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Coin Replicas In Cache. Not The Real Coin.


duckm

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1. Releasing an actual unmolested geocoin tells me the owner is naive and gullible and is probably waiting for General Mugubu to wire him or her some money from Nigeria. They basically trust people.

 

 

Most of the geocoins that I've found in caches have been "actual unmolested" geocoins (~ 9 of 11). Many had seen a fair amount of travel and have been travelling since I moved them (though a recent log has me a bit concerned about one - someone referred to a "collection").

 

I've seen one laminated sheet with a B/W picture of a geocoin and a tracking code in a cache. I decided to ignore it.

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with respect ot everyones views. I have thought long and hard on this topic I have a rather small cache of coins only 20 or so at 10 bucks that 200 bills I have decided after cachers like garretjax22 who thinks its petty to worry about stealing TB's I will never again release the original coin you want ot steal my copy or throw it away fine I will just re release another copy there are A LOT of great cachers out there and I would love nothing better than let everyone log my coins but the one or two scumbags like garretjax22 who just keep them because who cares ? Well I CARE YOU ****** its my money that put them out there.

Of course he has release nothing and never will so how could he begin to understand.

Edited by Flying Spaghetti Monster
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Yes it will - and it has.

 

Let's remember the guidelines folks:

 

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At a recent Scout training function, another adult came up to me, introduced himself, and told me how excited his 7 year old was to find one of my coin copies. They logged it on the state site (it was not trackable on GC.com) and watched it for a week or so. No icon, no real coin, but it still made the kid's day to find it and track it. The dad wanted to thank me for putting the copy out so others like his son could enjoy it.

 

At the last local geocaching event I went to, a couple of young boys (and a few adults also) took my collection binder and had fun going through the actual coins, comparing the various finishes, weights, and generally just having fun playing with the coins. When they finished, they put everything back in its proper place and thanked me for letting them go through my collection.

 

These 2 examples are why putting out copies of my coins works for me. I can share my coins with the people who enjoy finding something in a cache or getting the latest icon, and I can share them with people at an event. In both cases I am making someone happy and providing them some fun, and that is the whole point. If one of my coin copies goes missing, so what? I can always make another to put out, and I can still share the real thing at an event. I get more than 15 to 20 positive e-mails about my coin copies for every negative e-mail or post, so I think there are some out there who like what I am doing.

 

There are people in the world who, if they were to find a $5 bill on the ground, would gripe that they wanted to find a twenty. If you don't care about the icon and don't enjoy finding a copy of a coin, just ignore them. I'm not putting them out there for you anyway. If you want the icon, enjoy the hunt for the cache, or enjoy browsing a collection, then I am willing to share what I have with you and I hope I can inject a little fun into your day. As long as my copies make even 1 young finder happy, I will keep putting them out. When the neysayers finally take all the fun out of this hobby, then I will quit.

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...And until people stop stealing coins that myself, and others, pay for that is what I will be leaving inside of cache containers. I have begun to leave copies ONLY because something/person here has been bound and determined to steal MANY TB's and COINS in the last year in Colorado Springs.

 

I have seen some very nice coins ( UK's, Icecreamman's Coins, etc.) up and disappear due to other peoples disrespect, towards other cachers.

 

I am sorry if some see me as being "unfair," but my money is not free, nor are the coins I purchase to share here, nor tb's I purchase to play with, and release so that other FAIR playing gamers can use them also in their stats here also.

 

I am all for having a great, fantastic, fun filled time in this gamefield but sometimes the $$$ adds up.

 

How would you like it if your GPS was stolen?

Wish I had known about this before I dropped a beautiful Iowa geocoin in a CSP cache. The next finder reported it was gone. Someone apparently went to the cache as soon as I logged the coin and took it.

Of the 9 geocoins I have found in the past year and a half, 5 are gone, 3 are still traveling, and 1 I haven't placed yet. Although I prefer carrying the actual coin around for a while, I can understand leaving copies and I have no problem with it. I will "catch and release" the copies just as I would the real things.

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I've actually been thinking of taking a scan of every real coin I release. If, and only if, the coin goes missing, I would release the "Ghost" coin.

 

eg.

 

LFD's Travelling UK Coin

<stolen>

LFD's Travelling UK Coin (ghost)

 

The purpose of the coin is to haunt whomever stole it in the first place and also to make it known to as many cachers as possible that XYZ coin was stolen.

 

The biggest thing for me is to destroy ALL resale and trade value of any coin released. This way, it may still get stolen, but it will likely never be resold, traded, or even shown to other cachers.

 

"hey....why is that coin got a scratch on it?"

 

Truth is -- once you let it go....you really have to let it go.....

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I had the same thing happen to 1 of my coins. I appreciated being notified and promptly modified the coins TB page and re-named the coin CENT5's RIPPED OFF US GEOCOIN Then I moved the coin to the Travel Bug Graveyard

 

Around here the stolen ones simply disappear virtually immediately after being dropped in a cache (there's quite a problem in the Tacoma WA area), so I'm not sure what good that would do, but there's something in renaming it the way you did that I like a lot.

 

My coins have survived so far, I released a handful a couple months ago with holes drilled in them and tags wired to them and that's helped so far. Conclusion with minimal facts so far is defacing them seems to help a bit. Sad.

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I've found (and moved on) one of Colorado Cacher's copied coins. I was a little disappointed not to find a real coin, but I completely understood his reasoning. Whole caches have gone missing around here, just because a coin was left in them. I recently bought my first geocoins. I bought 2, one to release and one to keep. I've made scans of both of them and plan to release the copy of the coin I'm keeping. I will release the 2nd coin (probably drilled), but I'm sure the copy will last way longer. I can't afford to throw away the money these coins cost.

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I've got a better idea, if you don't want to loose them (or just cant face the fear of it) then don't release them. Share them at an event where others can look that them and enjoy seeing them and logging them. And why are you people all arguing over this topic? I don't know about you, but I'd rather be caching than sitting talking here...

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I've got a better idea, if you don't want to loose them (or just cant face the fear of it) then don't release them. Share them at an event where others can look that them and enjoy seeing them and logging them. And why are you people all arguing over this topic? I don't know about you, but I'd rather be caching than sitting talking here...

 

Don't forget to take a bunch of real coins with you to put out! :rolleyes:

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If you can't afford to lose the coins, don't release them :laughing::laughing:

No offence meant, I promise. Just keep and enjoy the coins (as we are keeping at least one of each of the ones that we buy/trade for. :laughing:

 

At least for me, the fun isn't in keeping the coins and having a coin collection. The fun is in releasing them into the wild and letting them travel as they were designed to do. However, if unscrupulous people keep defeating that purpose and not allowing the coin to travel - but keep it for themselves at the owner's expense - then what can you do? I guess you could just stick to travel bugs and make them ugly so people won't keep them. Anyway, I've bought some coins and want to see them travel. If their life gets cut short, I'll probably send something else (a copy) out to continue travelling. If you don't like that, just let the copy sit in the cache. Someone may get some enjoyment from finding/moving/logging the copy though, and I'll get enjoyment from seeing where the copy travels to.

 

Model Citizen - Zero Discipline

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I've got a better idea, if you don't want to loose them (or just cant face the fear of it) then don't release them. Share them at an event where others can look that them and enjoy seeing them and logging them.

 

Then you'd get people complaining that people really didn't "find" the coin, they just saw them at events. Oh wait, the complaining about that already happens.

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I've got a better idea, if you don't want to loose them (or just cant face the fear of it) then don't release them. Share them at an event where others can look that them and enjoy seeing them and logging them.

 

Then you'd get people complaining that people really didn't "find" the coin, they just saw them at events. Oh wait, the complaining about that already happens.

 

That's right....the same people who are telling us not to release them (for fear of loss) are the same ones who are complaining about only seeing coins at events!!! Why would anyone release it if it were something new to add to ones personal collection?? I can see personal coins for that reason....when and if I decided to create our own personal coin, then I wouldn't mind releasing them into the wild....that is what they are for.

 

I was hesitant about posting here and now I know why.....whine, whine, whine. Not you SlumberSix, but the people who "absolutely hate" and "are disgusted" with seeing replicas in caches. You know what I say....if you don't like them, leave them be. Don't move them. Hate them all you want, but if you are willing to throw away $10 then I can give you the coordinates to a personal cache that I have created for peope whining about this stuff....Team_DDNight's Wallet Cache!!

 

I cache for the enjoyment and being surprised at what I might find, but I can see others are out here for the "I want to see (steal) a coin!!!" mindset.

 

From my experience at geocaching events, the people are great and I thought the forums on Groundspeak were going to be of the same caliber, but I it's just the same as any other forum on the web....shame!

 

So long and happy caching. You won't be hearing from me again. I'll just stick to the face-to-face meetings at caches here in Hawaii......you won't hear any whining out of them!

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I have run into some caches that are said to have trackable coins only to find a replica or picture of the coin with a tracking number. Is this common practice? I'm assuming the owner does not want to risk losing their coin.

 

You got it.

 

It's a way that coin collectors can share their collection. Creating a 'copy' is a way to enjoy the travelling aspect of the coin without the worry of someone else collection your coins.

 

Copy tags should (IMHO) be identified in the name of the trackable and in the descritption. So if someone were to view the cache page, the inventory would show '2006 Finland Geocoin (Copy)' or similar. This way, you know that you're looking for a replica and not dissappointed when you show up and find a wooden nickel with a photo sticker stuck to it.

Come and see GeoTips I co

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If you can't afford to lose the coins, don't release them :D:laughing:

I've got a better idea, if you don't want to loose them (or just cant face the fear of it) then don't release them. Share them at an event where others can look that them and enjoy seeing them and logging them. And why are you people all arguing over this topic? I don't know about you, but I'd rather be caching than sitting talking here...

 

Not counting the last sentence, these two statements pretty-much wrap up my own philosophy about geocoins. We buy them, we activate them, we put a note on them asking that they keep moving, we put them in caches, we hope that they travel a lot. After they are out of our hands, we can't do anything about where they go, so we don't put too much of an emotional investment into them, i.e. not much more than we put into the swag we trade. We just hope that lots of people will get to see them and enjoy them. Which is why we bring along whatever geocoins we have to any events we attend; those who want to discover them are free to do so.

 

As for n-rogue's last comment, it's too hot around here right now for much caching, and I need to do some work around the house, anyway :mad:

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I recently found a geocoin replica in a cache after expected to find the real thing. Disapponted, I left it in the cache. (Since it is a "virtual" coin, I thought about trying to log it on Waymarking like a virtual cache.)

The note with the replica stated that in addition to traveling from cache to cache in "replica form", the real coin would be making appearances at events. What kind of sense does this make? None to me.

To me, a geocoin that doesn't travel is what I would call a "coin".

Maybe there should be a seperate "category" for coins and replicas, just like there is for different sizes of cache containers. At least, I would know what to expect when I find a cache with a geocoin icon next to it.

I'm expecting delivery of my first geocoins in a few days and will release them into the wild soon after. Maybe they'll travel far and wide and maybe they'll disappear into someone's "collection". As a geocacher (maybe a naive one at that), I want to be a part of this activity at all levels. If my geocoins disappear, that'll make me a member of that "club" as well.

Or maybe I should only buy geocoins with theft insurance.

Thanx for listening.

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As I have mentioned before, buy 2 of the same coins! 1 for viewing/collecton and 1 for caching. problem solved.

 

Now I understand that budget constraints can be a real issue, if you are only purchasing 1 coin, make a decision on whether the coin would be for caching or viewing, and stick to it. If it is for caching, expect the possibility that at some point, the coin will be gone forever (i mean, how often do you ever see your own TBs or coins again that have left previously in caches?)

 

In a perfect world, we wouldn't even have this discussion. Until then, unfortunately, it is what it is....

 

I can see the viewpoint of having replicas in caches... but to me, it is no difference than seeing a white/yellow jeep TB listing on the website, and venturing out to the cache only to find out the TB is missing. It is equally disappointing.

 

As the previous poster mentioned, "a geocoin that doesn't travel is what I would call a "coin". " And God knows how people in this forum feel about the whole coins vs geocoins issue... LOL

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Hmm. I guess I don't get what the fuss is about. I have about two dozen real coins out in the wild. And about the same number of bugs. They travel or disappear... that's the life of a traveler in this hobby. I have moved along real coins and stand-in coins. I get the icon either way. I'm happy with finding trackables of whatever sort.... I love travelers that is one of my main joys in the hobby. Whether a coin, a cute plush critter, a tonka truck, a jeep, a rusty nail, a chain of patches... there are all sorts of bugs and coins on the road and I love watching their journeys. I do it for the fun and I'm not going to spend any energy in griping about how things ought to be. I enjoy them as they are.

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I've got a better idea, if you don't want to loose them (or just cant face the fear of it) then don't release them. Share them at an event where others can look that them and enjoy seeing them and logging them.

 

Then you'd get people complaining that people really didn't "find" the coin, they just saw them at events. Oh wait, the complaining about that already happens.

 

That's right....the same people who are telling us not to release them (for fear of loss) are the same ones who are complaining about only seeing coins at events!!! Why would anyone release it if it were something new to add to ones personal collection?? I can see personal coins for that reason....when and if I decided to create our own personal coin, then I wouldn't mind releasing them into the wild....that is what they are for.

 

I was hesitant about posting here and now I know why.....whine, whine, whine. Not you SlumberSix, but the people who "absolutely hate" and "are disgusted" with seeing replicas in caches. You know what I say....if you don't like them, leave them be. Don't move them. Hate them all you want, but if you are willing to throw away $10 then I can give you the coordinates to a personal cache that I have created for peope whining about this stuff....Team_DDNight's Wallet Cache!!

 

I cache for the enjoyment and being surprised at what I might find, but I can see others are out here for the "I want to see (steal) a coin!!!" mindset.

 

From my experience at geocaching events, the people are great and I thought the forums on Groundspeak were going to be of the same caliber, but I it's just the same as any other forum on the web....shame!

 

So long and happy caching. You won't be hearing from me again. I'll just stick to the face-to-face meetings at caches here in Hawaii......you won't hear any whining out of them!

 

Haha, yup, that about sums up the spirit of these boards...

 

I'll just say I'm glad to find any kind of trackable. And if the owner of the coin wants to protect his coin by sending out an image of the coin, thats great too. Atleast with the money you put into TBs, you get a duplicate, with a coin you need to shovel out twice as much to get a duplicate and then that just gives someone else another coin to snag from a cache.

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As I have mentioned before, buy 2 of the same coins! 1 for viewing/collecton and 1 for caching. problem solved.

 

It's not simply about the money. A lot of coins are irreplaceable. Who in their right mind would put out a real Geowoodstock III, a Geocache America Silver, Sweet Lake City, or other unique, hard to find coin in a cache knowing that in a few weeks someone will almost certainly post a "no coin found in cache" log? Why should the only way to get those icons be to look at real coins in someone's binder? How can that be as much fun as chasing the icons in caches?

 

Everyone enjoys finding real coins. Everyone enjoyed finding real jeeps. The problem is that the attrition rate for the real thing is way too high. Copies function as well as the real thing and if they're labeled as "COPY" in the title, I just don't see why anyone should object. No one objects if you use a "COPY" travel bug tag.

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As I have mentioned before, buy 2 of the same coins! 1 for viewing/collecton and 1 for caching. problem solved.

Copies function as well as the real thing and if they're labeled as "COPY" in the title, I just don't see why anyone should object. No one objects if you use a "COPY" travel bug tag.

 

I would have absolutely no objection in this scenario. Point well taken!

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I HATE when people do this, I have only found one "replica" but it really sucks when you think you are going to get to see a new coin only to find a picture! I can look at pictures all day long, if you are afraid of losing it then just keep it!

 

Or feel free to leave a real $10.00, $20.00, $50.00, or even $300.00+ (yes coins do exist at this price, simply check Ebay) dollar(s) bill for me to receive in a cache. This way instead of my being able to steal the coin that you possibly paid this much for I can have the money instead that you would have spent upon it.

 

No, I am not saying it is to steal coins, nor am I saying throw away what you spend on them either. I guess it all boils down to wether or not you want to take a chance and "gamble" on the life expectancy of your coin(s) that you paid for.

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Or feel free to leave a real $10.00, $20.00, $50.00,

 

Umm, I do that. Not often, but often enough. The trick is to do it secretly when I'm out with the group and slight-of-hand it so they don't notice. The best one was the $20 that got found 3 times before someone actually took it.

 

Someone has to do better than old, dirty golf balls and photocopied coins.

 

Many finders have told me the story of how they found it and how they spent it and shared a beverage with me. That entertainment is worth the small price.

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Yea, I found a replica $100 dollar bill in a cache and I left it behind too, I’m looking for the real ones. Some coin collectors have nearly 10 bucks in their coins and have 100 + coins. Some are primarily interested in sharing their coins and making a copy and keeping their investment would be better than loosing the original coins to another cacher’s collection and/or profit as we have recently seen on the E store. This is an alternative way of sharing coins and more significant than passing out a list of numbers at an event. I’ve not found a TB that had a value of $10 but mostly the same value as a copy of a coin. Jeeps TB’s are fun to find, where are they? If I had to pay for all the Jeep TB numbers I’m sure I would find a way to recycle/copy the Jeep TB’s.

 

I agree

Someone said "it's all about the icons" and I'm not sure if I agree with that...but if someone's spending $10 a coin and this way they're sending out a picture (and it should say "Copy of" or "Picture of" Coin, not the coin itself), then who am I to say "Hey...you should put the real thing out here, not just a picture." I mean...it's their money and if they don't want to throw it away (and with coin thefts, that's almost what you're doing sometimes), that's their business. A picture and an icon on your log is better than nothing. I'll go further than that...a picture & an icon on your log is better than a bouncy ball or random plastic dollar store item. I mean, they're not "sharing" them the way you might like, but at least they're sharing them with you. Now the "copy is for caches, real for events," I don't go with that. 1 coin, 1 place...shouldn't be turning up in multiple places at once. But whatever way you send a coin/TB out...it's better than a Happy Meal toy (well...unless it was that mini barrel-of-monkeys toy that was so coo...not the point). And, as always, if you don't believe in the copies, don't move them on.

 

That said...the word "Copy" should definitely appear in the Name. Preferably the beginning of the name.

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Well, I will again drop my pair of Lincolns on this terminated equine; I have only 1 coin released in the wild. I did it with the full expectation that I may never see it again. I enjoy collecting the icons. I want to see the coin, not a copy. However, I do not begrudge a coin owner for making the copy. I haven't come across any of these yet. I will probably move it alongif and when I find one. I do like the idea of having it say copy in the title so I can decide if I want to go get the copy of the coin rather than the actual coin itself. I do not chastise people for not playing the game the way I do. What infuriates me are the thieves that are among us. These, for the most part, are people who know how to play this game and capitalize on those of us that will leave something of value (our coin) and simply take it for their own use/enjoyment. Whatever interpretation of the rules of the game that you have, that's just plain stealing. But if you have any knowledge of this game and it's thousands of participants, you have to expect it as being part of the game; albeit an unacceptable and unwanted part of the game....and now after pausing for a moment for dramatic effect, I step down from my soap box and return to my seat amidst thunderous applause.

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Does anyone maintain a list of coins presumed to be stolen?

I'm pretty new to this, but it seems to me that if there isn't such a list somewhere, there should be, preferably on Geocaching.com.

If someone steals a coin and hides it under their bed, and only takes it out at midnight, you'll never see it again.

But, if the number is on a well watched list, the thief could never sell it or trade it or show it off.

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It would be hard to say how I feel about this situation. It's kinda like to be or not to be, but I am leaning more towards the "put replicas in the caches" side. many geocoins that you buy are very special ie. only a few are minted and youd like to keep it with you and keep it in the "mint condition". however you also are very proud of the coin and want to show it off/brag that you are fortunate enough to have such a beautiful coin. Granted that finding a replica coin will upset you and make you feel like youve been cheated but just think if you owned that coin and how bad you would feel if somebody just took it and then kept it...forever.

 

 

And just as a joke you cant say that the people who steal them didnt have a good idea as to how to increase their collections...ok that isnt funny but anyway.......

Edited by Team Macha
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How 'bout this:

 

Make a replica of my real coin, (repli-coin?) but obscure the tracking number,

then attach a travel bug tag to the replicoin and send IT out as a travel bug.

 

Would that annoy EVERYONE in one swell foop?

<_<

 

 

The only problem with this method is you have to pay another 5 bucks a piece for the dog tag which really sucks.

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Does anyone maintain a list of coins presumed to be stolen?

I'm pretty new to this, but it seems to me that if there isn't such a list somewhere, there should be, preferably on Geocaching.com.

If someone steals a coin and hides it under their bed, and only takes it out at midnight, you'll never see it again.

But, if the number is on a well watched list, the thief could never sell it or trade it or show it off.

 

AND, a pattern may well develop as to just where they are disappearing from...

 

Just my 2 pence to an old but relevant thread...

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I don't see why there is even a discussion here. If you think it's allright to use a replica coin, then move it along if you see one. If you are like me and you think replicas are weaksauce, leave it in the cache.

 

Having been in the game only a short time, my opinion may be worth little, but I do have one:

 

I found (in the local cache logs) a "replica" from a prominant member from Georgia. I wanted to learn about just "why" replicas may have been placed. So I hit the forums and found this thread, questions answered...

 

I see both sides of the arguement but realize several facts:

 

Many believe that replicas are just swag.

 

Coin purchasers don't want to have their coins stolen.

 

Coins are being stolen.

 

Well, with more and more folks getting into the game every day the risk of having your coins stolen only increases. The greater the number of participants the greater the odds of someone pocketing your valued, well traveled coin. Soon every coin released will meet the same fate, simply because there will be enough thieves in enough towns across the country as to make it impossoble for a coin to make it very far.

 

The answer: I don't know, perhaps coin manufacturers should offer "copies" with the original, say, made of plastic. The original would be for the owners collection, the plastic one to travel. Of course they would charge more for them, but the purpose for releasing them could then be realized. Plastic replicas (clearly marked as such) could be the only "recognized" travelers. This would keep the valued coins in the hands of owners to show-off at events, and the less-valued copies in circulation and easy to identify as "stolen".

 

As to those who really want to "find a real coin in a cache", I say, "go buy one". Seems that the risk of loosing them to thieves will only increase, until there are no coins out there to be seen at all...

 

Thanx for listenin'

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I just had an epiphany. I think (for now) that my first coin released has been taken. Recent cachers have not seen the coin. So, I thought about sending out a "replica" or somesuch to keep traveling.

 

Then I thought about how if I release a replica coin to travel in my stolen coin's stead, I have just given the thief a better reason to keep it. If something is out there traveling in my coin's place, there is no reason to release my coin from their stash.

 

I WILL NOT SEND OUT A COPY OF THE COIN. I will wait as long as I have to to see it back out in the wild.

 

So if anyone sees a Team Petey Twin Ports std silver coin in someone's collection with 2 holes drilled in it, discover it, and then get it back out. Please. No more replicas...unless it was sent out instead of ever sending out a real coin...I guess. But don't release a "copy" to travel. Don't give thieves reasons to keep stealing.

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