Signature Cards

[+Fuchsiamagic]

I have come across quite a few personal signature cards in caches lately and I am seriously questioning the point of them. Instead of promoting their ego, why can't the owners of these items simply just sign the logbook like everybody else? That's what it's there for! If everybody left their cards there would soon be no room in the cache for anything else. Comments please.

[+briansnat]

People have been leaving personalized signature items in caches since nearly the beginning of this sport. The cards are just one example of them. Many people like them and actually collect them.

[+angevine]

Well, just to play devil's advocate for a moment, you're making an assumption –– that it's being done to promote people's egos -- and I'm not sure that that's necessarily true. Many people feel that they want to leave something of themselves behind. I'm one of them: I'm still trying to locate a source that I can afford of the signature items I'd like to leave in caches. Cards can serve the same end: to leave something personal of/about yourself behind.

 

I don't think that the cards will ever be as overwhelming a presence as you seem to fear, and as I say nearly every day, everyone plays the geocaching game a little differently. A lot of people play it in ways I find appalling. Does it make sense to try and change them? Might as well tilt at windmills.

 

Enjoy geocaching the way that you like to do it, and if you don't like signature cards, don't read them; do what you like to do, and move on.

 

-- Jeannette

[+flask]

i don't happen to like cards; they are in my opinion the bottom rung on the ladder of signature items.

 

...but they are signatures. they don't so much represent the cacher's huge ego, but an opportunity for someone like me to have one of their signatures in my collection.

 

my preferred signature (to leave) is either a cd of my work (autographed) or a photo dvd i made of a geocaching slideshow. they do take up room in caches, but people seem to like them.

[top con]

i am not a huge fan of the cards, either, but every now and then i see a name that is cool. maybe it's just a cool name, or maybe i've seen them online here, or something. i dunno, i guess they're alright. i will, however, remove old-nasty-water-looged cards from caches. that is one way to keep the amount of geo-trash down. i don't remove it unless you absolutely can't read it, though. just my opinion

[+gravechaser]

It's not an ego thing at all for us. We know very few cachers and used our homeprinted cards as a way to introduce ourselves and what we do in our non-caching life. I've since run out of cards but had Sculpey on hand (kids!) so I now am making small tombstones with our "name" and the year on it instead. So far those are a big hit with the local cachers and those tombstones are taking up way more space than our cool little cards. I WILL be buying more card sheets soon though to have some on hand.

 

If you don't like the sig cards then don't look at them. Besides- how are the cards really any different than any other signature item? By your definition would any signature item left behind would be due to egos?

 

For the record, we trade in items of equal or better value plus leave our signature card/tombstone if there is room. If not we just trade.

[+Night Stalker]

I collect signature cards of fellow cachers. I also leave my signature card in caches that I find. They are laminated so they won't become a glop in a wet cache. I'm sorry some cachers don't like them, but as far as I can see they only need to ignore them and keep on caching. Everyone is happy.

 

[+StarBrand]

I don't much care for them and will remove them from my caches during maintenance visits because they do tend to start eating up space. However, I have started my own personal collection and I keep 1 of each new one I find.

[+TheCollector]

well I actually collect the card and other items i have a list with pictures located here

My Signature Item Webpage

 

I leave them in caches its just another way to show that someone has been there its also useful when the log is damaged or full to prove you were there. Dont hate how others play the sport enjoy it and dont worry what others do its so much easier that way

[+Ambrosia]

Well, the ultimate signature item is a coin trackable by gc.com, in my opinion. I would love to have one to leave in a cache, and I'm sure that no one would complain that I was promoting my ego by leaving one in a cache.

 

But I do not have the extra money sitting around to justify making my own personal coin. And I'm not a creative person, so at this point I'm still working on making cards and laminating them as a sig item. Of course, that lack of creativity has kept me from finishing my cards, since I can't figure out the best way to design them.

 

I collect all sorts of sig items. I have a lot of cards, and I enjoy them. It's a part of a cacher, and I enjoy that aspect of the sport. They have something of the cacher on them, of course their name, but usually a design or an avatar or even a picture of the caching family.

[+michigansnorkelers]

Maybe some day I'll make a card or sig item. I don't have one yet. Although I have a sticker that I like to put in logs.

 

However, I enjoy seeing these sig cards and have a small collection of the most interesting ones. Some are quite creative and humorous.

 

To each his own. There are SOOOOOO many ways to enjoy geocaching, and that's why the obsession appeals to such a diversity of people.

[+BRoKeN W]

We leave laminated signature trading cards, but then again we also sign the logbook. We don't see anything wrong with them. Our next step is to make a signature wooden nickel and after that we have something in mind that will probably appeal to more sig item collectors.

[+rdaines]

I leave sig cards for a variety of reasons, sometimes because of full or wet log books and sometimes because I really like the cache and want to leave something behind. Cards take up less room than anything else. While cheaper than wooded nickels, coins or pathtags, what's wrong with trying to save some money, gas ain't cheap.

[top con]

Ya, know, this topic does make me think. i personally don't care whether people trade sig cards. but it makes me wonder how that trend even started. the log is there to sign after all, right? so how did the sig thing get started? i know this is prolly a separate post, and has been discussed ad nauseum, but the point was raised earlier in this topic, why leave sig cards if you sign the log?

 

again, i don't want to start any virtual battles over that point, but it's a thinker. thats all,

 

t.c.

[+Ambrosia]

Ya, know, this topic does make me think. i personally don't care whether people trade sig cards. but it makes me wonder how that trend even started. the log is there to sign after all, right? so how did the sig thing get started? i know this is prolly a separate post, and has been discussed ad nauseum, but the point was raised earlier in this topic, why leave sig cards if you sign the log?

 

again, i don't want to start any virtual battles over that point, but it's a thinker. thats all,

 

t.c.

Well, I started in April 2002. I know at that time, Moun10Bike had his signature geocoins, and another local called Geospider had their own signature handmade spiders that they left in each cache. Both Moun10Bike and Geospider intended the items to either be moved from cache to cache, or kept for the cacher's personal collection. I think that's all I knew of. Of course, that made them something to be treasured. I found two Geospiders in one cache, I think, so I kept one and put the other one in another cache. Unfortanately, I took Moun10Bike coins for granted and never kept one, thinking I would just keep one later. I had no idea how the coin craze would morph very quickly, so I never got one of those early editions.

 

My Geospider, one of the most prized sig items in my collection:

 

[+Jedi Cacher]

I am still new to the world of geocaching but from what I have seen of the cards I rather enjoy them. It is cool to see how creative people can be. I do think that leaving a signature item like a card is not egotistical, but just an expression of the person for other people to enjoy. I do have a few laminated cards in my collection so far since most of the paper cards I have run across have not been in that good of shape. Probably from sitting over the winter. I do not have a card but I do have a signature stamp for the logbook and sometimes stamp it on a small card and place it in a small bag with one of my polished mineral samples.