New to the game - please explain the coins

[+archi77]

I'm new to the GeoCaching game...but I'm learning quick.

 

I have a questions about these coins that so many of you are obsessed with! (I say that in a good way, honest...)

 

What's the deal? Do they go from cache to cache, like travelbugs do? Or are they just out there for people to collect? Obviously, there's a good many of you out there that do collect them...if I put a geocoin in a cache, is it more likely to be added to somebody's collection, or will it be passed along to the next cache?

 

How does someone go about getting into the "coin game" without spending the mortgage payment? I don't need 250 of my own personalized coins (yet?) and can't really afford to spend that much on it, either. Just curious how this all works.

 

Thanks all!

[+Damenace]

I'm new to the GeoCaching game...but I'm learning quick.

 

I have a questions about these coins that so many of you are obsessed with! (I say that in a good way, honest...)

 

What's the deal? Do they go from cache to cache, like travelbugs do? Or are they just out there for people to collect? Obviously, there's a good many of you out there that do collect them...if I put a geocoin in a cache, is it more likely to be added to somebody's collection, or will it be passed along to the next cache?

 

How does someone go about getting into the "coin game" without spending the mortgage payment? I don't need 250 of my own personalized coins (yet?) and can't really afford to spend that much on it, either. Just curious how this all works.

 

Thanks all!

 

Activated coins are indeed meant to travel from cache to cache, this is assuming that the coin owners releases them. They have the option to activate them and then carry them around for others to discover.

 

Once you release then into the wild there is no guarantee of what is going to happen, that is the inherit risk that one takes. Some people have altered the coin when released to minimize the risk of the coin being stolen. Myself I drill a hole and attach a lock. Will this stop someone from adding it to their collection, no but a lock in their binder will sure look funny .

 

The best way to avoid spending your "mortgage payment" is to not get started. Very addictive and expensive hobby.

 

Just for the record, 99.9% of the people in this thread will never take an activated coin from a cache and add it to their personal collection, the coins that are found in peoples collections are purchased new. Many people purchase extras with the intent of releasing coins in the future.

Edited March 7, 2007 by Damenace

[+Team Sand Dollar]

If you just want a few coins to set out to travel you need to make them undesireable for collections. This can be done by drilling a small hole in them and adding a lock. This will not guarantee that it will not be taken but if I see one of these in a collection I know it is probally stolen.

 

If you want to get into collecting the cheapest route is to make your own coin to trade. This will at least cut your cost per coin by half over out right buying of coins.

 

Tracking is another consideration when doing your own coin.

 

If you make a coin purely for trade you could do it without tracking. Most traders will trade you for your coin even if it is not trackable but there are a few that collect only trackable coins.

 

If you are going to sell any of tyour coins it should be trackable to get the best results plus you can not list it in the forumes for sale if it is not trackable.

 

Team Sand Dollar

[ATMouse]

Coins for me are mostly about collecting. I tend to collect coins from where I've cached - they serve as reminders of good times and places. I also cherish personal coins from folks I know. Some coins I get simply for their beauty and their the design. Some I get to give away - it's a hoot to put them out as prizes!

 

Coins are beautiful. I love to hold them in my hand, watch light play across the surface…

 

Mine, mine, mine….!!!

[+Hula Bum]

I have no idea what coins are for anymore.

[+Droo]

If you want to start small and just buy a couple of coins a month go to the vendours listed on the Geocoin Homepage. A couple of them even have a coin of the month club where they'll send you a new coin (or more depending on your subscription) every month. These vendours sell coins individually for a lot less than you can get them on Ebay (where do you think many of them sellers get their coins from????). Most are trackable so you can release them like travel bugs but don't assume they all are. If they don't say anything about being trackable they're not!! One note of caution, though.... watch your credit card expenditures closely as you may overextend yourself pretty quick.

 

Then there's the icon ho's. We especially like coins with pretty icons that show up on the Trackables list of our profiles. We buy coins to activate them and share them with others to discover and add another icon to the list. Events are big for that. Siddle up to the guy/gal with the books of coins and ask them to show your their collection (believe me that's what they were dragged to the pizza joint for) and if they'd mind if you discovered them... some may give you a printout so you don't have to sprain your hand writing down tracking #s.

 

Good luck and keep the number of the nearest 12 step program handy.

[+UOTrackers]

How does someone go about getting into the "coin game" without spending the mortgage payment? I don't need 250 of my own personalized coins (yet?) and can't really afford to spend that much on it, either. Just curious how this all works.

 

Thanks all!

 

That was my dilemma about this time last year. So I've been trying to come up with a way to do that, my latest attempt at this is here.

[+007BigD]

The Geocoin represents a whole new swerve in the caching game- their purpose varies from cacher to cacher.

 

I would say that the most common form of the coin thing is to collect them (at least on this forum)-we trade them, send them out on secret missions to collectors that have no idea what they are going to get and release some too!

 

It is is great fun to assign your coin (for release) a mission and a decription of its purpose, then see if it can be fullfilled. (tracking its movements is the main gig and seeing how far it can go)

 

There are a few coins out there for less than 5.00-you can start with a couple of these, but like as said before they are addictive and very fun.

 

There are commercial coins (ones that are not personal-just a clever design that is usually Geocaching related.) Then there are personal coins- (that represent a cacher or a team) these are the most sought after on these forums and they may be designed after the person designing them or related to their state, country or even the city they live in or what they are into.

 

Hope these responses clear a few things up for you- Just go easy!...there are alot of coins out there and many are appealing to us. Make a point to not jump right in to the "I gotta get em all" frame of mind-thats what I did, and now Ive got a whole slew of coins that Im just not as excited about than my others-i.e...I could definatley do without them.

 

So get a coin or 2 and release them- most do and we are amongst a small percentage of cachers out there that just so happened to get obsessed with the coin thing-most are not...But we have great fun!

 

Do you want a coin? - I would be honored to send you your first coin!...on me!...Just send me an Addy!

Edited March 7, 2007 by 007BigD

[+Kealia]

Good responses thus far.

 

Coins mean different things to different people.

 

Some like to collect, some like to set free.

Some like to create lots of coins, some like to create only personal coins, and some do not create at all.

 

Some coins are meant for collections, and some are meant from travel.

 

Some coins mean nothing, and some have special meaning, or a signature item for a cacher.

 

Some you can buy, some you cna only trade for, and some you can only find in caches as swag.

 

Poke around a while, see what interestes you and go from there. Non eed to jump in with both feet in a frenzy and have regrets later.

 

No matter what you decide, there is a niche for you with plenty of coins, for sure.

[+PaRacers]

Take my advise archi77.....Turn around and run, run as fast as you can for as long as you can and never turn around and look back, not even a peek. As most geonumismatisits (geocoin collectors) will tell you it is a terribly addictive, somewhat costly, and unending habit. I fought it for as long as I could with all my strength, but lost the battle in the end. It was a losing battle right from the start though as I have been a coin and token collector since childhood. When we started geocaching, the beautiful coins some of the cachers had just amazed me but I wasn't impressed by the way some are logged when they are only discovered and not actually found in caches. Like I said though, it wasn't too long at all before we bought one from someone we know and then another at a local event. Next thing we know, we're scanning the forums, looking at all the new releases and checking the auction site daily to find the ones that aren't being sold on the forums anymore. Today we have quite a collection and have met many great people here on Groundspeak. Geocoins are a great icebreaker when you meet a new cacher on the trail or at events. Here in Pennsylvania you'll find that in the winter the caching slows down alot, that's when we get into the coins. It's just one of the many diverse aspects of geocaching that makes it the great hobby that it is.

My advise to get started is watch for presales of coins you like here on the forums and keep checking the coin makers sites for the best deals. Pick up a few extras when you can for traders and be careful about being taken in by paying too much for "Rare" or "Sold Out" coins on the auction site. Have Fun.....you HAVE been warned!

[+Hula Bum]

If you can afford the upfront cost, having your own coin to trade is a great way to go and cheaper in the end.

[+Big JohnP]

You will be assimilated............

[+prntr1]

I have no idea what coins are for anymore.

 

[danoshimano]

I don't recommend spending the monthly mortgage payment on geocoins. However, if you serve Kraft Dinner 4-6 nights per week, you can get away with spending a good portion of the monthly grocery bill.

 

Unless of course you have a decent amount of equity in your home, in which case you can take out a second mortgage and use that.

[+tsunrisebey]

Take my advise archi77.....Turn around and run, run as fast as you can for as long as you can and never turn around and look back, not even a peek. As most geonumismatisits (geocoin collectors) will tell you it is a terribly addictive, somewhat costly, and unending habit. I fought it for as long as I could with all my strength, but lost the battle in the end. It was a losing battle right from the start though as I have been a coin and token collector since childhood. When we started geocaching, the beautiful coins some of the cachers had just amazed me but I wasn't impressed by the way some are logged when they are only discovered and not actually found in caches. Like I said though, it wasn't too long at all before we bought one from someone we know and then another at a local event. Next thing we know, we're scanning the forums, looking at all the new releases and checking the auction site daily to find the ones that aren't being sold on the forums anymore. Today we have quite a collection and have met many great people here on Groundspeak. Geocoins are a great icebreaker when you meet a new cacher on the trail or at events. Here in Pennsylvania you'll find that in the winter the caching slows down alot, that's when we get into the coins. It's just one of the many diverse aspects of geocaching that makes it the great hobby that it is.

My advise to get started is watch for presales of coins you like here on the forums and keep checking the coin makers sites for the best deals. Pick up a few extras when you can for traders and be careful about being taken in by paying too much for "Rare" or "Sold Out" coins on the auction site. Have Fun.....you HAVE been warned!

 

That first line is exactly what I was thinking of saying..............lol. It's a steep and slick slope once you buy/trade/find your first coin. Have you seen Lord of the Rings? You will become Schmeigel and you will crave the precious!

[CinemaBoxers]

However, if you serve Kraft Dinner 4-6 nights per week, you can get away with spending a good portion of the monthly grocery bill.

 

 

You mean Im supposed to buy food first?

[thespongefactor]

Let's just say that coins ARE cool!!!

[+fairyhoney]

"Do they go from cache to cache, like travelbugs do? Or are they just out there for people to collect? "

Both!!!

[+007BigD]

Your very First coin is on its way soon! - Enjoy!

[+pocketpupsnet]

My very first cache I found myself I took an America Coin from Tomb Raided in NC and brought it to Michigan and turned it loose. It was a really good feeling to find coins and keep them for a short time before turning them loose again.

 

I started to collect but decided I would stop because I didn't know what I wanted to collect and what for.

 

I purchased about 10. Went to one coin swap and then Gave most of them away as gifts. I found that by the time christmas came around I was getting geocoins from family and friends. Those are the coins I like best.

 

Soon after I minted my first coin and I sell some and I am going to go to a swap event here soon to trade some I kept for that event.

 

Out of all the coins I see designed. My favorite are the ones that are very very personal. Cacher teams with their waypoint and geocaching start date are always cool and their clever cacher names. I also like memorial coins like bikedog's coin. Some generic coins are ok, but I like seeing other people's creativity.

[+archi77]

My very first cache I found myself I took an America Coin from Tomb Raided in NC and brought it to Michigan and turned it loose.

 

Where in Michigan are you from? Spent the first 26 years of my life in the Saginaw area. Went to college at Lawrence Tech, in Southfield (just north of Detroit).

 

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I get the feeling I should be buying a new pair of track shoes instead of coins, going by all the "run...run far far away" comments! Thanks...

[+packmaster4]

Well,,,, it's great to know we are not alone,,,, We are fairly new to caching and very new with coins, as with most things in my life I have "NO IDEA" what i want to do, so I just do it all, lucky for us we have lots of time to try it all out, we are working up a series design concept, going to some events to discover, and finding lots of great coins in caches, getting ready for a cachers group coin set with our PC on one side, well not quite at the morgage area yet, but someone warning us to run before we got to this spot. might have helped,,,,,,,,,,,,

Well maybe not, good luck.

[+nscaler]

I started out trying to get every coin that came out. It was easy at first. Then...

Now I purchase coins that I like the design of or if it has a special meaning to me.

And you can do trackable coins at other sites. These sites cost nothing, but your coin does not show up on the log page. - - - Which is GOOD.

Some unscrupulous people search the logs looking for a geocoin and then go out and take the coin.

Where as the non "trackable at Geocaching.com" coin will not show up on the log page and can only be found by actually reading the logs.

If the the cacher retrieves your coin and logs it, you still receive an email.

And as others have said, I have traded my personal coin for some very nice trackable geocoins.

The personal coin is great trade fodder. Especially for the trade only coins.

I have coins from Geocoinfest that I have not even logged yet.

GAA!

[+"fish"]

i wish i would have asked about coins before i became involved RUN AND DONT LOOKBACK ohh wait sombody is sending you a coin WELCOME to the asylum

[ElementalJay]

Just an alternate viewpoint here. I've been in the military for 20 years. I had personal coins from folks LONG before I ever heard of geocaching. Military commanders (and top NCOs) use them as immediate-recognition rewards. Of the 20-some-odd I have earned, I can tell you who gave each to me and for what.

 

Now that I have discovered geocaching, then geocoins, the geocoins I have in my collection are all from people who are special or important to me in one way or another.

 

I just received the die art for my first coin, and hope to have it in hand soon. In order to cover the costs of production, two finishes will be sold online. But I am keeping a third finish for myself that will not ever go on sale. I will ONLY give it to the folks who are important to me or who have done something I consider special. (What they do with it is up to them, so I guess one or two COULD end up on e-bay )

 

Anyway, whatever your motivation, as long as you remember why you like the coins you want and why you make the coins you decide to, you should enjoy them immensely.

[+archi77]

Your very First coin is on its way soon! - Enjoy!

 

Thanks! I'll keep my eye open for it in the mail, and let you know when it arrives.

[+archi77]

Your very First coin is on its way soon! - Enjoy!

 

Thanks! I'll keep my eye open for it in the mail, and let you know when it arrives.

 

Beautiful coin! Thanks so much. My collection has begun...first coin in the hands today, and an order placed online for a "bunch" more. Oh no, I've fallen to the other side... <sigh>

[+larry739]

Geocoins are so multifunctional and emotional. It is an amazing lesson in social interaction and psychology. I think it is one of the most interesting things I have witnessed in a long time. Here is something that every person seems to have an opinion on and yet the rules of the road are based in economics. About the only other thing I see happening right now that is similar to this is Second Life.

 

PS I say this as I sit here behind a pile of coins spilling out of my bookcase onto the desk and floor and in boxes over on top of the refrig. This is a refuge for the O/C.

Edited March 16, 2007 by larry739