+trowel32 Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Nearly every geocoin I have placed in a cache in the last couple of months seems to have gone missing (including one of my own) . I guess from now on I will not move coins and will just use the "discover" option, as I don't want to be responsible for the disappearance of other people's coins. Any thoughts on how to foil these thieves? I know some people deliberately scratch up their coins so that they are worthless for resale, but obviously I am not going to do this to someone else's coin. I feel like setting up a booby-trap for the coin thief - have the coin squirt them with indelible ink or something I guess I could leave a coin in a cache but not log it. Then when the next person picks it up they could email me, I would drop it in the cache, and they could pick it up. Kind of a pain though. Quote Link to comment
+scoobydooers Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 The best thing to do is to only place geocoins in diffucult caches. so that a good deal of effort is required to obtain them. a person investing the energy in a difficult cache is no likely to steal someone elses property. scoobydooers Quote Link to comment
+J10fly Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 I have seen a couple people in the area do "paper" coin stand ins which isnt a bad idea but defeats the feeling of that real coin find obviously. I am actually in the middle of making a "geoCoin Drop" cache down here in South Jersey just about in the middle of the "major" highways that will just be a geocoin mover. Should be placed in about a week or so as soon as some of the coin donations come in. I found a great area free of muggles so that should be no worry but I would hope fellow cachers abide by the rules. (Take A geoCoin/Leave a geoCoin) Jayman11 Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Mine have done fine in NJ. They seem to go missing once they leave the state. Quote Link to comment
+DocDiTTo Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I have seen a couple people in the area do "paper" coin stand ins which isnt a bad idea but defeats the feeling of that real coin find obviously. I am actually in the middle of making a "geoCoin Drop" cache down here in South Jersey just about in the middle of the "major" highways that will just be a geocoin mover. Should be placed in about a week or so as soon as some of the coin donations come in. I found a great area free of muggles so that should be no worry but I would hope fellow cachers abide by the rules. (Take A geoCoin/Leave a geoCoin) Jayman11 Placing rules such as "take one leave one" creates a travel bug (or in this case geocoin) prison. In effect it places rules on the movement of other people's property, often against their wishes. Because of this, many cachers won't abide by such rules, and rightfully so. Not to mention congregating a bunch of geocoins in one cache is just asking for it to be stolen. There are people who make it a goal to collect geocoins regardless of whose they are and a coin collection cache is exactly what they're looking for. Quote Link to comment
+J10fly Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Placing rules such as "take one leave one" creates a travel bug (or in this case geocoin) prison. In effect it places rules on the movement of other people's property, often against their wishes. Because of this, many cachers won't abide by such rules, and rightfully so. Not to mention congregating a bunch of geocoins in one cache is just asking for it to be stolen. There are people who make it a goal to collect geocoins regardless of whose they are and a coin collection cache is exactly what they're looking for. Actually I have had quite a few people really like the idea. It is going to be members only so right away that should cut out a lot there but it is also going to be in a local spot that I know to be muggle free and well hidden. There is actually a travel bug one a ways up North that I have seen doing very well for quite a while. Quote Link to comment
+Jerseytrex Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I know exactly how you feel. A cacher held on to one of my coins for months and then put it in his Geocoin Cache Collection in New Hampshire. On his cache page he stressed for equal coin trades and not to steal the coins. I'm like ya right like thats going to last. Maybe its because I'm from Jersey but that had bad idea written all over it. Everyday I would get a discovered note but its goal was too TRAVEL. Then some MORON CACHER and if your reading this you're an a** stole all of the coins and left a penny. So nowmy cool Danny DeVito Tribute coin is in some jerks collection. Oh well what goes around comes around. Quote Link to comment
+avroair Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I feel you annoyance Trowel32, the Spy Coin you lost is selling for alot on ebay so it is quite obvious someone wanted one but wasn't going to pay for it. This is a weekly debate in the geoin coin forum. There is nothing you can do to deter the thieves, scratching, punching holes, attaching traveler tags all have limited success but ultimately coins still disappear. I am not sure what the percentage is of thieves verses newer cachers who don't pay attention to the guidelines and keep a coin they think is trade bait, but there is defineatly coin thieves about. I had a page stolen from my geocoin binder, from one of my events. There were no trackables on the page, just personal coins that I had traded for or bought, some that were quite rare. I remained quiet about it because I thought maybe they would turn up. No luck It's sad because I don't bring my binder to events anymore because of that very incident. The laminated paper route seems to be the only viable option for 'coins' to continue to move from cache to cache and get discovered. It's sad but true. I remember the first USA coin I found in a cache I was so happy to find it, I went home logged it then drove back out to move it into another cache. The I lost 3 of 4 USA geocoins very quickly back in early 2004 so the theiving is not new. It's just sad that people take other people's stuff. As for the annual argument over Travel Bug prisons, I don't like having my coin or bug sit in a cache for 9 months because people can't help move it along. They should be moved whenever you have the opportunity to help it on it's goal. Quote Link to comment
+trowel32 Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 The coins aren't even disappearing from the same areas. I left one in Passaic County in the Newark Watershed that seems to be missing, one in Essex County (Millburn), one in Mercer County, and one in Middlesex County (Jamesburg), so either someone is covering a wide area, or there are multiple thieves. They weren't totally inaccessible caches, but not super easy either. Guess I'll just stick to leaving them in four star puzzle caches from now on Quote Link to comment
+J10fly Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 The coins aren't even disappearing from the same areas. I left one in Passaic County in the Newark Watershed that seems to be missing, one in Essex County (Millburn), one in Mercer County, and one in Middlesex County (Jamesburg), so either someone is covering a wide area, or there are multiple thieves. They weren't totally inaccessible caches, but not super easy either. Guess I'll just stick to leaving them in four star puzzle caches from now on Down here in South Jersey....Camden Country, Gloucester County are seems to be good. There really arent ever many coins around here but it I've only ever seen one disappear around here and that's about it. Quote Link to comment
+nikcap Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 IMHO, I think 3/4 of the missing coins are going to people who don't understand how to track them and that they should travel. I thought the major appeal to coins was the GC icon, but obviously that's not the case. Is there really that much of a black market for coins? Do people brag about having pages of clandestine GeoCoins? Maybe there is a circle a geocachers suffering from Stephane Breitwieser syndrome. At our event this weekend, I noticed several cachers that had no clue about the track-ability of some geocoins and how they should move from cache to cache. On the other side of the coin, I find the same people that want to collect icons in their profile, get all bent out of shape if they find a paper stand-in in a cache. ? At this point in the game, I view coins as a piece of FTF swag. What's the difference? Sometimes I'd leave a WhereAlex as FTF or a $10 gift card, so why not a $10 Geocoin. Anyway, I'm with you T32. I had being the last one to find a cache before it's muggled or place a coin or travelbug just before it get abducted by aliens from the planet Zork. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 IMHO, I think 3/4 of the missing coins are going to people who don't understand how to track them and that they should travel. Every one of my coins that went missing had a laminated note accompanying them that says: "The goal of this coin is to move from cache to cache like a travel bug. It is not meant to be kept for anybody's collection. Please keep it in circulation for others to enjoy." I also mention this on each coin's page. Every time one of my coins went missing, the coin was dropped off in a cache and the cache was found a few days later with the finder noting that the coin was not there. There were no logged finds in between. To me that means that someone made a trip out to the cache specifically to steal the coin. Quote Link to comment
+geos of the jungle Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I have seen a couple people in the area do "paper" coin stand ins which isnt a bad idea but defeats the feeling of that real coin find obviously. I am actually in the middle of making a "geoCoin Drop" cache down here in South Jersey just about in the middle of the "major" highways that will just be a geocoin mover. Should be placed in about a week or so as soon as some of the coin donations come in. I found a great area free of muggles so that should be no worry but I would hope fellow cachers abide by the rules. (Take A geoCoin/Leave a geoCoin) Jayman11 We had two of these types of caches get raided recently. One in NH and the other in MA. The latter was mine. It was very well received and functioning just fine as a coin swap cache until some jerk decided to steal the 4 coins that were in it. I hope you have better luck with yours. If I do anything like this again it'll be a difficult puzzle combined with a decent hike (i.e. at least a 3.5/3.5). tony (1/4 geos of the jungle) Quote Link to comment
+J10fly Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I have seen a couple people in the area do "paper" coin stand ins which isnt a bad idea but defeats the feeling of that real coin find obviously. I am actually in the middle of making a "geoCoin Drop" cache down here in South Jersey just about in the middle of the "major" highways that will just be a geocoin mover. Should be placed in about a week or so as soon as some of the coin donations come in. I found a great area free of muggles so that should be no worry but I would hope fellow cachers abide by the rules. (Take A geoCoin/Leave a geoCoin) Jayman11 We had two of these types of caches get raided recently. One in NH and the other in MA. The latter was mine. It was very well received and functioning just fine as a coin swap cache until some jerk decided to steal the 4 coins that were in it. I hope you have better luck with yours. If I do anything like this again it'll be a difficult puzzle combined with a decent hike (i.e. at least a 3.5/3.5). tony (1/4 geos of the jungle) Yeah that's no good. I am definately going to make it somewhat difficult whether it be a puzzle or a multi. Most likely it will be a spread out multi throughout the park. Quote Link to comment
+trowel32 Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 (edited) Every time one of my coins went missing, the coin was dropped off in a cache and the cache was found a few days later with the finder noting that the coin was not there. There were no logged finds in between. To me that means that someone made a trip out to the cache specifically to steal the coin. Yeah - that was pretty much the case with all the coins I placed that went missing. I brought a really cool balloon coin back from CT and put it in "P8". It sat for a week or two and the most recent finders said they didn't see it in there. There were no logs in between. I always put the coins in the bag with the logbook, so I don't think they could have missed seeing it. I thought that was a "safe" place since its somewhat isolated and you need a permit to hike there, but I guess if you are goin to steal coins, you probably would hike without a permit also. Another one that went missing recently was left in a multi puzzle cache. Granted, it wasn't a super hard puzzle, but it did require some effort to solve the puzzle and hike to the cache. UGH! Edited September 12, 2006 by trowel32 Quote Link to comment
+trowel32 Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 On the other side of the coin, I find the same people that want to collect icons in their profile, get all bent out of shape if they find a paper stand-in in a cache. ? Yeah, even though I like collecting the various icons, I'm just not interested in the paper coins and have actually ignored them when I found them in caches. I'm a purist and I want to see the REAL coin. I guess I like to feel the weight of all that metal in my hand I guess the paper coins are going to have to be the way of the future though Quote Link to comment
+avroair Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 IMHO, I think 3/4 of the missing coins are going to people who don't understand how to track them and that they should travel. Every time one of my coins went missing, the coin was dropped off in a cache and the cache was found a few days later with the finder noting that the coin was not there. There were no logged finds in between. To me that means that someone made a trip out to the cache specifically to steal the coin. That's exactly how mine have gone missing. People have specifically made a trip to go and get the coin and found it missing in the cache with no log between visits. At this point in the game, I view coins as a piece of FTF swag. What's the difference? Sometimes I'd leave a WhereAlex as FTF or a $10 gift card, so why not a $10 Geocoin. So Nik I guess it doesn't bother you when someone keeps your traveling cache then? For me the coins and bugs are meant to travel, FTF prizes are a different kind of investment where I want people to get it. I have noticed there are very few FTF prizes offered in new caches these days (maybe because the caches are too small to fit anything ) I thought the major appeal to coins was the GC icon, but obviously that's not the case.Is there really that much of a black market for coins? Do people brag about having pages of clandestine GeoCoins? I don't understand it either since they can't be sold on ebay or shared at an event, I guess it's a hoarding gene or something. I once overheard a cacher say that if they found a coin in a cache they would keep it regardless of whether it was activated or not. (maybe I misunderstood their intent). Quote Link to comment
+nikcap Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 At this point in the game, I view coins as a piece of FTF swag. What's the difference? Sometimes I'd leave a WhereAlex as FTF or a $10 gift card, so why not a $10 Geocoin. So Nik I guess it doesn't bother you when someone keeps your traveling cache then? For me the coins and bugs are meant to travel, FTF prizes are a different kind of investment where I want people to get it. I have noticed there are very few FTF prizes offered in new caches these days (maybe because the caches are too small to fit anything ) I'm trying to be optimistic here. Why you want to boil my blood! Seriously, what can you do? Setup a hunters camera near a Geocoin exchange? Take a week off and hide near a cache with a baseball bat? How about we put a combination lock on the cache. The only way to get the combo is to call the cache hider's cell phone. The hider can get an instant inventory on every new find. Anway, every coin (and just about every travel bug) I've released has vanished. With the exception of the NJ Coin that's floating around Arizona. I just expect them to disappear. If I believe a FTF or STF cacher took the coin and is enjoying it sitting in their secret stash, then I'm not disappointed when this happens. Unsurprisingly, the replacement paper coins I have out there haven't moved much ... they also haven't gone missing either. Quote Link to comment
+trowel32 Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 Take a week off and hide near a cache with a baseball bat? Now really, what kind of sick, deranged person would suggest something like that Actually, I think I would prefer a blanket party Quote Link to comment
+Arrow One Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I've had several geocoins go missing with no, or very little miles on them. Oh well.. The remaining geocoins I do have in my possession, I just let other cachers I meet "discover" them if they want. You never know, the missing ones may turn up someday. Quote Link to comment
+whistler & co. Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Same person? Bug Hunter in NJ & PA (topic from last fall) Quote Link to comment
+Arrow One Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I guess it's possible that Bug Hunter is back. But what is stupid, is that all my coins have holes drilled thru them with a tag attached. Ok, you can remove the tag, but there's still a hole in it. Why would some one want it? Oh well... I know where I can get more. Quote Link to comment
+ski Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Seriously, what can you do? Setup a hunters camera near a Geocoin exchange? Rumor has it that there is already a wildlife camera in place near a geocoin exchange somewhere in the southern end of the state. Lower Bucks County PA is also a bermuda triangle for geocoins. Quote Link to comment
+Team Perrito Blanco Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 Geocoins are going to end up as only being exchanged at events or hand-to-hand. Not a bad this really. This way your log will say something like "Exchanged with Old Navy for xyz coin" and there will be a paper(less) trail of sorts. Lots of jeeps are getting around like this. Quote Link to comment
+trowel32 Posted September 14, 2006 Author Share Posted September 14, 2006 Rumor has it that there is already a wildlife camera in place near a geocoin exchange somewhere in the southern end of the state. Lower Bucks County PA is also a bermuda triangle for geocoins. Jeez...I hope I don't do anything weird or disturbing in front of those cameras Quote Link to comment
+denali7 Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 (edited) I had a page stolen from my geocoin binder, from one of my events. Wow...just wow. Coin thieves down this end, too. There was almost a complete series, brand new, taken from a local TB hotel. This was not long after the hotel had been replaced due to theft of the entire thing, ammo can and all. I agree that the paper coins aren't too cool to look at, but I would use them if I sent out a coin of my own. eta: oh, and thanks T32, for making me spill coffee just now! Edited September 14, 2006 by denali7 Quote Link to comment
+1NatureMom Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Can I cry with you guys?! I have just one question ok..?? How can you call yourself a geocacher and be a theif at the same time? I DON'T GET IT! Geocachers ARE the most awesome people I have ever met! What good are these coins to them? What do they do with them? How can you sell them on ebay~I mean won't the coin owner find out someone bought their stolen coin when the new buyer goes to activate/log it?! Yes, there is a terrible theif(s) in NH...they've stolen mine & others coins in my Keene,NH caches! If there is a blanket party in NH, I'm in, I'll contribute coins for bait, and I'll bring my own bat .......I just don't get it............. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Can I cry with you guys?! I have just one question ok..?? How can you call yourself a geocacher and be a theif at the same time? I DON'T GET IT! Geocachers ARE the most awesome people I have ever met! What good are these coins to them? What do they do with them? How can you sell them on ebay~I mean won't the coin owner find out someone bought their stolen coin when the new buyer goes to activate/log it?! Yes, there is a terrible theif(s) in NH...they've stolen mine & others coins in my Keene,NH caches! If there is a blanket party in NH, I'm in, I'll contribute coins for bait, and I'll bring my own bat .......I just don't get it............. Geocaching is a sport that depends on the good will and honesty of others. For that reason geocachers are generally a decent sort of person. I think most geocachers who are into coins are of the same mold, but unfortunately I think that some Ebay speculators have also become involved and they might be the source of a lot of these thefts. There also appears to be a very small minority of real geocachers who are so blinded by the coin craze that they lose their integrity. Quote Link to comment
+Kabuthunk Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Random thought on Geocoins. If the theory of punching a hole in them or scratching them is only working with limited success... what I'D do if I was sending out my own geocoin would be to weld the bottom of it to some chunk of angle-iron or something... basically make it 100% impossible (without cutting the bottom of the coin off yourself) to put it in any kind of coin book. Should I make some commemorative 1000 find coin or something... that's what I plan to do Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Random thought on Geocoins. If the theory of punching a hole in them or scratching them is only working with limited success... what I'D do if I was sending out my own geocoin would be to weld the bottom of it to some chunk of angle-iron or something... basically make it 100% impossible (without cutting the bottom of the coin off yourself) to put it in any kind of coin book. Should I make some commemorative 1000 find coin or something... that's what I plan to do Yeah, there is a thread dedicated to making your travel bug uncollectable. In my opinion coins have no hope in achiving that, you can't make them non-coins. In other words, nothing more than a traveler. Quote Link to comment
ImpalaBob Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Koikeeper and I are very active cachers who often E-mail individuals to remind them to move on coins and bugs they have taken. We have issues with cachers who just drop the coin in it's protective sleeve into a cache and expect it to keep moving. Newbies do not know that it is not a trade item!!!!!! Blame yourself when it goes missing and you have not attached a tag with a drilled hole and chain. We picked up a geocoin yesterday with a really nice tag that said it was not a trade item and was meant to move around. Here is what Sissy-N-CR sell The one we found was thick chrome and did not have tracking .... but the wording to identify the item as a traveler was very similar. We move them when we find them..... and purchase what we like for our private collection. How about geocoin LoJack! or maybe Radio frequency imbedded chips. Sorry for your loses! ImpalaBob Quote Link to comment
+1NatureMom Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 "Funny" how 2 of my coins (Conn. & POW/MIA) were STOLEN from caches a few miles apart several weeks ago in NH, and yesterday show up on ebay by the same seller in GA?! Not sure if they're mine; their listed as unactivated....just a bit "funny". Quote Link to comment
+avroair Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 We have issues with cachers who just drop the coin in it's protective sleeve into a cache and expect it to keep moving. Newbies do not know that it is not a trade item!!!!!! Blame yourself when it goes missing and you have not attached a tag with a drilled hole and chain. We picked up a geocoin yesterday with a really nice tag that said it was not a trade item and was meant to move around. The coins go missing regardless of whether you deface them, drill holes and add tags. I tried this method and they still go missing. I know some people are against MOC's (Member's Only Caches) but at least you will get to track who is looking at the caches. Quote Link to comment
+KakAttack Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Can the Groundspeak system handle a “retrieve” log only? This way the coin would show up in the cachers inventory but would never show up in a cache because no “place” log is entered once the coin is placed into a new cache? This way the coin wouldn’t ever show up in a caches inventory for the coin thieves to target, they would have to get lucky and stumble across them. The cacher placing the coin could, like trowel32 suggested send a courtesy email to the coin owner so he/she would know were the coin is. Quote Link to comment
+trowel32 Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 Well on a positive note, one of the coins I thought was missing is not (so far). Klizich checked up on "P8" and the coin was still there. I went over to Box of Stuff in the Woods to see if my NNJC coin was in there and had just been overlooked. The coin was missing, but I noticed that someone signed the logbook right after I left the coin but never logged the cache online. In their note they stated that they left the Tweedlebug travel bug but they never dropped it into the cache online and they never logged it out of the previous cache which was ...and miles to go before I sleep which is another local cache also by ekitt10. They also never logged that cache. So although they didn't state that they took my coin in the logbook, I guess it is possible, since they seem to be moving bugs around without recording them. They name they signed was "Toggs (or Taggs) and the MB. (and her sister)" - does anybody know who this cacher is? I would like to ask them if they moved my coin or not. Since they didn't log either cache or the travel bug they moved, I have no way to contact them. Searching the name didn't seem to work, since the search is so picky--we need a username keyword search Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 I dont see anything wrong with using the paper laminated copies. I also would not note on the coin's page (or in the logs)that you are using a paper copy. After the thief makes a few runs to grab a coin, only to find a laminated copy, hopefully that would make them lose interest. Write the opposite when dropping a real coin, say it's a copy. Quote Link to comment
+whistler & co. Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 We recently saw a coin where the owner had glued scanned copies of the front and the back of the coin to a wooden disc. An info sheet was in the baggie with the pseudocoin. It was nicer and more fun to find than a laminated card would be, yet it really has no monetery value and can be replaced by the owner with another replica if it disappears. A pseuodcoin also has the advantage of catching your eye when you sort through the cache contents, because sometimes there are numerous calling cards in with the logbook and you may not really look through them well if you're employing stealth or in a hurry. Quote Link to comment
+avroair Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 We recently saw a coin where the owner had glued scanned copies of the front and the back of the coin to a wooden disc. An info sheet was in the baggie with the pseudocoin. It was nicer and more fun to find than a laminated card would be, yet it really has no monetery value and can be replaced by the owner with another replica if it disappears. A pseuodcoin also has the advantage of catching your eye when you sort through the cache contents, because sometimes there are numerous calling cards in with the logbook and you may not really look through them well if you're employing stealth or in a hurry. Yeah putting it in a plastic case also makes it look really nice! Quote Link to comment
+Frodo_Underhill Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 (edited) We recently saw a coin where the owner had glued scanned copies of the front and the back of the coin to a wooden disc. An info sheet was in the baggie with the pseudocoin. It was nicer and more fun to find than a laminated card would be, yet it really has no monetery value and can be replaced by the owner with another replica if it disappears. A pseuodcoin also has the advantage of catching your eye when you sort through the cache contents, because sometimes there are numerous calling cards in with the logbook and you may not really look through them well if you're employing stealth or in a hurry. Yeah putting it in a plastic case also makes it look really nice! Here is a good example of what you can do with a plastic case coin case and a washer plus add printed images of coin faces. Will give the look and feel of real coin better than the laminated piece of paper. Subsitute Geocoin I put out a laminated card that had an image on it for my NJ geocoin. It's cheesy but at least it is circulating, folks are collecting the icon and it has not showed up on eBay yet. Go to this link if you are interested in what the card looked like. Substitute Geocoin Card And after I released it I was informed about problems with "virtual" travel bugs. If you put one out like this you may want to use terms like "substitute", "stand-in" or "surrogate" to avoid having your coin shut down by GC.com. Edited September 20, 2006 by Frodo_Underhill Quote Link to comment
+Pegasi Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I don't know how people think, I have only released one coin into the wild - the very first finder has kept it for over a month and enjoys showing it to other cachers at get togethers - I have a few discoveries but the point of the coin was to move. The same cacher seems to like to hold onto Green Jeeps and is now holding 2 for over a month. What can you do - let them go and hope for the best. Quote Link to comment
+DiS02 Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 While you cant do anything about the jeeps as they are owned by Jeep the geocoin you paid for & own you can do something about. Drop them a polite polite email asking them to move it on as you would like it to travel, not sit in someones collection. Hopefully they will move it on, if you dont see it drop or 'all of a sudden it disappears' then list it as taken/stolen. The person wont be able to show it to others then in essance. I'm got a couple orders in for geocoins, I'm sitting on the fence as to if I want to release a real coin into the wild for people like that to sit on or if I want to release a 'fake copy' of it as others have done. Then again my orders were mostly for 2 each of the 4 different coins so I can keep one for my collection & maybe release the other. Good luck though either way. Quote Link to comment
+avroair Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Drop them a polite polite email asking them to move it on as you would like it to travel, not sit in someones collection. Hopefully they will move it on, if you dont see it drop or 'all of a sudden it disappears' then list it as taken/stolen. The person wont be able to show it to others then in essance. This is the best thing you can do. Some people treat finding a geocoin as a signature item, they actually feel like they own the coin and want to show it with people. I had a finder keep my coin for 8 months and every time I told him to put it into a cache (he was a friend) he said, "I know, I know, but it looks so cool. I really wanna keep it!" In some ways you are lucky it is still getting logged. Quote Link to comment
+DiS02 Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 If its a friend and you have more than 1 coin, maybe you can work out a trade or something eviller 8-) They owe you java for a month, hehe. Cool coins are nice but to just sit on someone you dont know coins is a bit rude. And as was said, yeah, least he's still getting discovered logs. If the polite note doesnt move it then label it 'Captive' 'Taken' or something else, that may make them move it on. If they claim to drop it into a cache but next person says its not there then label it stolen, anyone can say they dropped it in an cache but just drop it in their pocket instead. Do realize I'm not labelling anyone here a thief as I'm just going on a generic 'you'. I dont know anyone mentioned or not mentioned, I just know how I would react when I eventually get coins to release. I'm already planning my personal tracking coin just from some of the discussions here. Later all, good luck & have fun, or try to at least, heh. Quote Link to comment
+avroair Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 If its a friend and you have more than 1 coin, maybe you can work out a trade or something eviller 8-) They owe you java for a month, hehe. Cool coins are nice but to just sit on someone you dont know coins is a bit rude. And as was said, yeah, least he's still getting discovered logs. If the polite note doesnt move it then label it 'Captive' 'Taken' or something else, that may make them move it on. If they claim to drop it into a cache but next person says its not there then label it stolen, anyone can say they dropped it in an cache but just drop it in their pocket instead. Do realize I'm not labelling anyone here a thief as I'm just going on a generic 'you'. I dont know anyone mentioned or not mentioned, I just know how I would react when I eventually get coins to release. I'm already planning my personal tracking coin just from some of the discussions here. Later all, good luck & have fun, or try to at least, heh. It was 2003 before coins became popular and wasn't trackable on the site (Texas 2003) Quote Link to comment
+nikcap Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 It was 2003 before coins became popular and wasn't trackable on the site (Texas 2003) I release a USA coin in April of 2003. The coin moved once and then vanished. It doesn't need to be a pretty, colourful coin, even those crummy bronze USA coins vanish. I guess on a good note, I still have more missing TB then Coins. Quote Link to comment
+JBadger Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Mine seem to go missing at events. Quote Link to comment
+chstress53 Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 (edited) This is my unaltered coin, at the time of it;s release over two years ago I did not know anything about coins ,did not put a ho;e in it or anything just dropped it into a cache. It even went up to The International Space Station. ( I heard from the man who took that trip in an email and I have personal photos that can not be placed on the log from that cache. Here is the TB page http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...f5-845b5aacd256 This is the cache it went into space from http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...8e-2f43a3f92025 Don't know if I should email to bring it back home or hope it goes to space again. It already completed its mission that I never dreamed possible. Logged 22898.7mi so far . AND THAT DOES NOT COUNT THE MILAGE TO THE SPACE STaTION AND BACK AGAIN. Left it to travel so others might see the logs. Edited October 22, 2006 by chstress53 Quote Link to comment
+Woodlit Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Time to make the "Coin Hunter Travel Bug". You can attach it to a piggy bank or something. Quote Link to comment
+forthferalz Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 "Blame yourself when it goes missing and you have not attached a tag with a drilled hole and chain." well actually I still have big issues with GC for making travel bug tags unintelligible by not referencing the track page directly as in www.geocaching.com/track and REFUSING to acknowledge the COMMON usage of the geocoin format properly in their NEW trackables pages - There IS STILL NO MENTION OF ANYTHING NOT GC RELATED and for the simple minded of us the webpage is still not the most straight forward - I had two goes to find where to enter the number I think coin collection caches are going to have to be in secret sites only for the initiates like some letterboxes - the coords remain private. All you need for this function is to list it as a mystery cache. Quote Link to comment
+Strike Anywhere Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 You are all making me scared to release any coins. How do you know when a coin is really gone? Why cant people just do whats right? I think emailing and making a nice request and not a accusatory statement is best. I am collecting coins and TB's to take to Hawaii and I email the owners and ask permission to hold until we go. Most everyone said sure... but then I logged a couple into an event and got terrible emails about being so stupid and wrong and that almost all things are stolen at events... I brought a printout of just the coin numbers and names and a few of my coins in hand and passed them out for people to discover. One guy asked me never to grab his coins or TB's again... this thing makes some people a little skitzy if you ask me. I do like the idea of arc welding some chunk of metal to the coins so they are not as desireable but still cool to display on a desk I guess... Secret sites sound like fun but people are still people and who really knows who the theives are. My coins are out there and I really would like to know when you consider them stolen or not. Quote Link to comment
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