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Signature Tokens/Coins left in Cache Etiquette?


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I am fairly new to geocaching so this question has probably been answered a hundred times. But when I visit a lot of the caches in my area, I see that some cachers get wooden/plastic nickels with their logo and name emblazoned on them. These are non-trackable items.

 

Is it okay to pick these up out of caches? Are you supposed leave something in exchange or are they not trade items like TBs and geocoins? Are they left for the cache owner to pickup?

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Generally I am leaving my sig item for the cache owner - but I will not get bent out of shape if someone else takes it either.

The trade question is a tough one because some folks traded to get it into the cache while others just drop them in. (most) - Me - I would leave something just in case.

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They are meant for whoever to take. I do not think they needed traded for.

I don't know that they are necessarily meant to be taken - they're really just calling cards of sorts, kinda like saying "I wuz here" - but most cachers don't mind if they are and collecting signature items is a widespread and acceptable practice. I don't consider them to be tradeable items myself but I do mention if I've taken one from the cache in my log (won't be accurate to log a TN in my opinion) - it's actually kinda flattering to know that somebody thought your signature item was cool enough to collect! :signalviolin:

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They are meant for whoever to take. I do not think they needed traded for.

I don't know that they are necessarily meant to be taken - they're really just calling cards of sorts, kinda like saying "I wuz here" -

I see what you are saying but i dont think they are left to stay in the caches forever. When we leave something like this is it more meant for a future cacher to take. As i doubt the owner cares to much.

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I sometimes leave a 1-inch Thrak button in caches. If you like it take it. If you don't like it leave it. It's not a trade item. I actually had someone send me email asking me to send them one of my buttons for his collection. I was happy to comply.

 

I don't view signature items as something to be traded for but more as something that folks leave in caches to be collected by anybody who wishes to do so.

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They are meant for whoever to take. I do not think they needed traded for.

I don't know that they are necessarily meant to be taken - they're really just calling cards of sorts, kinda like saying "I wuz here" -

I see what you are saying but i dont think they are left to stay in the caches forever. When we leave something like this is it more meant for a future cacher to take. As i doubt the owner cares to much.

I guess what I meant to say was that their original purpose was to serve as calling cards but they've since evolved into collectable items and now most people, including myself, leave them in caches with that intent in mind.

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I leave my pathtag signature item in caches I find and make a note in the cache page log that it is for the next person who wants to take it. Sometimes the cache owner will make a visit to take it; sometimes one of the next finders will take it and say that they did in their log, and in other cases I hear nothing. Which is just fine with me as I leave them without conditions attached.

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I add my sig nickel to caches for anyone to take, no need to trade, but it is nice to see on the log that someone thought it cool enough to collect.

 

Seems the general sense of signature items is:

 

1. Not Trade Items

2. Should be logged if picked up

3. Are somewhat collectable

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We're in the, "Gee, that's a cool sig item, let's add it to our collection" camp :laughing: We have 50 or 60 or the things, and they make a nice little pile on my desk. We've gotten a few of them from our own caches, but most of them are from caches which we've found. One of these days we'll organize them in some fashion; at the least, we'll put them in a binder much as we do our geocoins. As for trading, we usually add something to a cache if we take out a sig. We also usually log that we took the sig.

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I add my sig nickel to caches for anyone to take, no need to trade, but it is nice to see on the log that someone thought it cool enough to collect.

 

Seems the general sense of signature items is:

 

1. Not Trade Items

2. Should be logged if picked up

3. Are somewhat collectable

Yes, but bear in mind that some people's signature items could double as small trade items, e.g. key chains, carabiners, bottle openers, etc, in which case leaving something in exchange might be more appropriate. Just use your best judgment! :laughing:

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:rolleyes: I leave my sig. items for whomever wants it. I consider everything in the cache as trade items. You should always try to improve the cache to a better condition than what you found it in. Trade even or trade up. I actually prefer sig. items over just about any other swag. :ph34r: Now if I want to leave something specifically for the cache owner, I'll hide it near the cache area, and contact the owner and tell them to look in a specific place. That seems to work well. :laughing:
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I have read/heard somewhere that a good way to tell who is supposed to get a sig item is that if you are leaving it for the owner place it in the log bag, if it is left for anyone, leave it with the rest of the swag.

 

That's unique, I wonder if that practice is localized etiquette? makes sense but I have never seen it. Hmmm. Very interesting.

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I add my sig nickel to caches for anyone to take, no need to trade, but it is nice to see on the log that someone thought it cool enough to collect.

 

TWU Jr. (7 years old) loves to find signature poker chips(common) and wooden nickles(somewhat rare). I don't have a signature item myself though, so I always trade for them, as if they're worth fitty cent or a buck or so. I have to believe most sig item leavers share the opinion of Jeebra, whom I'm quoting above. I could be wrong though. :laughing:

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I have read/heard somewhere that a good way to tell who is supposed to get a sig item is that if you are leaving it for the owner place it in the log bag, if it is left for anyone, leave it with the rest of the swag.

Well, I've never heard that one before. I DO often leave my wooden nickel in the log bag but that's only to protect it from getting scratched or soiled, and from getting lost among the rest of the cache items.

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They are meant for whoever to take. I do not think they needed traded for.

 

 

I guess it's different for each person, so unless there's a note from the person leaving the item normal trading practice should be followed.

 

 

I would hope folks would want to trade for my sig items:

 

 

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We definately think that sig items are the Best swag ever...

 

we have poker chips, business cards, coins, buttons, wooden nickles, Personal GeoCoins and even a small smooth pet rock with GeoCacher names on them... we intend to catalogue them eventually and display them, with what we know of them and where we found them... mostly tracked who and what and where.

 

we do this sport almost exclusively to take personal sig items... the odd time we'll take something else but generally we try to get a new sig item we don't already have.

 

 

BTW... just for anyone who wants a nice cheap and easy personal coin.... here's what we did and it ended up being a very nice presentation.

 

we went to our local trophy shop... asked them for 100 1" metal blanks (these are usually about a millimetre or so in thickness and made of tin or some other metal used for sublimation...) we then went and bought see through(or clear) labels... printed our full colour logo's(sized to fit on the coin) on the labels and then put the labels on the coins and trimmed the edges... they look as if they were professionally done and cost 1 to 2 dollars a piece... only cost us about 10 cents a piece... mind you... it took about an hour on the puter getting our logo's to the right size and in the right spots on the sheet and then another 3 hours of sticking and trimming... but it was beautiful... and they're small enough to easilly fit inside of a film canister.

 

I'll make them for you for 3 bucks a piece... gotta love commercializm LOL!!!

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I think it depends on the sig item. When I placed handmade wooden nickels in caches, I didn't care if they were collected and not traded for. When I upgraded to my petroglyph series (larger than geocoins) handmade tokens, I would expect people to trade up or trade even. When in doubt, trade up or trade even.

 

tsun ;)

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I don't normally take anything from a cache. I'm just not into collecting much (except wine - and that not for long!). I put in my geo-nickel when a. the cache is big enough, and b. the cache is "deserving" of it. What happens to it after I leave it is out of my control, and therefore something with which I don't concern myself. If someone wants it, I'm honored, if not, no big deal.

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I sometimes leave a 1-inch Thrak button in caches. If you like it take it. If you don't like it leave it. It's not a trade item. I actually had someone send me email asking me to send them one of my buttons for his collection. I was happy to comply.

 

I don't view signature items as something to be traded for but more as something that folks leave in caches to be collected by anybody who wishes to do so.

 

I was the one that contected Thrak about their Button. I collect Sig items and i always trade one of mine or an extra one for any sig item i take. i have 450+ Sig items and growing, I have made a website that displays them still in work My Sig Item Webpage

 

Im always looking to add more to my site so if you want to trade or donate send me an email.

Thanks

TheCollector :laughing:

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I do recognize that some people are into collecting signature items. I'll admit that I'm not one of them, but I do respect them - especially when they are as cool as Snoogans.

 

I do have a couple of peeves.

 

1. Stuffing sig items into a container that really isn't big enough for them. Hide-a-keys, AOL tins, 35mm cans. It is often challenging enough to get a log/ziploc into the container, much less a couple of sig items that were crammed in there. I'll admit to removing them if it risks damaging the log/container or doesn't allow the container to close properly.

 

2. Sig items that have fallen into the "trash category". I understand this is subjective assessment, but many caches just aren't watertight and stickers and other paper items (laminated or not) turn to trash very quickly under those circumstances. I don't typically trade, but do bring toys to "refill" caches that are in need of a refill. I'll also clean out any "cache trash" including waterlogged paper items, candy, loose fishing lures (another peeve - especially love it when they are loose in the cache and rusty!) or other inappropriate item (that could be a whole other thread!).

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I think the bottom line is that Signature Items MUST be considered trade or take items just from the standpoint of space, or the lack thereof. I have taken / traded some sig items just because the cache just did not have enough room to support the collection additional stuff.

 

Some of the sig items are cool and I enjoy finding new creative things. Having said that, hoever, it is difficult to leave a sig item retrieved from one cache that says "(whoever) was here" in a new cache because you really don't know if that geocacher (not person because I am, in fact a dog) had ever been to that cache. Therefore, I treat "(whoever) was here" items as pick up and keep items. [:D]

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I think the bottom line is that Signature Items MUST be considered trade or take items just from the standpoint of space, or the lack thereof. I have taken / traded some sig items just because the cache just did not have enough room to support the collection additional stuff.

 

Some of the sig items are cool and I enjoy finding new creative things. Having said that, hoever, it is difficult to leave a sig item retrieved from one cache that says "(whoever) was here" in a new cache because you really don't know if that geocacher (not person because I am, in fact a dog) had ever been to that cache. Therefore, I treat "(whoever) was here" items as pick up and keep items. [:D]

Do you leave your mark on the cache, and how do you open them ammo cans? :D

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I think the bottom line is that Signature Items MUST be considered trade or take items just from the standpoint of space, or the lack thereof. I have taken / traded some sig items just because the cache just did not have enough room to support the collection additional stuff.

 

Some of the sig items are cool and I enjoy finding new creative things. Having said that, hoever, it is difficult to leave a sig item retrieved from one cache that says "(whoever) was here" in a new cache because you really don't know if that geocacher (not person because I am, in fact a dog) had ever been to that cache. Therefore, I treat "(whoever) was here" items as pick up and keep items. [:D]

Do you leave your mark on the cache, and how do you open them ammo cans? :D

 

I am alway cautious when leaving my mark unlike some cats I know! My best friend operates all motor vehicles, GPSrs, and keyboards. I've been looking but have not found a paw-friendly data entry device yet! I am, however, "Looking for a Ride" (the name of one of my travel bugs). [:D]

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I always leave something when I take a sig item - and in addition leave my own sig magnet - I figure anything removed from a cache should be traded for

 

I agree with this. I believe that any item you take from a cache with the intention of keeping should be considered a trade item. I like to collect signature items, and have always traded for them. In the past I have traded other items for them, but with my own signature tokens on the way I will trade one for another.

 

The exceptions are travel bugs or other travelers (which are moved and not kept) and trash. For example, recently I removed from a cache a broken piece of tile, some rusty paper clips, and a chipped and dirty wooden golf tee.

 

By the way, who did your magnets?

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