Jump to content

Severn Valley Railway Flood Damage Appeal Geocoin (UK)

StuartP

By StuartP
in Trackables

Followers 4

Recommended Posts

StuartP

StuartP

Posted
Posted

Following the recent bad weather in the UK, extensive damage was caused to the track of the Severn Valley Steam Railway, including many areas where the embankment has simply been washed away.

 

As a result of the damage, it is estimated that some 49 areas need attention, SVR can only run between Kidderminster and Bewdley, the estimated cost of repairs is currently £500,000.

 

On Monday the SVR launched an appeal to raise money for the repairs, having traveled on, and cached close the the railway on many occasions it seems appropriate to produce a geocoin to help raise funds to re-instate the line to it's former glory.

 

Further details can be found in the following thread

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=166911

Link to comment
YemonYime

YemonYime

Posted
Posted

Overall, it's been a good thing to see people raise money and awareness for various causes through the sale of geocoins. But therein lies your competition. There are as many opinions and beliefs as there are geocachers, so your coin needs to stand out. If you've done any collecting of geocoins, you've seen the market absolutely flooded with product...some good, some really not good. Some coins are boring and repetetive, or made just for profit. Don't go that route. Offer something special to the geocoin community, and everyone wins. You'll help to keep this hobby interesting, and you'll stand a better chance to raise funds for your cause.

 

Yime

Link to comment
Landsharkz

+Landsharkz

Posted
Posted

The creation of a geocoin can help raise a small amount of money but IMHO, I believe the most precious thing that can be raised with a geocoin is not money, but awareness.

 

What you can do is hold a coin release event, at a convenient location of significance for the railway. Invite the local media, invite dignitaries and people that can make a difference to your cause (and of course, invite local geocachers). Here is a citizen doing something slightly out of the ordinary to raise awareness for something close to the hearts of the local population. This is great "good news" stuff and if you have a big name there to help you unveil the coin, you'll make a bigger difference to the cause that you may think possible. People of influence and people capable of donating funds will see/hear of the cause, and that is what you really need. Make sure you let the people there know what they can do to help and how they can contribute.

 

The coins do make a difference too... because the plight of the Severn Railway will be made visible to people the world over as they hold/admire/and examine the geocoin. As YemonYime says, "offer something special to the geocoin community"... a beautiful coin that clearly portrays your message and captures the hearts of people everywhere.

 

Your geocoin is a great idea... A spectacular coin can help you raise a bit of money, however I believe your real impact can be through awareness (which, by the way, you've already started to create here).

 

Chris

Link to comment
StuartP

StuartP

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Nice to see this getting into the design stage and the UK orders coming in.

 

Our avatar was from this railway at one point.

 

I've now had the final artwork back from Landsharkz.ca, thanks to Chris, and Helen for all their hard work on this.

 

Picture's can be seen here

 

http://www.geocache.org.uk/svr-geocoin/index.php?id=artwork

 

Along with some info on th Severn Valley Railway itself, and the damage caused by the flooding.

 

Ordering info to follow in a few days.

 

Cheers

 

Stuart

Link to comment
Landsharkz

+Landsharkz

Posted
Posted

Only 500 coins are being produced, including a 165 in antique gold.

"only 500 "? :laughing:

Trains are special I think as a historical means of transportation that's continued through the ages. The coins sell well on EBay with the train buffs and model railway enthusiasts. I remember when I was a wee lass in Scotland my male cousins in England had notebooks where they kept track of the unique number of every train engine they saw - like a life list for bird watchers. They'd go to the station in York on Saturday mornings and watch trains hoping to see a new one for their list. When they came to visit us in Scotland (by train) they sat at the station excited to be in new train territory! In addition to geocachers, those train buffs are the types of people who will be supporting the SVR Flood Relief :yikes:

 

I believe that this signal box and the semaphore signal on this coin are unique and specific to the Severn Valley Railway which is something that collectors watch out for.

 

:yikes: We've sold well over 900 of the Kinsol Trestle coins which also feature a 3D historic train and trestle. We ran out for about 2 days and our e-mail was full of people asking if we were going to make more. We were quite surprised when one elderly train buff phoned us out of the blue and bought 20 of the Kinsol Trestle 2007 and didn't even know what geocaching was!

Link to comment
Landsharkz

+Landsharkz

Posted
Posted

The Severn Valley Railway Trackable Geocoin is finally here!

SVR in antique silver

SVR in antique gold

 

This coin features the Union of South Africa (Engine #60009) crossing the Victoria Bridge on the Severn Valley Railway Line in beautiful 3D relief. The obverse of the coin features the Bewley signalbox, station platform and a semaphore signal that is specific to this line. The coin is available in two antique finishes for $9.25 each.

 

At 45mm diameter and 3.5mm thick this is a hefty coin. It is painted with a combination of translucent paint, imitation hard enamel and also soft enamel to enhance the art. There is recessed train related art under the translucent paint around the perimeter of the coin. The trackable wording is stamped on the edge of the coin to preserve the artboard on the front and back for 'art' B)

 

It is truly stunning and we are 'fair chuffed' that we were asked to produced this coin to support the SVR line :laughing: .

 

de49c471-78c8-4d37-8e25-b5f33979c04d.jpg

 

This coin is also available in the UK from StuartP. Please use the links in his previous post to purchase directly/locally from him.

Link to comment
StuartP

StuartP

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I've just been to the post office to dispatch another 10 coins.

 

The money raised from these coins for the SVR currently stands at £780.

 

With <30 Gold coins remaining, many more silver, it would be really great if we could break the £1000 mark by the end of the month.

 

Cheers

 

Stuart

Link to comment
Rockin Roddy

+Rockin Roddy

Posted
Posted

I've just been to the post office to dispatch another 10 coins.

 

The money raised from these coins for the SVR currently stands at £780.

 

With <30 Gold coins remaining, many more silver, it would be really great if we could break the £1000 mark by the end of the month.

 

Cheers

 

Stuart

 

Could you put that in $$$ for us who aren't up on these things?? Not that it matters, just wondering. Congrats on the sales and the great coin.

Link to comment
Marpomem

+Marpomem

Posted
Posted

Thank you Landsharkz for the description and explanation. I don't know what a semaphore a warning light of some sort?) is, but I see it on the coin and am going to the dictionary for exactness on that. Also, thank you Rockin Roddy because I, too, cannot convert money! Thaniks you StuartP for a great coin!

 

Absolutely love the front of the coin best because I like trains and I like bridges! Cool combination, and the picture is great. Also, I am looking up more on the Severn Railway plight. These forums are more educational than people can imagine. I was afraid to get on at first because some of the comments can be rough, but overall the forum info and comments are wonderful. The occasional harsh words may just seem that way because no way to see the face of the person, so you interpret the words differently from what the writer might mean sometimes. Plus, several of you guys are on here a lot and seem to know each other really well. Family members get rougher with one another because they care and know they are all still loved no matter what!! Now I have two addictions - the geocoins and the forums!

Link to comment
StuartP

StuartP

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I've just been to the post office to dispatch another 10 coins.

 

The money raised from these coins for the SVR currently stands at £780.

 

With <30 Gold coins remaining, many more silver, it would be really great if we could break the £1000 mark by the end of the month.

 

Cheers

 

Stuart

 

Could you put that in $$$ for us who aren't up on these things?? Not that it matters, just wondering. Congrats on the sales and the great coin.

 

It's around the $1700 mark.

 

Cheers

 

Stuart

Link to comment
StuartP

StuartP

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We recently initiated a "train enthusiast" into geocaching and as they have a birthday coming up in a couple of months I was thinking of getting them one of these coins. How is the Appeal going and are there any of these coins still available, please?

 

Stilll coins available, although gold ones are now down to single figures.

 

http://www.geocache.org.uk/svr-geocoin/ind...p?id=coin-price

 

We broke the £1000 mark early in May.

 

Cheers

 

Stuart

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
Followers 4
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...