COINTEST: The Stop Lurking and come Introduce Yourself

[+keewee]

Hi all I am new to caching and coins my 12 yearold son(Mickey) is into the coins more than I, we both enjoy caching I am planning on buying a couple of coins for my soon inthe near future. My family and I are looking forward to a long stay here on the forum

 

Hi and welcome to Geocaching and geocoins... Run away now while you still have a chance!! As soon as you buy your first coin then it is all over!!

[+fairyhoney]

Hi all I am new to caching and coins my 12 yearold son(Mickey) is into the coins more than I, we both enjoy caching I am planning on buying a couple of coins for my soon inthe near future. My family and I are looking forward to a long stay here on the forum

 

Hi and welcome to Geocaching and geocoins... Run away now while you still have a chance!! As soon as you buy your first coin then it is all over!!

 

Take heed from this wise one from far away He is SO right. Geocoins Can get Very addictive . Now, we got to get you to get an avatar ! Anyways,

 

- - - - -- - WELCOME ! ! !

Edited May 16, 2008 by fairyhoney

[+North Fork Seeker]

Hi all I am new to caching and coins my 12 yearold son(Mickey) is into the coins more than I, we both enjoy caching I am planning on buying a couple of coins for my soon inthe near future. My family and I are looking forward to a long stay here on the forum

 

Welcome to our crazy world Email sent would love to send your son a geocoin to get him started

Email sent............Thank you very much.

[paganfrog]

Hi Heather and welcome to Geocaching and geocoins

 

today i have finally got my gps delivered to me for my birthday. i am currently learning how to use it and am inputting local caches to go and find.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY and congratulations on getting a GPS

 

thankyou

 

i am an arty crafter and like to create handmade books and other unique creations. i love to read and am a bookcrosser, so i am planning to hide a new bookcrossing related cache sometime once i am established.

And with those skills I bet you could come up with an awesome 'Signature Item' too!

 

[A signature item is an item usually made by the cacher to drop into caches and to give to others as a personal calling card - see Signature Item Tracking Site for example of what I am talking about]

 

im not sure what to make as my sig item, i wanted to make it small toy frogs or something like that but i read that someone here already does that.

im trying to think of what to make instead. not sure yet though.

[+North Fork Seeker]

Hi all I am new to caching and coins my 12 yearold son(Mickey) is into the coins more than I, we both enjoy caching I am planning on buying a couple of coins for my soon inthe near future. My family and I are looking forward to a long stay here on the forum

 

Hi and welcome to Geocaching and geocoins... Run away now while you still have a chance!! As soon as you buy your first coin then it is all over!!

 

Take heed from this wise one from far away He is SO right. Geocoins Can get Very addictive . Now, we got to get you to get an avatar ! Anyways,

 

- - - - -- - WELCOME ! ! !

Fairyhoney ...........I now have my avatar, will look for something else later but this is my favorite cartoon dude,from when I was a kid.

Edited May 21, 2008 by North Fork Seekers

[+keewee]

Hi Heather and welcome to Geocaching and geocoins

 

today i have finally got my gps delivered to me for my birthday. i am currently learning how to use it and am inputting local caches to go and find.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY and congratulations on getting a GPS

 

thankyou

 

i am an arty crafter and like to create handmade books and other unique creations. i love to read and am a bookcrosser, so i am planning to hide a new bookcrossing related cache sometime once i am established.

And with those skills I bet you could come up with an awesome 'Signature Item' too!

 

[A signature item is an item usually made by the cacher to drop into caches and to give to others as a personal calling card - see Signature Item Tracking Site for example of what I am talking about]

 

im not sure what to make as my sig item, i wanted to make it small toy frogs or something like that but i read that someone here already does that.

im trying to think of what to make instead. not sure yet though.

 

Don't let that stop you. Yours are unique to you, and as long as they different in someway to the others, then thats what matters. It's purely up to you - just make sure you send me one

[ELTADA]

Hello Everyone!

I am new to these forums (though I started geocaching in August 2007). Our caching name is ELTADA (first two letters of each person in my family -- including my husband, young son and myself). I have been lurking for a few weeks now, mostly on the geocoin forum - reading as much as I can. I can say that I am definitely getting hooked on these coins. My husband bought me three coins for Christmas, and I am (im)patiently waiting for three more that I ordered last week.

 

We live in Ontario, Canada and have found 41 caches and placed one. I have tons of interests that are not limited to: scrapbooking (paper and digital), machine quilting, boating & fishing at our cottage, recreational agility with my english springer spaniel...I'm kinda all over the map!

 

I actually have a couple of questions:

 

1. How do you as a collector decide what you are going to trade? I have seen many posts from people who have a personal coin (or other signature item) made and offer it up to trade. Then they presumably receive a bunch of pm's from people who want to trade with them. As the person who originally posted wanting to trade, do they then choose who they want to trade with? I am thinking of I want to limit my trades to a specific type (or types) of coins and would not like to hurt anyone's feelings if they want to trade and it doesn't fit my current collection habits. I want to start a small, somewhat focused collection and branch out when I have the financial resources. I have not had anything created yet but I am currently researching my options. Whew! Sorry that was so long!

 

2. Is it common to keep trading among similar items? Ie: trackable coins for trackable coins, or wooden nickels for wooden nickels. Or are there situations where untrackable coins are traded for trackable ones etc. Is there any guideline for determining value? I got the impression that there highly sought after untrackable items that would trade equal (or even more) to a trackable minted coin. Or do you try to look at the cost to produce an item as the main part of it's value for trading?

 

Well, even though I numbered them "1" and "2", I think I asked a lot more questions than "a couple"!

 

To think my husband is blissfully unaware of my impending addiction as he sits watching the hockey game...

 

Nice to meet you all!

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

I'm not new here, but I will start so that other know what is expected

 

Hi, I'm Craig. My caching name is keewee which is a nom de plume I have used for many, many years - since the internet was an infant. Kiwi was already taken where I was trying to signup, so I opted for keewee instead. (The kiwi is flightless bird native to New Zealand)

 

I'm 38 and from New Zealand. I work in IT, and am a geocoin addict - they number in the hundreds!

Hi, I'm WRITE SHOP ROBERT which is also my name in one form or another almost everywhere I go online. if you Google "writeshoprobert" or "write shop robert" there's a 99% chance that the result will pertain to me. My real name is...Umm...Robert. I don't qualify for this cointest, since I already have a KeeWee Big Bean!!(and several other coins)

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

 

 

1. ... As the person who originally posted wanting to trade, do they then choose who they want to trade with? I am thinking of I want to limit my trades to a specific type (or types) of coins and would not like to hurt anyone's feelings if they want to trade and it doesn't fit my current collection habits...

 

Nice to meet you all!

I'd think you could avoid many "Hurt Feelings" by specifying things you are interested in beforehand. Right now I am mainly interested in Trackable, Personal or Group coins. With your desires stated upfront, there will likely be fewer offers of what you don't want right then.

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

 

im not sure what to make as my sig item, i wanted to make it small toy frogs or something like that but i read that someone here already does that.

im trying to think of what to make instead. not sure yet though.

When creating a sigitem, it is helpful to have some identifying feature to them. So instead of someone just dropping plastic turtles in Caches, if it had a tag or something with it to identify it as a sigitem, it may work better. One main purpose of sigitems is to make it easily recognizable that you have been there. When someone looks into the cache and sees it, they will know right away that you have been there.

 

I've had several different ones over the years, and what I like to do with mine is to have them be part of some larger function (like my games) or have them all the same but each different...Say WHAT??

 

as an example...My Raffle Tickets are all raffle Tickets, but there are several different colors, each has it's own number, and there are many different Bonus Stickers.

 

Anyway, I'm veering way off the GeoCoin topic, so maybe this part can be discussed in the threads on sigitems in the general section. Welcome!!

Edited June 3, 2008 by WRITE SHOP ROBERT

[+keewee]

I'm not new here, but I will start so that other know what is expected

 

Hi, I'm Craig. My caching name is keewee which is a nom de plume I have used for many, many years - since the internet was an infant. Kiwi was already taken where I was trying to signup, so I opted for keewee instead. (The kiwi is flightless bird native to New Zealand)

 

I'm 38 and from New Zealand. I work in IT, and am a geocoin addict - they number in the hundreds!

Hi, I'm WRITE SHOP ROBERT which is also my name in one form or another almost everywhere I go online. if you Google "writeshoprobert" or "write shop robert" there's a 99% chance that the result will pertain to me. My real name is...Umm...Robert. I don't qualify for this cointest, since I already have a KeeWee Big Bean!!(and several other coins)

 

Awesome - I have absolutely no idea with whom my virtual self and Dave (007BigD) traded with so it is really great to hear where my Big Beans went!!

[+keewee]

Hello Everyone!

I am new to these forums (though I started geocaching in August 2007). Our caching name is ELTADA (first two letters of each person in my family -- including my husband, young son and myself). I have been lurking for a few weeks now, mostly on the geocoin forum - reading as much as I can. I can say that I am definitely getting hooked on these coins. My husband bought me three coins for Christmas, and I am (im)patiently waiting for three more that I ordered last week.

 

 

Just a quick reply to say Hi and Welcome (I'm on my lunch break)

 

Will look in later for a more full reply.

[+keewee]

BUMP!

 

Right - time this was rekindled!!

 

So a couple of changes to the original cointest, see the rules below. But basically I'll give away an unactivated trackable geocoin every couple of weeks!! It might be one of mine (a Geotag geocoin or GeoJellies geocoin), some other random geocoin or something a little more special!

 

Again, see below for the rules. Anyone can jump in and say Hi! but we especially want to hear from all you lurkers and newer folks - so come one, come all and post away.

 

After making a comment in another thread recently and luring some lurkers out of the woodwork to say Hi I decided to run this cointest.

 

This competition is only for those of you who are new to the forums, and this crazy geocoin collecting!!

 

I am using the lure of shiney geocoins and other goodies to lure you out of the shadows to join us all.

 

Rules:*UPDATED*

 

Firstly - please play fair - if you have heaps of geocoins already, please tell us such. You can still introduce yourselves and ask questions, but please tell us you have 20 coins already and let some other who have few or none have a chance to win these. Thanks.

 

NOTE - I've decided to be *very* relaxed about the rules Consider then guidelines only - except Rule #5

 

1). To be eligible for a prize you must be relatively new to the forums, so your signup date probably needs to be no more than about 6 months old (discretion exercised);

 

2). To be eligible for a prize you must have less than about 30 posts here in the forums; No posting limit

 

3). To be eligible for a prize you must currently own (and that includes ones in transit) 5 or less geocoins;

 

4). To be eligible for a prize you need to post in this thread with at least a. and b. of the following:

a. introduce yourself - first name if you like, your caching name, and maybe how you came about your caching name

b. tell us something about yourself, where you are from, what you do, what interests you

c. [optional] ask a question - preferably about geocoins - use this as a learning ground to find out something you want to know. Remember - no question is too dumb!

 

5). I am right - always! Without question. (Unless my wife says otherwise)

 

6). One entry per cacher - you can post more than once, ask more questions, etc but you still only get 1 entry total.

 

7). Entries close on Sunday March 30th (everywhere). I'll draw the 3 winning names out of a hat late on April 1st (NZDST).

7). First (2011) round of entries close Thursday Feb 24th (everywhere), and the first winner will be drawn by Feb 26th. Once first (2011) round closes, the next round starts.

 

Anyone can jump in and answer any questions posted in here - in fact please do!!

 

Prizes

I will put up for grabs 3 trackable geocoins (will post later which ones) and a few other items and will draw the names of the 3 lucky winners on the date above.

Each fortnight I will put up for grabs ONE unactivated trackable geocoin. I'm not going to tell you what it will be - that way it will be a surprise as to what will arrive in the winners mailbox. It might be one of mine own geocoins (a keewee 2007 Geotag geocoin or GeoJellies geocoin); some other random geocoin; or something a little more special!

 

If other people would also like to throw geocoins into the pot for more winners, then please contact me via my profile and let me know.

 

So... Welcome to the Forums - stop lurking and come introduce yourself to us today!

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Title updated for the OP.

[+jmw61]

While I'm sure I don't qualify, I'll do the into anyway. Name is Mike and I'm in North Alabama. Had the good fortune to be able to travel for a year in the US so managed a few caches out west. Back home now and enjoy hunting some on the weekends. Get to go some with my Dad, but I mostly cache alone. I enjoy the solitude. I have two coins currently. A kind soul sent me an Alabama Geocaching Association coin a month or so ago. I found a Texas coin on the road in '08. I have moved a few travellers on their way though.

[+keewee]

While I'm sure I don't qualify, I'll do the into anyway. Name is Mike and I'm in North Alabama. Had the good fortune to be able to travel for a year in the US so managed a few caches out west. Back home now and enjoy hunting some on the weekends. Get to go some with my Dad, but I mostly cache alone. I enjoy the solitude. I have two coins currently. A kind soul sent me an Alabama Geocaching Association coin a month or so ago. I found a Texas coin on the road in '08. I have moved a few travellers on their way though.

 

Hi Mike, Yeah - you qualify (good old rule #5!).

[TheCacheSeeker]

I like geocoins and I only have one geocoin, the 2010 Lackeys Geocoin. I started posting in the forums in October under an team account I used to be a part of.

 

oops, made a mistake in when I started posting

Edited February 11, 2011 by TheCacheSeeker

[+keewee]

Actually, I should post too, as a few longer term people around here would have noticed, cos' I disappeared from the forums for 18 months or so... (Probably closer to 2 years)... There were big changes in our household, the biggest was with my wife being asked to join a project team at the other end of the country. Hence I was solo parenting most of the week. With that, the sky rocketing cost of living, and other thing happening in our lives geocaching and geocoin collecting very, very much took a back seat. Finally into it now again and finding I've missed so many great coins in the interim - OUCH!! I'll have to work at slowly getting the ones I really badly want.

 

I'm no longer 38.... add 3 to that. I'm still working in IT for the same company, but with different owners, so it has been extremely stressful at times. We survived the big quake OK down here. Got a lot of minor cracking in the walls and brick work and still waiting for the insurance assessors to show up and look at it. Michael (rattusbaggus) is growing fast - he's now 9 but were 12 to 14 year old clothing! I'm scared he is going to be taller than me in only a year or two as he is almost up to my chin now!

 

And finally, I broke my geocoin addiction! YAY!!! There was just far, far too many coins coming out to try and get them all so I ended up essentially going "cold turkey" - it is possible!

 

I'm not new here, but I will start so that other know what is expected

 

Hi, I'm Craig. My caching name is keewee which is a nom de plume I have used for many, many years - since the internet was an infant. Kiwi was already taken where I was trying to signup, so I opted for keewee instead. (The kiwi is flightless bird native to New Zealand)

 

I'm 38 and from New Zealand. I work in IT, and am a geocoin addict - they number in the hundreds!

[+the4dirtydogs]

We have never formally introduced ourselves in this forum so here it goes! the4dirtydogs consists of 2 adults and 2 kids age 7 and 14. There are also two additional members of our family.........the actual dogs!! A chocolate lab who is almost 4, Hazel and our almost two year old yellow lab, Charlie. We signed up for geocaching back in 2007 but didn't really cache hot & heavy until 2008 and it's been virtually non-stop ever since! We discovered geocaching while out camping & 4 wheeling which is a huge passion of ours. We also have a great group of local cachers that make this adventure fun and the friendships we've made are priceless.

 

I (the female better half!) am the one who is most interested in the geocoin aspect of geocaching. My husband is there just to make sure I don't go too crazy and every once in a while he encourages me to purchase certain coins! (Love it when that happens!)

 

We discovered and moved our first coin (Ellis Island) in Jan. of 2008 and shortly after that I purchased our first (2) coins....Tsun's 2007 Earth Turtles in Gold & Silver and have been in love ever since. We do have a "few" coins and have purchased even more recently that we look foward to receiving so that probably disqualifies us for the contest! But at least now we're not strangers!

 

We enjoy seeing everyone's creations on this forum so keep em' coming so we can tame the addiction!!!

 

Thanks for the cointest!

Edited February 11, 2011 by the4dirtydogs

[+GATOULIS]

WOW!!! I just saw my post here.... it was way back when I only had 7 coins, I was new, and... I didn't have a lot of posts in the forum!!!

 

How things have changed.....

[FunkMaster-T]

While I am not completely 'New', I thought I would formally introduce myself because I fit most of the other criteria.

 

My name is Trevor and I live in Kimberley BC, Canada. Not doing alot of Geocaching at this time of the year as we have about 4 or 5 feet of snow and I am not that big of a fan of the white stuff...don't know why I live on the side of a ski mountain...but thats the way it is.

 

I discovered Geocaching a number of years ago when I was living in Jasper National Park but that was before the Parks had set some rules down so they weren't technicly "allowed" so it was pretty hit or miss on whether you found the cache or not...I admittedly lost intrest and then my life started to change...

 

Suddenly I was a father, married and looking at moving to a new town that was a bit more "kid friendly" (Jasper was great but it is a party town...not the best place for a wee one) so we finally found Kimberley, found a decent job at the Casino and had another son. Life seemed to be back on track...then I rediscovered Geocaching...and I had built a team to hunt with.

 

So the Funkmaster-T became The HandsomeBoys and me and my 2 Sons began searching the woods and having a great time doing it. We have only found 17 thus far but considering I was toting around a 5 and 2 year old, I think thats pretty good!

 

Some time during the year I started to fall in love witht he GeoCoins (in fact, it is the first forum I look at every morning now) and was able to win a couple of Cointests to get my first couple of coins. I took part in Lorca's Winter Mission as well (my first one) and recieved a couple of great new coins and was happy to send one along to someone else (That truly is the best thing about this community - the sharing and caring attitude...everyone is welcome and encouraged and there is such generosity to help someone get going...kind of like crack dealers selling to kids...lol)

 

My collection currently sits at 6 but I am hoping this year sees it grow. My wife and I are going to Italy at the end of March for 2 weeks and I hope to get my first Non-Canadian caches in and release some TB's as well...Santa brought all four of us in the family a TB for Christmas...thought we might race them home from Italy...and I am hoping to get my hands on an Italian GeoCoin of some sort to commemorate the trip.

 

I am really happy to be a part of this community and hope to get to know all you more as the years go on...T.

[+farrtom]

Well I guess I am new enough at this that I was confused by the dates on all the posts until I saw that the original post was edited yesterday.

I started Geocaching back in May 2010 when the Boy Scout Group I help with bought some GPS units but didn't know how to use them. I took one home to figure it out and started caching (I thought it was a good way to learn how to use the unit) and me and the kids (mine not the scouts) have been hooked ever since. I posted for the first time on the forum back in october, but have realy spent time on it the last little while (I am interested in designing my own coin).

I have 3 coins (4 are listed on my page, but one is my son's and I haven't let him sign up for his own account yet) Two were won in drawings through different Boy Scout Councils and the other was purchased from a Boy Scout Council. I am looking at purchasing a few more in the near future.

 

My name is Tom and I think I have become addicted to geocaching and geocoins. I live in Southeast Idaho and as you may have noticed alot of my free time is working with a small scout troop. We will be working on the Geocaching meritbadge this spring and the boys are very excited.

The rest of my free time is spent with my four kids. The oldest is 13 and the youngest is 7 weeks.

My Birthday is tomorrow and I have gotten old enough to go into denial about my age.

 

I have been spending more time on the forum (It's way too cold out there for me right now!) because I am looking into designing a geocoin for our scout troop. Does any one have any thoughts on doing a coin as a fund raiser?

[+Tique]

I don't exactly fit the criteria, but I thought I'd introduce myself anyway since I'm quite new to the forums

 

My name is Linda, I'm from Norway and this year I'll be celebrating my 29th birthday for the 3rd time I actually discovered geocaching back in 2002, but at the time there were no caches nearby, and since I didn't have a car and no real excuse to buy a GPSr, I didn't think more about it. Then last year I got an iPhone, and immediately downloaded the Groundspeak app. Turned out the nearest cache was right outside my house! I then realized that geocaching really had taken off, and I wanted to give it a try. I started caching May 6th 2010, and discovered a geocoin in one of the very first caches I found. I immediately fell in love with trackables, and joined the Geoswag GC&P Club shortly after. So far most of my coins have been set free, but I've slowly started adding some coins to my personal collection as well.

[+MinnesotaBen]

My name is Ben and I think my name is probably self-explanatory. I heard about geocaching from the MN State Park system and one night July night at a Minneapolis suburb restaurant, had a friend download an app to their phone and sure enough, there was one which appeared to be right behind the bar. We discovered later it was behind the building! But I was instantly hooked. I found my first 100 caches in about three months, and have since cached in a few states and a few countries. I even achieved a FTF for my 34th find.

 

That being said, I am finding this winter has slowed me down greatly, so I am instead focused on getting some caching containers put together, and also received two travel bug tags and my first (and only) geocoin as recent gifts. So I'm very eager for the snow to melt and to get back at it again.

 

Before discovering geocaching, and still after, I enjoy lots of things outdoors (camping, biking, triathlons, etc.) so have found geocaching to just add more enjoyment to some of those things I already enjoy. Nothing like finishing a triathlon, then powering on my GPS to go find one geocache before I leave!

 

So that's me... the lurker who enjoys reading about geocoins, observing designs, and am constantly thinking of when I might dabble into coin making or coin collecting.

[+keewee]

WOW!!! I just saw my post here.... it was way back when I only had 7 coins, I was new, and... I didn't have a lot of posts in the forum!!!

 

How things have changed.....

 

I know! I had a read back through a lot of the early posts and some of those posters dropped off into obscurity, but others, like yourself, kept on trucken' - onwards and upwards!

[RedShoesGirl]

...

 

And finally, I broke my geocoin addiction! YAY!!! There was just far, far too many coins coming out to try and get them all so I ended up essentially going "cold turkey" - it is possible!

...

 

you, my friend, are my inspiration!

[+keewee]

...

 

And finally, I broke my geocoin addiction! YAY!!! There was just far, far too many coins coming out to try and get them all so I ended up essentially going "cold turkey" - it is possible!

...

 

you, my friend, are my inspiration!

I had to go cold turkey - it was costing too much!!!

 

I'm going through my collection at the moment cataloging them and am then going to start selling some of them on eBay, soon. I have far too many and, while I will keep some entire sets (like the Compass Rose's and coins that Crake has produced), others I'll just keep one or two from the set and get rid of the rest. So there will be some very sought after geocoins being listed.

[+keewee]

FunkMaster-T, farrtom, Tique and MinnesotaBen - Welcome and thanks for posting and telling us a little about yourselves.

 

FunkMaster-T - funny how life changes, especially when you have kids. It won't be long and they'll be wanting to drag you out caching so that they can find "treasure"!!! Have fun in Italy!!! You could try and organise with a local cacher there to have (co-host or host) an event and meet all the local cachers. They'd probably then take you out on a cache run and show you some of the sites - locals are usually the best tourist guides.

 

farrtom - yeah, I am wondering if maybe I should have started a new thread for this... but this way it makes it a more exclusive group and gives you all a better chance of winning. I'm involved in Scouting also. Michael, our son, is in Cubs and I am the Group Leader. I am also on our National Council. Geocaching isn't really known within Scouting here, but I am about to change that!

 

Tique - you women and your ages! Seems to be the same the world over! (We have a friend who is deigning she has hit 30 yet too (she's had quite a few 29th Birthdays now)) Got to love it when the nearest cache is "just there"! I was in the Geoswag GC&P Club too, but pulled out over Xmas as I felt many of the designs were a bit bland or boring or irrelevant. Kicking myself after seeing the Feb geocoin!

 

MinnesotaBen - that's keen - finishing a triathlon and then going straight on to caching. Caching must be your winding-down. Hearing you getting caches ready reminds me that I've been slack on putting any out lately. Several of mine have gone MIA and I really should replace them.

[+LeftOvers4Dinner]

Hi everyone!

 

My name's Omi (Bender Oak is my Geocaching UserName).

 

I just started checking out the Geocoin forum after a recommendation from a fellow Geocacher. I have been lurking for a whole 10 minutes, lol.

 

I'm new to geocaching, but I'm really getting into it. I found out recently that there was a release of VW geocoins a couple years ago, and since I'm trying to get my Fiancee into Geocaching, I'd like to start lurking in here to see if I could pick one up. My Fiancee is a VW enthusiast, so it would make his day if I were to find one of these. I'd also like to learn more about some of the older geocoins that I may have missed out on....

[+old_school_65]

What a newbie,...messed up posting..will try again..

Edited February 11, 2011 by old_school_65

[+old_school_65]

Hello everyone,..

My name is Mel, aka old_school_65..I use old_school because I breed snakes and sold under that name at one time..had to add the _65 because old_school reportedly was taken.

I am married to liljeanette_65 ... crazykirby and backpacker_44 are my sons..my hobbies are breeding snakes, Scouting with my two sons and now, Geocaching with my family..

...Ok, here is my story..

This past November, the day after thanksgiving, our Boy Scout Troop went for a "Turkey Day Hike" we did a 10 miler on the Columbia Trail in Hunterdon County New Jersey.. one of my fellow leaders ( Bobwhite_44 on geocaching.com) had some geocaches for the boys to locate,,,My wife took the hike with us that day and afterwards told me she liked the "Geocaching thing" the Troop did.

So, for Christmas, my sons got her a Garmin e-trek H. Not wanting her to be frustrated with it on Christmas day, my sons and I tried it out on Christmas eve ( while she was working) so we could fast track her learning to use it... Well that was my fortunate mistake..as I got bit by the bug hard that day.

Christmas day arrived and we were out geocaching by noon..and all day the next day...and for me, almost everyday since!!

After finding my first coin in a cache, ...a new addiction has spawned.. I have 4 coins now,...but know it will multiply soon.

I found the forums here soon after starting geocaching...so I am still a newbie here also..

We have released some travel bugs,..and plan to put out some of our own caches soon, ( want to get some experience first) ect.ect.

My story can pretty much be confirmed by looking at my stats., Funny part about it all,..this was suppose to be a hobby for my wife...oh,...did I mention I just love my new Garmin Oregon 450? paperless in less than 30 days! lol!!

My Coin question is,...When will I know that I have enough coins in my collection and should stop adding to my collection?.!

Edited February 11, 2011 by old_school_65

[the955iman]

Name is David, caching name is the955iman, I'm 41 and live in Griffin, GA. Been a member on the forum since Nov. 2006, but never posted anything. Guess I'm a serious lurker.

Got into this thanks to bearly_sane and I love it. We've been kind of out of it for a while but looking to really get back into it this year. I have a little over 100 caches so far, and I only have 3 coins.

Well, there ya have it.

Edited February 12, 2011 by the955iman

[RedShoesGirl]

...

My Coin question is,...When will I know that I have enough coins in my collection and should stop adding to my collection?.!

 

well, when you have to give up eating in order to buy coins, you will know enough is enough.

 

edited to add smiley - just in case someone takes me seriously.

Edited February 12, 2011 by RedShoesGirl

[TheCacheSeeker]

I have a question. is the only way to collect coins to buy them or win them?

 

Thanks!

[+Ashallond]

heh, I'm not new here now, but new since this thread popped up.

 

Hello to all the new coiners and the lurkers. I also don't seem to be eligible, unless rule #5 is invoked, but hey, it's ok if it isn't. I just wanted to say hi.

[+JackHoe]

I'm not realy new on this forum, but still like to introduce myself. (just like to be in the picture every now and then . So I'm not posting for the cointest

 

My name is Jack and the last 3 letters from my caching name are the first of my familyname. I'm from the Netherlands and caching since june 3 2008. When I found the first coin (TBQ3Y7)in a cache, it must have had some kind of virus, because since then I think I got addicted to coins . I've send out about 50 coins now and in my collction are at the moment 745 trackable coins (don't know how many not trackable, but not so much). There are still some coming in for my collection. So for the people who are new to coins, this is what can happen!

I've got another hobby and that is pottery. That explains my avatar. Maybe I'll try to make a claycoin one day. But at the moment I spend more time with caching and coins (of course )

[+mamoreb]

Hi! I guess I have been too greedy on coins to be eligible for the cointest, but it's about time I introduce myself.

 

My name is Marie, I live in Oslo, Norway. I go caching as mamoreb, together with my boyfriend. The username is a mix of our names. We didn't plan for it, but can you see how our username contains "amor" as well as "more", which is a Norwegian verb meaning "to have fun"?

 

I just started my PhD studies, which definitely steals time away from caching. I also do a kind of volunteer work, which takes me abroad a few times a year. If there's time during journeys, I go caching in order to see some nice places, get some fresh air and shift my focus a bit. It's a really nice opportunity that I appreciate a lot.

 

I discovered geocaching by chance, August 2010. I'm a bit of a technology addict, and found a phone app that analyzed my phone in order to suggest other apps I might like. Geobeagle was suggested. As I couldn't make much out of it, not knowing about geocaching.com membership etc, I uninstalled it. Fortunately, my curiousity was stirred. When I got home I looked up geocaching on the computer, registered, reinstalled, and found my first cache ~100 meters from my home. Big smile on my face!

 

We found a coin in our 7th cache. Watching the coins travels, trying to fulfill a mission, etc, appeals a lot to me. My first coin was a gift from my boyfriend for my birthday. I bought three more that I released. I discovered this forum and the beauty of some of the coins, and understood that they are very collectible. So far, I'm too shy to join events, and thinking that I can't have a large collection just sitting in my drawer, I have been restrictive about what type of coins I collect. But I do have 7 carousel coins lined up at my office, and a sea of treasures and a cache agent in my purse.

 

Finally, my question: Could someone please explain the "make this trackable collectible" option? Does it mean that a trackable is sent traveling, but whoever wants can pick it up and keep it? Seems weird... I haven't seen this option enabled, perhaps it is more of a historical thing?

[+goosefraba1]

Hey All.... I'm not entering the cointest... but I don't know if I ever formally introduced myself.

 

My Real name is Zach... 23. My wife and I live in southern Ohio, but will be moving soon (hopefully) so that I can go to grad school somewhere, anywhere for Surgical Physician's Assistant studies. Hopefully this will take us southward, but time will tell. Ashley is an Occupational Therapy Assistant. We were gradeschool friends since we were 5. I moved away and then moved back. We ran into each other about 10 years later and I immediately asked her on a date. We've now been married a year and everything has been pretty great. She's going to be my sugarmomma for the next couple of years until I'm finished with school... and then I will return the favor for her.

 

As far as caching is concerned, I think that I started in June of 2009. I quickly reached 100 caches and then I have died down a bit since then... not losing interest, but amount of caches within reasonable driving distance. Hopefully, when we move there will be a greater concentration of caches. I stumbled into the General forums and noticed a lot of bickering. I didn;t stay there long. After finding my first coin, though, I quickly made way to the coin forums... which is much more accepting. I've been checking in here daily ever since.

 

Ah my Avatar... I chose the name Goosefraba because I am addicted to Adam Sandler movies... period. I think that he is a very fun loving guy and probably lives life about the same way that he goes about in his movies. The movie "Anger Management" uses the phrase "goosefraba" as an Eskimo a way to calm down. I always thought it was funny... and a good topic starter.

 

Thanks everyone!

[+keewee]

Name is David, caching name is the955iman, I'm 41 and live in Griffin, GA. Been a member on the forum since Nov. 2006, but never posted anything. Guess I'm a serious lurker.

Got into this thanks to bearly_sane and I love it. We've been kind of out of it for a while but looking to really get back into it this year. I have a little over 100 caches so far, and I only have 3 coins.

Well, there ya have it.

 

Serious lurking? Nah - that's Professional Lurking!!

 

Hi David and thanks for introducing yourself. You're in the draw with the others.

[+keewee]

My Coin question is,...When will I know that I have enough coins in my collection and should stop adding to my collection?.!

Hi Mel - By the time you start to think about "Have I got enough coins?" it is usually far, far too late!

Some people set a monthly budget on what they allow themselves to spend, other set a number of coins and others just go wild. So people all of a sudden look at how many they have and go "WOAH - that's too many"... really it's a personal thing.

 

I have a question. is the only way to collect coins to buy them or win them?

 

Thanks!

Hi TheCacheSeeker,

 

The other way is to trade for them. This means that you need some geocoins to start. What a number of people have done is design their own personal geocoins and get it minted. Then they might have sold a few, but they've mostly traded them with other people for geocoins that they want. You need to have the money upfront to mint a coin to be able to do that though. It use to be common for people to do this, but I don't see it happening so much now.

 

With the buying geocoins, there are 2 ways to buy:

#1 - direct from the source, either the person who minted it or the geocoin store it was sold through, or

#2 - from eBay; if buying from eBay always look around and make sure the geocoin isn't still for sale from its original source. I frequently see coins that are still on sale for $10 listed on eBay for $20.

 

heh, I'm not new here now, but new since this thread popped up.

 

Hello to all the new coiners and the lurkers. I also don't seem to be eligible, unless rule #5 is invoked, but hey, it's ok if it isn't. I just wanted to say hi.

 

Hi Ashallond, How about you tell us a little about yourself?

 

I'm not realy new on this forum, but still like to introduce myself. (just like to be in the picture every now and then . So I'm not posting for the cointest

 

My name is Jack and the last 3 letters from my caching name are the first of my familyname. I'm from the Netherlands and caching since june 3 2008. When I found the first coin (TBQ3Y7)in a cache, it must have had some kind of virus, because since then I think I got addicted to coins . I've send out about 50 coins now and in my collction are at the moment 745 trackable coins (don't know how many not trackable, but not so much). There are still some coming in for my collection. So for the people who are new to coins, this is what can happen!

I've got another hobby and that is pottery. That explains my avatar. Maybe I'll try to make a claycoin one day. But at the moment I spend more time with caching and coins (of course )

 

Hi Jack,

 

Yes, those shiny geocoins have a lot to answer for!!!

 

That's a good size collection. How are all the coins you've sent out (released) getting on? Are they surviving? I've have 2 of my GeoTag geocoins floating around Europe at the moment - one in the hands of a Slovakian cacher since November, and the other in a Netherlands cache (GC2ECNA). Hey - you might get to catch up with it if it gets close! I must release some more coins to go to Europe as it seems there they have a good survival rate over there.

[+keewee]

Hi! I guess I have been too greedy on coins to be eligible for the cointest, but it's about time I introduce myself.

 

My name is Marie, I live in Oslo, Norway. I go caching as mamoreb, together with my boyfriend. The username is a mix of our names. We didn't plan for it, but can you see how our username contains "amor" as well as "more", which is a Norwegian verb meaning "to have fun"?

 

I just started my PhD studies, which definitely steals time away from caching. I also do a kind of volunteer work, which takes me abroad a few times a year. If there's time during journeys, I go caching in order to see some nice places, get some fresh air and shift my focus a bit. It's a really nice opportunity that I appreciate a lot.

 

I discovered geocaching by chance, August 2010. I'm a bit of a technology addict, and found a phone app that analyzed my phone in order to suggest other apps I might like. Geobeagle was suggested. As I couldn't make much out of it, not knowing about geocaching.com membership etc, I uninstalled it. Fortunately, my curiousity was stirred. When I got home I looked up geocaching on the computer, registered, reinstalled, and found my first cache ~100 meters from my home. Big smile on my face!

 

We found a coin in our 7th cache. Watching the coins travels, trying to fulfill a mission, etc, appeals a lot to me. My first coin was a gift from my boyfriend for my birthday. I bought three more that I released. I discovered this forum and the beauty of some of the coins, and understood that they are very collectible. So far, I'm too shy to join events, and thinking that I can't have a large collection just sitting in my drawer, I have been restrictive about what type of coins I collect. But I do have 7 carousel coins lined up at my office, and a sea of treasures and a cache agent in my purse.

 

Finally, my question: Could someone please explain the "make this trackable collectible" option? Does it mean that a trackable is sent traveling, but whoever wants can pick it up and keep it? Seems weird... I haven't seen this option enabled, perhaps it is more of a historical thing?

 

Hi Marie,

 

What are you doing your PhD in? Don't feel shy about events, they're great fun. An easy way to meet people who share your interests in geocaching and geocoin collecting, and a great sources of information and help. I set that as your personal challenge - to attend the next local geocaching event.

 

Now, to you question. This option has been perplexing me too, so you're asking it finally made me go and find out. The "Is Collectible" / "Make this Trackable Collectible" option on a geocoin is for owners who want to keep the geocoin in their person geocoin collection rather than sending it out travelling. If you select "Is Collectible" / "Make this Trackable Collectible" then the geocoin will be removed from you inventory list, making it easier when logging caches as they're won't be as longer list of trackable to choose from if dropping geocoins, etc.

 

According to this thread (This is collectible) it is something that has, and still is, causing a lot of confusion. Have a read of the entire thread as there is some very useful information towards the bottom.

 

Oh, and here is an official post from a Groundspeak Lackey on the topic --> Trackables Collections New feature on the website.

 

Hey All.... I'm not entering the cointest... but I don't know if I ever formally introduced myself.

 

My Real name is Zach... 23. My wife and I live in southern Ohio, but will be moving soon (hopefully) so that I can go to grad school somewhere, anywhere for Surgical Physician's Assistant studies. Hopefully this will take us southward, but time will tell. Ashley is an Occupational Therapy Assistant. We were gradeschool friends since we were 5. I moved away and then moved back. We ran into each other about 10 years later and I immediately asked her on a date. We've now been married a year and everything has been pretty great. She's going to be my sugarmomma for the next couple of years until I'm finished with school... and then I will return the favor for her.

 

As far as caching is concerned, I think that I started in June of 2009. I quickly reached 100 caches and then I have died down a bit since then... not losing interest, but amount of caches within reasonable driving distance. Hopefully, when we move there will be a greater concentration of caches. I stumbled into the General forums and noticed a lot of bickering. I didn;t stay there long. After finding my first coin, though, I quickly made way to the coin forums... which is much more accepting. I've been checking in here daily ever since.

 

Ah my Avatar... I chose the name Goosefraba because I am addicted to Adam Sandler movies... period. I think that he is a very fun loving guy and probably lives life about the same way that he goes about in his movies. The movie "Anger Management" uses the phrase "goosefraba" as an Eskimo a way to calm down. I always thought it was funny... and a good topic starter.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Hi Zach,

 

Thanks for dropping in and good luck with your search for a great Grad School with a high cache concentration - I'm sure there will be plenty that fit the criteria.

[+DocWahala]

Like others before me, I too might not be able to qualify for this cointest as I now have more than 5 coins in my collection. None the less, because I believe by the end of 2011 I will be one more experieced/addicted (you choose the word) coin collector, I thought this thread would be a good place for me to introduce myself.

 

My name is Mike, and at work, I'm known as Doc Wahala. If anyone knows Nigerian pidgin, Wahala is another way of saying "trouble". Laugh. No, I'm not a trouble maker, but a big part of my job is to look for ways to prevent problems, so when I come on board, and when I finish my audit, my guys usually say "No wahala, we be done next tomorrow".

 

Alright, who am I? I am the Safety Engineer for one of the drilling companies in West Africa. I pretty much have to be ready to operate anywhere between Ivory Coast and Namibia. I love it. Wouldnt trade the job for anything. I work 5 wees on, and I take 5 weeks off.

 

So, imagine how much time that leaves me for geocaching? It is like being semiretired, I tell you! And when you are 43 years old, and have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, its great to have not only a great way to get outdoors, but one which is educational as well.

 

I cant thank everyone involved in geocaching enough. You put up the caches, you spend time keeping them maintained, and make this a great sport. So, from someone who travels a lot - a big THANK YOU to each of you!

 

DocWahala

[+Tonyalynnm]

I think the only way I might qualify for this cointest is that I have only been in the forums about 6 months, but it doesn't really matter. I love to know more about the people I talk with all the time, rather than just an avatar. Some people I am not even sure if they are male or female .

 

My name is Tonya (pretty obvious), I am a Vascular Interventional Radiology Technologist- in other words I help doctors take xrays of your vessels. My son Indiana Anthony 8 and the geobaby Alex 14months (there's an idea, a cointest to give the geobaby a geoname) go caching with me here in Central Arkansas. We found our first coin late last summer as a FTF gift and now are totally addicted. I love Halloween coins and coins with great knot work or cool designs, like the compass rose coins. My son Anthony likes pirate, Mario, Indiana Jones coins and what ever else seems to catch his eye. He is really wanting the Warrior coin and a Lego coin but don't know about any Lego coins. Together we have about 50 coins, and have just joined both of the coin of the month clubs- told you we where addicted. However more then anything I love the people in this forum, all the great people that send out mystery coins, the people that help track down a wanted coin, or just help with info. I am also so impressed with the caring nature of people here, such as when RiverCacher was sick. I hope that other people that like me really don't meet the "new forum members" rule will still take the time to introduce themselves.

[+Teamtreefrogs]

Ok i'll guit lurking i have added about 4 coments trying to help but have never came right out and gave a formal intro..

my name is curtis... also known as daddy tree frog.. of the OkieTreeFrogGang we stumbled into geocaching by pure accident.. but we have been hooked since then.. our introductory accidental first find was on jan 16th 2011.. thanks for having us .. i have really enjoyed the reading here.. and look forward to learing all that i can and hopefully meeting some of you on the trail someday..

 

ps .. i would love one of the trackables/ coins.. we are new to all this ..

[+Twisted Willie]

Hello everyone, My Name is William Shores and I currently cache under the name Twisted Willie. I found a cache by accident a few years ago and while I did not follow up on it at the time it stayed in the back of my mind. A few weeks ago I ran across one of the "Wheres George" dollars and logged it online and remembered the cache I had found and started looking on the internet. Within fifteen mins. I had my first cache in hand. As of tonight I have 21 finds with one FTF. I have passed along 1 geocoin "Kansas Sunshine", got my first pathtag, "We Arrrgh NTX" and currently have a Travel Bug in my possession that I plan to pass along when I locate a suitable and remote cache. I AM SEVERELY ADDICTED.

 

The more I learn about geocaching and all that is involved with it the more I love it. I plan to get a handheld gps soon, I have been using the maps and my in car TOMTOM to get me along so for. My birthday is in a few days and I think I have my wife addicted too so I will not be suprised to find a GPS unit in my present. Once I get more experience I plan to put out some well though out hides.

[+LA Shantyfan]

Hi, all! My name is Leanne. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I started geocaching while on vacation in Victoria, BC to visit my sister a little less than a year ago. I knew then that I'd be doing it again for sure. Since that day, I've had the opportunity to find a few caches, learn a little more about the activity and get a few people hooked along with me.

 

When I'm not searching for my next cache, I enjoy time with my family and friends, listening to Great Big Sea (that's where my user name comes from), being a leader with Girl Guides of Canada, volunteering at my kids' school and obsessively making lists. But, not necessarily in that order.

 

So far, I have just been using my iPhone for geocaching and it seems to serve the purpose. I am hoping to pick up my own GPSr at some point, after I've had a chance to learn a little more about what there is to choose from.

 

I am the proud owner of 3 Girl Guides of Canada Centennial geocoins, one that I'm going to keep for my very own, one that is waiting until my first ever trip to Ottawa to drop and one that I just dropped yesterday after finishing up a Girl Guide event in Cochrane, AB.

 

Thanks, keewee, for encouraging me to come out of lurker mode

[+mamoreb]

Hi Marie,

 

What are you doing your PhD in? Don't feel shy about events, they're great fun. An easy way to meet people who share your interests in geocaching and geocoin collecting, and a great sources of information and help. I set that as your personal challenge - to attend the next local geocaching event.

 

Now, to you question. This option has been perplexing me too, so you're asking it finally made me go and find out. The "Is Collectible" / "Make this Trackable Collectible" option on a geocoin is for owners who want to keep the geocoin in their person geocoin collection rather than sending it out travelling. If you select "Is Collectible" / "Make this Trackable Collectible" then the geocoin will be removed from you inventory list, making it easier when logging caches as they're won't be as longer list of trackable to choose from if dropping geocoins, etc.

 

According to this thread (This is collectible) it is something that has, and still is, causing a lot of confusion. Have a read of the entire thread as there is some very useful information towards the bottom.

 

Oh, and here is an official post from a Groundspeak Lackey on the topic --> Trackables Collections New feature on the website.

 

Thanks for your very nice answer!

 

My PhD will be in biomechanics. I just started, so at this point I'm pretty confused. Should be getting better quite soon, though.

 

I have ALMOST gone to a couple of small events nearby. I have been slightly held back by the fact that my boyfriend hasn't been very eager to go. The strangeness of spending my limited sparetime with strangers instead of my boyfriend is an easy excuse... I guess I just need to find something else to send him off to, right?

 

I did some more research on the "collectible" topic, and discovered that making the item collectible enables me to add a log entry of the type "move to collection". I guess that this is mostly used in cases where the owner is in possession of the item, just as you described. However, if that were the only case, it could be done in a much easier way (button "move to collection"). I guess that the current system is meant to allow even non-owners to move such items to their collection.

[+Tique]

I did some more research on the "collectible" topic, and discovered that making the item collectible enables me to add a log entry of the type "move to collection". I guess that this is mostly used in cases where the owner is in possession of the item, just as you described. However, if that were the only case, it could be done in a much easier way (button "move to collection"). I guess that the current system is meant to allow even non-owners to move such items to their collection.

 

I'm still slightly confused about the collectible-option... So far I've set all my trackables as non-collectible, even the ones that are staying in my personal collection. But I'm wondering if these should be marked as collectible?

[+PrincessJ]

Hi, Im not sure if I qualify for this contest.

My name is Jacqueline (PrincesJ)and I have been caching for about 2 years. My first post in the geocoin forum was in June 2010.I have made a few posts since then. I read the forums quite often and a couple of times I was going to post but changed my mind.

A bit about me, I am a mom of two children who will sometimes cache with me. I have to bribe my son sometimes. I work in a daycare and have taken the children caching. They love it and everytime we go somewhere we now have to bring the GPS.

 

I have four coins. My first coin was a blue sky coin which was a provincal contest in BC. I wanted that coin so bad I drove about 100 km away with a fever.

My second coin I received at an event, it was a personal coin (pearlwind) This is the coin that really got me into coins.

My third coin is the BCGA stellar J coin which I won at the Blitz event for having the best puzzle cache in our area.

My fourth coin I recently bought.It is the BCGA 2010 coin.

 

I have seen so many beautiful coins posted in the forums and I would like to thank everyone for posting them because I enjoy looking at everyone's coins.

Hopefully I havent rambled on too much

[+keewee]

Like others before me, I too might not be able to qualify for this cointest as I now have more than 5 coins in my collection. None the less, because I believe by the end of 2011 I will be one more experieced/addicted (you choose the word) coin collector, I thought this thread would be a good place for me to introduce myself.

 

My name is Mike, and at work, I'm known as Doc Wahala. If anyone knows Nigerian pidgin, Wahala is another way of saying "trouble". Laugh. No, I'm not a trouble maker, but a big part of my job is to look for ways to prevent problems, so when I come on board, and when I finish my audit, my guys usually say "No wahala, we be done next tomorrow".

 

Hi Mike, Wow you lead an interesting life!!!

 

I think the only way I might qualify for this cointest is that I have only been in the forums about 6 months, but it doesn't really matter. I love to know more about the people I talk with all the time, rather than just an avatar. Some people I am not even sure if they are male or female .

 

My name is Tonya (pretty obvious), I am a Vascular Interventional Radiology Technologist- in other words I help doctors take xrays of your vessels. My son Indiana Anthony 8 and the geobaby Alex 14months (there's an idea, a cointest to give the geobaby a geoname) go caching with me here in Central Arkansas. We found our first coin late last summer as a FTF gift and now are totally addicted. I love Halloween coins and coins with great knot work or cool designs, like the compass rose coins. My son Anthony likes pirate, Mario, Indiana Jones coins and what ever else seems to catch his eye. He is really wanting the Warrior coin and a Lego coin but don't know about any Lego coins. Together we have about 50 coins, and have just joined both of the coin of the month clubs- told you we where addicted. However more then anything I love the people in this forum, all the great people that send out mystery coins, the people that help track down a wanted coin, or just help with info. I am also so impressed with the caring nature of people here, such as when RiverCacher was sick. I hope that other people that like me really don't meet the "new forum members" rule will still take the time to introduce themselves.

 

Welcome Tonya, Yes, Isn't the geocoin community amazing. I've seen them do things that I've not seen in any other online community or even our local community! They're a caring, compassionate, giving bunch. Makes you proud to be apart of it.

 

Ok i'll guit lurking i have added about 4 coments trying to help but have never came right out and gave a formal intro..

my name is curtis... also known as daddy tree frog.. of the OkieTreeFrogGang we stumbled into geocaching by pure accident.. but we have been hooked since then.. our introductory accidental first find was on jan 16th 2011.. thanks for having us .. i have really enjoyed the reading here.. and look forward to learing all that i can and hopefully meeting some of you on the trail someday..

 

ps .. i would love one of the trackables/ coins.. we are new to all this ..

 

Hi Curtis and Welcome to geocoins, geocaching and the forum community. Make sure you get your details entered into the Geocoin Addresses addressbook - just search the forums for geocoins addressbook and the right thread should pop right up there.