Is there a listing of Geocoins and their worth?

[+quadcity007]

It's one thing to list what a geocoin SELLS at, however, is there a website which lists what individual geocoins are actually worth?

[+seaeye]

I can't see there being any way that could be done. It would keep changing all the time wouldn't it?

 

Auction would tell you on a given day but thats about it.

Edited March 31, 2008 by seaeye

[+quadcity007]

I can't see there being any way that could be done. It would keep changing all the time wouldn't it?

 

Auction would tell you on a given day but thats about it.

 

Baseball cards do it and they are sold in much great quantity on ebay. Baseball card books take a snapshot in time.

[+USA 45]

It's one thing to list what a geocoin SELLS at, however, is there a website which lists what individual geocoins are actually worth?

 

If they are activated and belong to some one else They are worth nothing but to the owner.

If they are unactivated they can sell high on ebay . (SOME ASK FOR PROOF )

I think its funny when people steal coins thinking they are gonna get big bucks for them. And they get caught on ebay for selling stolen property. The owner of the coins can have Ground Speak Lock the coin and no one can use it.

But I don't think there is a site that gives the worth of a geo coin, If you paid 9.99 for a coin thats the your worth of it. Once its activated I see no worth to it but the owner. USA 45

[+derschlings]

In a free market such as ours, anything, including geocoins, are worth whatever the market (ie buyers) are willing to pay for them. Most geocoins are produced in volumes MUCH smaller than most baseball cards with a markedly smaller market. There remains a great deal of volatility in a particular coin's worth.

Probably the best way to get a good idea of a coin's current worth is to do an advanced search at E64y for completed auctions for the particular coin you're looking into.

caveat emptor

[+USA 45]

I just thought if they would put a value on our coin's that would stop people from putting coins out into caches. We have problems with muggels now, just think what would happen if there was a value on the coins.

[avroair]

I was considering putting together a coin matrix where you answer some questions and it gives you a score for a coin.

[Tooeygeotrashed]

It's one thing to list what a geocoin SELLS at, however, is there a website which lists what individual geocoins are actually worth?

 

If they are activated and belong to some one else They are worth nothing but to the owner.

If they are unactivated they can sell high on ebay . (SOME ASK FOR PROOF )

I think its funny when people steal coins thinking they are gonna get big bucks for them. And they get caught on ebay for selling stolen property. The owner of the coins can have Ground Speak Lock the coin and no one can use it.

But I don't think there is a site that gives the worth of a geo coin, If you paid 9.99 for a coin thats the your worth of it. Once its activated I see no worth to it but the owner. USA 45

 

Mmm well I would have to disagree with that comment. I have auctioned some of my activated coins on ebay and they fetched far more than the original price I paid for them. I have also sold unactivated coins on ebay that sold for less than I paid for them. The market is fickle, just like any other but it seems more so with geocoins. If you get two people that really want a coin they will keep trying to outbid each other, doesn't mean the coin is 'worth' what has been paid for it, it means that is what it is worth to the person bidding for it, so imho a coin may be worth what you paid for it, at best it is worth what you get if you decide to sell it.

 

Confessional - I recently sold two of my coins on ebay, one was a second chance offer because I knew I had another in my collection, before the coins reached the buyers I was mortified to realise by chance when looking through my gc profile that one of them had been activated to my account (a long time ago and never released). I emailed both buyers immediately and was incredibly embarassed to have been so negligent. It was a genuine mistake and one I hope never to make again. I of course did not know which buyer had the activated coin, well buyer one wrote back and said they just activated theirs, so then I knew it was buyer two - so wrote again to them, they were fine about it, didn't want any compensation and were happy to keep the coin which I adopted over to them.

 

N.B. (Note to self) I will ALWAYS check a coins status before rushing in with a second chance offer!

[+AtlantaGal]

I was considering putting together a coin matrix where you answer some questions and it gives you a score for a coin.

 

Yeah but just like any collectible, the "market value" changes too often for this to actually work. Plus depending on when you got into this hobby, value seems to be subjective. Coins that should be valueable, sometimes aren't and coins that shouldn't be valueable, sometimes are.

 

I don't see it working unless you stay interested enough to update it weekly. Ahem... squirrel.

[+Kealia]

Agreed. It would change daily it seems, or based on when you started, what you know, etc.

 

How many newbies even know what a Team Fisur coin is and what it might be worth?

 

Take my personal as an example - it may be "worth" something to a few that know me, but outside of that, what's it worth?

Just because I only made 100 of them doesn't make them desirable IMO.

[+hollora]

Interesting discussion here. Having been a collector, buying and seller in a couple of other collectibles markets - many comments made here are very true.

 

Look at the company which is staying alive selling books about the value of collectibles of all kinds. Yet, when you buy a book, let's say about lighters or fishing lures - the ones you have "just like those" in the book - you can not fetch those prices. Those books are just guides based on averages during the period of time the author and publisher prepared the book.

 

Many things may alter the "estimates" including the current economy, the World dollar market, stock market - you name it. Geocoins are usually coined in small numbers. As the population of cachers, collectors and those appreciating geocoins increases over the years - so should the value of some of the coins limited in small numbers.

 

Add to that all - as with all numismatics - condition, storage and a World of other influences on the metals. What was once a nice geocoin may no longer be pretty and what really is "mint"........did you ever take it out of that flip (which probably isn't so great for it either)?

 

JMHO

[avroair]

I was considering putting together a coin matrix where you answer some questions and it gives you a score for a coin.

 

Yeah but just like any collectible, the "market value" changes too often for this to actually work. Plus depending on when you got into this hobby, value seems to be subjective. Coins that should be valueable, sometimes aren't and coins that shouldn't be valueable, sometimes are.

 

I don't see it working unless you stay interested enough to update it weekly. Ahem... squirrel.

 

Agreed. It would change daily it seems, or based on when you started, what you know, etc.

 

No it wouldn't.

A coin matrix would be subjective to the person and for coins readily available for trade (so a team fisur don't apply).

 

It could be as simple as:

(1) how cute is the coin

(2) how many were minted

(3) what makes it special

 

And rate each on a 1 to 5 ~ 15 being high, or 1 being low.

 

Or just scrap the idea and look on ebay.

 

Take my personal as an example - it may be "worth" something to a few that know me, but outside of that, what's it worth?

Just because I only made 100 of them doesn't make them desirable IMO.

 

Trade ya your coin back for a team fisur?

 

I think people should research a coin a little more rather than just get mad that they traded it away for something of 'lesser' value

[avroair]

duplicate post

Edited April 1, 2008 by avroair

[+ECplus3]

I haven't a clue what's 'valuable', hard to find, whatever. As most coins I am guessing are minted in batches of <1000, ANY coin is going to be 'hard to find' once it is sold out.

 

I traded away a rokop Cache me if you Can coin for a Dutch 2005 because I really wanted the Dutch 2005. I don't know if the rokop had any great value, but I didn't care for it, so I traded it for something I wanted.

 

For me the value of a coin is whether I like it.

[+BilLow]

I see the activation or non activation of a coin as being next to irrelevant concerning its value. For a Geocacher it can be adopted. So, no problem.

 

The actual value will always be an eye of the beholder situation.

 

Concerning the Ebay thoughts: I would imagine that some percentage of coins purchased on Ebay are not even by folks who Geocache. There may be some people who just have an interest in a unique coin that reflects their interests or experiences (i.e. a state coin from where they live, a unique landmark souvenir of a place they have visited, a private collection of some type of item like cats or dogs or bears... etc…).

[+NeverSummer]

I've been thinking this over myself, so I feel like I need to vent...

 

Coins are only worth their weight in whatever metal they are cast in, really. I've thought hard about what I'm willing to pay for some coins, but I realize that others are always willing to pay more. Coins sell for a price, and fetch another based on what makes them more special to one person or another. When it boils down to it, a Moun10bike coin is only worth as much as it is (entire collections...thousands of dollars on eBay) because of what it means to find one or keep one. They're rare, and original. Tough to beat that combo.

 

But really, assigning a street value to a coin will only create a false value of a coin. Some people may trade a rare coin for peanuts, but others would never let it out of their cold dead hand. It just works that way.

 

Me? I have a Post cereal Tops Kirby Puckett baseball card worth a few cents...but I'll never toss it or trade/sell it.

 

Coins? Plenty that you can get readily, but I'll never give up because of what it means to me.

 

Just say "No" to assigning values beyond selling price. It's all up to us to decide what we want to trade or sell for...and that's a bummer sometimes...

[+Droo]

Agreed. It would change daily it seems, or based on when you started, what you know, etc.

 

How many newbies even know what a Team Fisur coin is and what it might be worth?

 

Take my personal as an example - it may be "worth" something to a few that know me, but outside of that, what's it worth?

Just because I only made 100 of them doesn't make them desirable IMO.

 

I'd give you any 2-3 of my traders for your personal.

[+Droo]

I can't see there being any way that could be done. It would keep changing all the time wouldn't it?

 

Auction would tell you on a given day but thats about it.

 

Baseball cards do it and they are sold in much great quantity on ebay. Baseball card books take a snapshot in time.

 

I'm not sure the baseball card analogy works for geocoins. First off geocoins aren't sold by the 1000s and mass marketed. And secondly they are not produced by a few coin makers.

 

Apparently there are only a handful of mints in China that have been producing coins for the geocaching market but there isn't really any central dispensary for cataloguing or even tracking individual geocoins, forget their original cost or even the daily value.

 

Current value is how much anyone is willing to pay at any given moment. Even on Ebay you can get greatly fluctuating values on specific coins depending on who is "in the market" to buy.

 

Nice idea.

[+Shop99er]

TTUMS here...

 

One of the many things I collect is tiki mugs. Just like geocoins the secondary market value on these is all over the place. Also just like geocoins what one person values as a hot collectible the next person doesn't.

 

How the tiki mug people are keeping track of what's hot and what's not is on Ooga-Mooga. They have a list of mugs with pictures when they are available and specific information on each mug. Included on each mug page is a little section of prices the mug sold for in the wild. The prices are from original cost to garage sale finds to ebay sales. Along with the prices are dates of the sightings and sales.

 

It's interesting to see how specific mugs go hot and cold and what is just flat HOT.

 

Maybe something like this set up would work with coins as well.

[+Renegade Knight]

A couple of years ago I tried to hire a programmer to tackle this among other things. No takers at the time. Now I don't have the budget. It's not a complex problem to solve (though not in the way that any one person may be thinking). The hard part is keeping up with new coins and ensuring accurate information on the old ones.

[+2bugs]

Agreed. It would change daily it seems, or based on when you started, what you know, etc.

 

How many newbies even know what a Team Fisur coin is and what it might be worth?

 

Take my personal as an example - it may be "worth" something to a few that know me, but outside of that, what's it worth?

Just because I only made 100 of them doesn't make them desirable IMO.

 

The Kealia/Hulabum is worth both arms and a leg in my book...any day of the week. Do you want me to ship the amputated limbs via Fedex or USPS?

 

bugsy

[+Fastest Turtle]

TTUMS here...

 

One of the many things I collect is tiki mugs. Just like geocoins the secondary market value on these is all over the place. Also just like geocoins what one person values as a hot collectible the next person doesn't.

 

How the tiki mug people are keeping track of what's hot and what's not is on Ooga-Mooga. They have a list of mugs with pictures when they are available and specific information on each mug. Included on each mug page is a little section of prices the mug sold for in the wild. The prices are from original cost to garage sale finds to ebay sales. Along with the prices are dates of the sightings and sales.

 

It's interesting to see how specific mugs go hot and cold and what is just flat HOT.

 

Maybe something like this set up would work with coins as well.

 

I agree with this.

 

It would also be very interesting if there was a Ooga-Mooga type site for geocoins

[Theotokos]

When I was a kid I collected hockey cards...it was pretty easy to trade for the guys you liked and to get the rookie cards of your favorite players. All the cards were the same - just an old piece of cardboard. But having your hero on the front meant everything and so you traded and in return gave someone else's favorite.

 

Then a number of years ago, things went wild and new vendors showed up and price guides like Beckett came out. Hockey cards (at least in this area) were surprisingly big and they had all sorts of Card Shows in the area. So with the boom, I got into the 'fever' and tried to start trading again... but it wasn't the same and not so fun anymore. Once the price guides came out, my cards were no longer a collectible but a commodity. I had rookie cards of some old timers that couldn't compete with the price of the latest star that was short printed.

 

Someone else (the price guide) was now telling me how valuable my cards were and it didn't matter if it was someones hero or not. Folks would only trade according to what the guide told them and it didn't matter if they actually liked the player or not. Everyone was too worried about getting ripped off that they overlooked the real intent of the cards in the first place. So I packed up all the old cards again and they still sit today.

 

My point? I personally believe that price guides rob you of an experience. Collecting should be all about - finding, trading and meeting like minded people for a lot of fun with both parties getting the coin they want without worry of who beat who. I mean really...all these coins are pretty much the same price to produce aren't they? Of course there are exceptions and some coins more desirable than others but I don't think you need a guide to figure out those ones.

 

That's my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[+nashuan]

It's one thing to list what a geocoin SELLS at, however, is there a website which lists what individual geocoins are actually worth?

 

There has been a lot of discussion here about coin values as related to Ebay. Such a forum probably indicates as well as any other what a coin is worth monetarily. The problem is that even here the price fluxuates pretty wildly from one day to the next.

 

I've only been collecting geocoins for a few months now, but keep comprehensive records about the 25 or so particular coin series I collect. Every auction that closes, I collect pricing data and the time the coin was sold, hoping to make some sense of what makes a coin worth more or less. The fact is that there are too many variables to make up a list and say if you have a particular unactivated coin, that it should sell for so much. I believe I have found fluxuations in price that are attributable to the quality of the photo used in the auction, the country the coin is currently in, the day of the week the auction closes, and how many of the same coin are for sale in a short period of time. I remember seeing three fairly rare coins offered by three different sellers over a several-hour period. The "value" of each coin was diminished by the availability in the market for that several-hour period. Had these sellers spaced their auctions by a few days or a week, all three probably would have realized higher selling prices.

 

I have also seen demand for geocoins rising across the board in my few short months of interest because of the growing interest of geocoins/geocaching in general. it's the Beanie Babies of our time. Perhaps by next year a coin that currently values around $100, will be worth $10, or perhaps $1000. Simple supply and demand at the particular time you buy/sell.

 

A few years ago, I got into collecting antique artist-signed postcards and paid $100s in some cases for a single card. Today on Ebay these same cards sell for $5-10. With all the variables, you probably won't do any better than to check the 30-day history on Ebay for recent sales or track sales over a longer period of time if you focus on specific coins, but trying to make sense of thos results will test your patience.

 

Buy coins you like and spend what you think you can afford. Don't activate them in case you decide to sell some day, but you'll probably be happier paying what seems like a fair price based on what information you can obtain and just enjoying the coins for thier beauty and not their retail/resell value. The question you should ask yourself is "if the market crashes, would I still be happy kepping these coins at the price I paid"?

 

CACHE ON!

 

Nashuan

[+GBOTS]

Agreed. It would change daily it seems, or based on when you started, what you know, etc.

 

How many newbies even know what a Team Fisur coin is and what it might be worth?

 

Take my personal as an example - it may be "worth" something to a few that know me, but outside of that, what's it worth?

Just because I only made 100 of them doesn't make them desirable IMO.

 

I'd give you any 2-3 of my traders for your personal.

Me. too