+triton227 Posted July 8, 2008 Posted July 8, 2008 I just put an old Garmin GPS65 in this cache on soulth mountain. It dosen't work any more but still a cool find. The best thing I ever found was two dollers. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...f7-a893d67acaf9 Quote
boatcat Posted July 12, 2008 Posted July 12, 2008 The most valuable thing we (I cache with "shoot the zombie in the brain") have found was in a cache just last night. On our way to GCPZQA I got the "low battery" signal on my eTrex so I stopped in at a gas station to get a Gatorade and some double A's. A pair of Duracells were $5.99! When you need something, you need it, so I gripe to my buddy and drink my Gatorade to cool off. Five minutes later we find the cache and inside is a log, a shell, and two double A's! Not a super expensive item but it sure was frustrating to open that little box and see fresh batteries staring back at me! You're lucky you got off so cheap on the batteries. I just saw a 9v in a C store for $7.29! Quote
+Moore9KSUcats Posted July 13, 2008 Posted July 13, 2008 We found a gift card to GAP with $100 on it once.. my daughters were sure thrilled with that one! It wasn't even a FTF prize.. a cacher put that in there, and there were several finders between when it was left and when we found it. The cacher never logged online, but I do hope he was watching the cache and saw our log of appreciation. My son picked up a nice (used) Gerber multi-tool in a cache a few years ago.. that was a really spiffy prize for a (then) 12-13 year old. He still uses it today! Quote
+belair56 Posted July 13, 2008 Posted July 13, 2008 I put a certificate for a free dozen donuts in a cache, to this date no one has taken it, (13 months) Quote
+PT_Tex Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I don't the value or why somebody left this. I found a One Touch ULtra Blood Monitoring system. It was unopened and in the the box. The test strips are out of date. I didn't need it but it was taking up the whole ammo box. My wife thinks I 'll get some kind of illness from it. But it looks like its never been used. What should I do with it? Quote
+WatchDog2020 Posted July 29, 2008 Posted July 29, 2008 I left a Morgan silver dollar from the late 1800's for a first to find prize. Quote
+Golgii Posted August 3, 2008 Posted August 3, 2008 I don't the value or why somebody left this. I found a One Touch ULtra Blood Monitoring system. It was unopened and in the the box. The test strips are out of date. I didn't need it but it was taking up the whole ammo box. My wife thinks I 'll get some kind of illness from it. But it looks like its never been used. What should I do with it? It is not a very good item to leave in a cache but I can maybe explain why it is there. I have type one diabetes and a few years ago I got an insulin pump from a company called Medtronics. When that happened I think they supplied my email address to companies that make diabetes supplies. Ever since then every company that manufactures glucometers(the meter) sends me their new meter as soon as it comes out for free as a promotional. I have like 10 meters laying around my house atm. The companies don't take a loss on giving these things out for free because they actually make all their money selling the consumable test strips. You can just throw it away. It's very unlikely that a diabetic that is interested in controlling their blood sugar doesn't already have a monitor of some sort. Quote
+Silfron Mandotheneset Posted August 4, 2008 Posted August 4, 2008 The most valuable thing I've found is an unactivated Garmin Colorado geocoin, and I was more than surprised to find out it was unactivated! I was literally bouncing off the walls. Ok, well, off the floor anyway. The most valuable thing I've left is a chainmail dicebag, I have no idea what it's worth (since I made it) but I've seen similar things sell at rennaisance festivals and the like for $30-80 depending on materials and size... I'd figure this one at the $30-40 range though. I'm planning on leaving a used game boy advance in one if I can ever find the darn thing. I'm also planning on leaving some nice jewelry (also handmade chain stuff) as soon as I find some caches that I don't think are likely to be muggled. Old Navy is also a good place to get cheap good stuff. Their jewelry and small items (particularly gloves and such right after christmas) don't sell real well, and get marked down really fast. I got a $10 necklace there for .97 a couple weeks ago. Quote
+Silfron Mandotheneset Posted August 4, 2008 Posted August 4, 2008 I put a certificate for a free dozen donuts in a cache, to this date no one has taken it, (13 months) Seriously?? I would pounce on that! Where is it? (Kidding of course... I'm sure it's several thousand miles from me ) Quote
+"fish" Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 i have found a victorinox swiss army knife 90.00 that is my best treasure to date Quote
+chimps8mybaby Posted September 11, 2008 Posted September 11, 2008 an unactivated geocoin...its given me loads of pleasure watching it travel the US and Europe. Quote
+bartrod Posted September 11, 2008 Posted September 11, 2008 I helped set up the N.E.W. Meet n Greet last month by setting out a new cache with several $5 gift certificates from local merchants, a $25 gas card for the FTF, and two family passes to the local museum...all donated. The local merchants were more than happy to contribute to lure new customers in. The cache attracted considerable attention Quote
+mousekakat Posted September 11, 2008 Posted September 11, 2008 I have found: Better health Loads of beautiful places that I might never otherwise have seen The thrill of accomplishing finding a tough hide The pride of achieving a tough cache that I didn't think I'd be able to physically take The pride of seeing my 8 year old actually find a cache we couldn't Time with my family And most importantly, peace! Naomi Quote
rogheff Posted September 14, 2008 Posted September 14, 2008 I once found a very old ceramic doll at a cache site. The cache was placed in a very old treehouse near the ruins of an old farmstead. I found this old ceramic doll while scouring the site for the cache. I'm sure it has some value. Quote
+nameless301 Posted September 23, 2008 Posted September 23, 2008 The best thing I found was two Seaworld tickets. Pretty cool, it was a cache by Seaworld. Quote
+Cach Hunter1 Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 The most valuable thing I ever found was a 2003 5cent coin (NZ) I have seen one on Trademe the NZ equivilant of Ebay or whatever for $360 NZ That would buy a lot of TBs or Whatever Quote
turtle_islanders Posted November 25, 2008 Posted November 25, 2008 Hmm. The FTF prize for a 3 stage multi-cache I'm setting up soon will be a Red, 1984 Volkswagon Scirocco. at least a quarter pint of beer just shot out of my nose. I literally ran into the bedroom and woke my husband from a dead sleep. Thanks for making my week! Quote
+MadMoravian Posted November 25, 2008 Posted November 25, 2008 Watchdog2020, I did the same thing. An 1897 Morgan City Silver Dollar in my puzzle cache: Slavonic Dances. FTF took less than 24 hours. Quote
+Socorro Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 FTF prize for La Ventana Pequena de las Quebradas del Norte was a small rock arch with a blue diecast lizard on top. Sort of like a trophy...I love it, and I have it on my bookcase. It was definitely special to find. Quote
+arcticeagle Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 We found a $20 iTunes Gift Card in our first ever cache! It wasn't even a FTF, that was pretty cool. Quote
DarthJustice Posted December 7, 2008 Posted December 7, 2008 Today I found a dollar bill. That's about it so far lol Quote
k_statealan Posted December 7, 2008 Posted December 7, 2008 An unopened pack of football cards which turned out to have a Brett Favre rookie card in it. Quote
polskikrol Posted December 8, 2008 Posted December 8, 2008 Most valuable objects I have found in caches have included personal geocoins (activated and unactivated), 5$ bills, USB memory sticks, ready made cache containers, and waterproof trail maps (which I have used extensively after coming across). Would keep the treasure you plan on hiding geocaching specific to further promote the hobby Quote
+nejiruler Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 I havent found anything that wows me. The best a CD. I might leave for a FTF prize a 25$ giftcard. Quote
Crazyking Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 ...In the final cache I had a $20, $10 & $5 gift certificate for Starbucks for 1st, 2nd & 3rd. My FTFer said it ws the most generous find he'd ever received, and he has 1100+ finds.... Seriously?! I left a $15 Starbucks card (at least I think it was) in my cache, which is a 1.5/5 difficulty, 4/5 terrain medium cahce in a desert!! Quote
+SaltercreaseRangers Posted February 13, 2009 Posted February 13, 2009 Unactivated travel bug, Pocket watch Quote
+HighOctaneTrespasser Posted February 22, 2009 Posted February 22, 2009 The most valuable things I've found were all in the same cache, a Rolex watch, an Armani suit, and five-thousand dollars. I left some crayons, a deck of cards, and one of those trolls with Don King hair Quote
+LUNATIC_200 Posted February 22, 2009 Posted February 22, 2009 We've got a location here in the Northern Territory, Australia that had a Gold Nugget for FTF. It was decided by the FTF that the nugget was to remain there indefinitely, and to this day I believe that it's still in the cache Quote
+MI_CO Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) I agree that the best find is a nice, pristine log. I would judge it on the amount of time it would take to do the cache. Under one day, a $10 gift certificate to a local restaurant would be appropriate. Heck, I am happy with a $5 coffee gift certificate!! Over one day, or one with a terraine difficulty of 4 or 5, a $25 dollar gift certficate. Given today's economy, I would make the certficate to a store like Target or Meijer, where the user can get just about anything they want/need (goods or groceries) for a good price!! If you make it a restaurant gift certificate, make sure the amount will pay for at least one diner. I would NOT make the cache worth more than $25. We don't want 'lurkers' to spoil our fun by thinking they can 'get rich quick' by finding caches and leaving behind trashed caches or leaving unappropriate items. Edited February 24, 2009 by MIGolfer Quote
+elmh Posted April 3, 2009 Posted April 3, 2009 I have found only 5 FTFs. Three had nothing but the thrill of BEING FTF! One had a scratch-off lottery ticket. (I didn't win, but I wrote the particulars of the cache and the hunt on the back, and added it to my scrap book - it was worth it!) And the BEST one was an unactivated Geocoin that the CO gave me a couple of months after I found it! I have sent it out into the world and watch its travels with delight! I, too, think the fun of the hunt IS the prize, but if you want to place a FTF prize (always appreciated), it should reflect the Difficulty/Terrain of the cache. Quote
+Jeep4two Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 I have found: Better health Loads of beautiful places that I might never otherwise have seen The thrill of accomplishing finding a tough hide The pride of achieving a tough cache that I didn't think I'd be able to physically take The pride of seeing my 8 year old actually find a cache we couldn't Time with my family And most importantly, peace! Naomi I've found many of the same things Naomi has come across (and I'm just getting started). That's by far the best part of this sport/hobby. When it comes to physically tangible 'things' so far the best we've managed value wise is a carabiener. Personally the wife and I really like seeing geocoins and creative travel bugs. Quote
+kittyboodles Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Hey there! In my caches (only hidden 5 so far, but have a few new ones almost ready) I've always hidden cut gemstones (rubies, emeralds, amethysts, and other ones I cut as a hobby. Every once in a while, I'll stop by to do maintenance on the caches, and I'll drop a new gemstone, (but won't advertise it on the cache page). I've also swapped items for new batteries, little compasses, xbox360 games that I'm done with, and so on. One of my caches is also hidden (with the owners approval) right near a summer time ice cream parlor, if the owner is there and she sees people looking for the cache, she'll sometimes give a discount or free toppings or something like that. I've found things like: batteries (although in one cache, someone left used batteries! Boo! music CD's, movie DVD's - there is a book swap cache near me, too but I can't quite walk that far. Quote
+Ashallond Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 I found a few kids caches with some nice toys, (didn't take any) but did find one with a US $1 coin. That's my best so far. We've got three FTF hounds in our area....so any FTF prize pretty much always goes to one of them. Quote
+PorscheSpyder Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 I put a certificate for a free dozen donuts in a cache, to this date no one has taken it, (13 months) Seriously?? I would pounce on that! Where is it? (Kidding of course... I'm sure it's several thousand miles from me ) I'd pounce on that thing too! Maybe people think it's fake or something... Quote
+Klatch Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Arriving first at a fairly remote cache, I found a beautiful hand-made set of earings and a necklace, made by the cache owner. Silver, turquoise, etc. I really wanted them for my wife, but I had noting even remotely comparable in value, so I left them in the cache. The next finder traded them for a "Burger King toy". Quote
+nvh2ofowler Posted May 7, 2009 Posted May 7, 2009 I have never found anything good, one cache I found had and empty shotgun shell a log and that was it. I left an xbox with 7 games in my newest cache. the FTF's kids were thrilled with that find so I'm told Quote
+mcrow Posted May 7, 2009 Posted May 7, 2009 The most expensive thing I've found so far is probably a travel bug. In my cache I left a $20 gift card to a local pizza place. I figured that people might be in town for a cache tour (it's a small town) and I figured I pay for pizza. Quote
+PorscheSpyder Posted May 8, 2009 Posted May 8, 2009 Today I found a baseball cap with the words "Old West" on it. It looks like a hunting type cap. Also found a TB in the same cache. So far, the hat is the most valuable (and most useful) thing I've found in a cache. Quote
+PorscheSpyder Posted May 8, 2009 Posted May 8, 2009 (edited) Today I found a baseball cap with the words "Old West" on it. It looks like a hunting type cap. Also found a TB in the same cache. So far, the hat is the most valuable (and most useful) thing I've found in a cache. Stupid button looked so good I hit it twice!!!!! Edited May 8, 2009 by PorscheSpyder Quote
+mksenn Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 I agree with a previous poster - the value for me has been the fun in caching, and of course the time spent with my wife and kids doing so. Yesterday I found a 100 peso coin in a cache. Turns out this particular coin was minted before Mexico hacked a few zeros off of its currency. With today's exchange rate, the coin is officially worth less than a penny. But, its a neat coin, and my secondary hobby with geocaches is to collect unique coins I find, so consider this one added to the collection. Quote
+WRWhizard Posted May 24, 2009 Posted May 24, 2009 I've never found anything of great value. But I've tried to make sure that each cache is a little better after I've visited it. For FTF prizes on my hides, I make handmade blacksmith or wood & string puzzles. I've also turned a few puzzles into travel bugs, solve them then pass them on. Some of these things could probably sell for $10-$20 bucks... but considering the time and effort I put into them... they actually cost near three times that. I was pleased to see that one of them was placed in a GeoWoodstock event today. Some of my coolest finds have been hand made items. Like some bead and feather totems I found once. I might suggest that others consider hand made swag. Quote
+the family bu Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 Can't say we have found anything particularly valuable in any of the caches we found - but we have found some very interesting things. Our daughter is 8 years old and she just loves the stuff that people leave for children. She found a purple bear in one cache - she has called her Lavender and she goes caching with her in her rucksack. I'm going to attach her to a string to the outer pocket. We have nearly lost her twice as she has to sit in the outside pocket so she can see where she is going and ofcourse so she can breath. The things we leave in our caches are, handmade FTF button badges, FTF trophies, binoculars, USB rechargable batteries, torches, USB memory stick. And we always try to put a coin or a TB in our new caches. Quote
+The Blorenges Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 For one of our trickier caches, near a beach, we left a £5 note (about US$8) in an envelope with a note for the FTF saying it was for them all to buy icecreams at the nearby stall. What was particularly heart-warming was that the FTF was a guy caching on his own, so he took the £5 but left £3.50 change so that whoever found it next could also buy some ices. I thought that was a really nice gesture. MrsB Quote
+skeezicks Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 Mine would be a 4 movie DVD set.I found a million dollar bill in one once.Unfortunately,Wal-Mart couldn't make change for me when I tried to use it to buy a pack of gum...go figure. Quote
+Brassine Family Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 When I first started this great hobby, I started out by having a signature item I always left which were 2 sealed AA batteries. But after leaving a total of 35 sets, and revisiting most of them to pick up TBs, I found that they weren't as useful as I had thought and none were taken. SO I went to leaving cheaper things. As For FTF, STF, and TTF hides, I would leave 3 unactivated TBs until I started getting notes from a "logged" FTF that there were no TBs in the cache. On this cache: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...fa-a5d2665268cf I left an ammo can with log book and pen, so all you would have to do is take and hide. I am not sure what the most valuable swag/FTF I have found, but the one item I took gets use everytime I go geocaching and it is a F N E Z button. Since most of the caches around my area are 1-3 in difficulty, when I get back to the "geopid" I hit the button... Quote
+mohrunits2 Posted July 5, 2009 Posted July 5, 2009 I went to a cache that had a bunch of space shuttle patches in it. Quote
+j1m1th1ng Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 Not been at it very long. However I recently got a FTF that was loaded with six dollar cash wash coins. Took one as the note said to but I'm sure I'll end up just putting it in another one Quote
+jlistre Posted August 12, 2009 Posted August 12, 2009 Hmm, I haven't been lucky enough to get a FTF ever. There are just too many way, way better cachers in this town, that apparently are independently wealthy and don't work! However, I do remember reading somewhere that one cacher had a habit of leaving krugerrands in his very difficult caches. Quote
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