite could go, The bucket...could stay if it's accurate, the OCB should be a small chunk of the OCB though even if it's not it can stay but it should look like the OCB did when it was new right down to the brand.

 

That's my take. I don't do commercial coins (10.00 price moves it there for me) but I'd make an exception for this coin if it did a better job of representing what it's about.

 

Edit:

The back of the coin is even closer to the Groundspeak logo than the Idaho coin was and they did not allow Idaho to be tracked. If you got the thumbs up...good job. Otherwise you may want to check that.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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It's been a long time since I posted here in the GC forums. In fact, except for a post in the Garage Sale section a few weeks back, my last post in here was back in Jan of 2005.

 

This coin means alot, so much that I had to come in here and tell you that it has been an honor to be called into this project as a consultant, which was the idea of RedWing Dave. We have all been working on the design for a few weeks, the team consisting of Craig and Georgia H, Sharon at TheCachingPlace.com, and Dave and I. They ALL made it possible, and the design came out far beyond anyones expectations. I am proud to have worked with such a great group!

 

I think this coin is a 'must-have' for any cacher who has been to the Plaque, or is planning on visiting, and certainly desirable for those who recognize the history of our sport. Once again, May 3rd is coming up, and we feel this is a great way to honor the Sixth Anniversary of the First Cache and the beginning of geocaching.

 

$10 for a coin/pin set certainly seems reasonable enough, given the recent history of some out-of-control prices both here in the forums and also on Ebay. We are glad to keep the costs down enough that everyone can afford it.

 

We all hope you like the design, and we also hope that we have enough coins for everyone who wants to buy them. We think the items on the back are a great representation of the spirit of that first cache, and the Etrex was chosen because most of us started with that particular model, the workhorse of the GPS world.

Special coins were made up for the contributors of the Plaque effort, with their names on the front, instead of the tracking numbers, and those will be sent directly to them.

 

Thanks again to everyone involved in this effort!

 

360.

Edited by TEAM 360
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My opinion on this coin, take it for what it's worth.

 

The front of the coin looks like that Plaque. That's a good thing. Keep it pure and move the "kludge" which is everthing that doesn't look like the plaque to the back of the coin.

 

The back of the coin has room for other things like who placed the cache, who made the plaque etc. The eTrex could go, The Satalite could go, The bucket...could stay if it's accurate, the OCB should be a small chunk of the OCB though even if it's not it can stay but it should look like the OCB did when it was new right down to the brand.

 

That's my take. I don't do commercial coins (10.00 price moves it there for me) but I'd make an exception for this coin if it did a better job of representing what it's about.

 

Edit:

The back of the coin is even closer to the Groundspeak logo than the Idaho coin was and they did not allow Idaho to be tracked. If you got the thumbs up...good job. Otherwise you may want to check that.

 

We appreciate your opinion on this RK. Everyone is entitled to one, and I'm glad to know yours. At first I really wanted to move what you call "Kludge" (tracking #, etc.) to the back of the coin, to keep the plaque unadulterated. I also wanted some things on there like peoples names GC#s, etc. We went through a lot of revisions, and a lot of brainstorming. One of the first decisions we made was that we wanted the front side to reflect the "Tribute to the OS" and the back to reflect the "OS" itself, and the birth of geocaching. Although the back of the coin has room for additional information, the last thing we wanted was a cluttered look. Some of the people involved in the Original Stash, as well as the Tribute Plaque did not want public recognition by name, so instead, we tried to graphically depict the two things the best that we could. Yes, we could have made the OCB a chunk of metal, like it is now, but when you're dealing with small graphics, it would probably look like an unrecognizable blob. After looking at several versions, we chose the can of beans that was most pleasing to the eye. The OCB has become one of the most recognized symbols of the birth of geocaching, so it simply had to be there. The black bucket was the original container, and since we, as geocachers hunt caches (or containers), we felt that was another symbol that simply had to be there. As I mentioned in my first post, the satellite and GPSr are what this whole sport is all about. If selective availability hadn't been removed, Dave Ulmer wouldn't have placed the Stash, the Stash wouldn't have been found, and you wouldn't be reading this post right now. For that reason, they were also seen as essential elements of the "Historical" side of the coin. So, I guess I'm not really sure what you mean when you say "I'd make an exception for this coin if it did a better job of representing what it's about." I think it embodies "What it's about." I feel I'm in good company, knowing that I worked side-by-side with Team360 through this whole process.

 

I don't want to get into a pricing disclosure talk. Let me just say that doing a coin that is 2"x2" square isn't a cheap endeavor, since most blanks are round, and this meant moving to a pretty large blank (simple geometry tells you that a quadrilateral is second only to a triangle for getting the least bang for your buck from a circular blank, but that's a different discussion entirely). We felt that the caching community would rather pay for an appropriately sized coin, than to have us try to cut costs, and end up with a 1" square that was impossible to read, and unimpressive in size. Tack on the costs of tracking, the icon, and the fact that we're donating personalized coins to over 35 people who were vital parts of either the Original Stash itself, or the Tribute plaque, and you get some idea of why this coin is priced as it is. Oh yeah, you get a commemorative pin too. Rest assured that Team360 and myself will at best walk away with a few trader coins, for the hours of effort we've put into designing this coin, but neither one of us is walking away with a penny in profits.

 

Once again RK, I appreciate your feedback. I know you have the best interest of the Coin Community at heart, which I greatly respect. Thanks for your post. Happy Caching. :anibad:

Edited by Redwing_dave
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...Once again RK, I appreciate your feedback. I know you have the best interest of the Coin Community at heart, which I greatly respect. Thanks for your post. Happy Caching. :anibad:

 

I was brainstorming what I'd be proud to buy and frame for my office wall. Sorry I came across so strong this is one of the few coins that falls completely outside what I'm normally interested in that caught my attention in a big way.

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