Recived a FTF coin, now what do I do with it?

[mrbeachroach]

What do I do with my new coin? Seams kinda pointless for me to activate it and then just hold on to it for others to discover. Should I give it a mission and send it on its way? If so what is a good way to make sure it dosent get taken? Please help. If you think I should hold on to it thats cool to. Thanks.

[+nashuan]

Congratulations on being FTF in that cache. Generally, a FTF coin is your to keep. If it were me, I would keep it as a keepsake "trophy" for being FTF. However, you could activate it and send it on a mission. I understand your questioning sending a FTF coin out into the world, but think of it as a travel bug and not an FTF coin.

 

I have also heard of people making copies of coins and sending the copies out, to prevent loss of the original coin. They add the tracking number to the copy so that it travels just like the original, but they keep the coin in an album. I've wondered if I could take the tracking number off of a coin and make my own completely unrelated traveler (say a wooden cutout with a photo glued onto it) and use that tracking number. I'd have to pull the original coin out of circulation of course, but how cool would it be to make your own. Specifically, I'm thinking of taking a photo of a Greman Shepard we lost recently and making a wooden cutout of her head, gluing a pic of her head on the cutout and wood-burning the tracking number into the back of the "coin". Don't know how legal this is because there is always the possibility of the original escaping from my grubby paws and then there would be two coins with the same tracking number floating around.

 

But I digress. In your case, you might just want to keep it, sell it, or start a cache of your own and put it in there for the FTF in that cache.

[+joranda]

Just make a copy of it and send the copy out so if it comes up missing, you can just send out another copy. That way everyone who finds it will enjoy it and it won't end up in a muggles collection.

[+pghlooking]

Congrats on your coin. While there are no sure fire ways to protect a coin from being stolen, anymore than there are of protecting a cache from being stolen, there are ways to "help" ensure it is a good traveller. One of the more common ways is to drill a hole in the coin and place a tag onto it stating it is a traveller. A hole in the coin will take away from someone stealing it for their collection. You could also send it to Europe. Seems they travel better there than here.

 

Please don't fall into the group of people who simply put a piece of paper out there and pretend it's the same thing as the actual coin. No one gets excited over a piece of paper with a picture of a coin on it as some might lead you to believe. I assume you want your coin logs to be accurate, and to live vicariously through the coins travels. If so then a log of "discovered" would be meaningless since you would be looking at the coin that someone is saying they found. Pretty lame huh.

 

Since the coin was a prize and you wouldn't be out anything for releasing it, even if it came up missing, I would say go for it. Give it a mission and hope for the best. AS with anything there are no guarentees, but tht is also some of the fun of it, the mystery. Take the risk, it's only a coin. Just have fun with it.

[+rgbgal]

Orrr.... you could put out a new cache and make this FTF coin one that travels from one new cache to another. The idea is you put a cache out and put the FTF coin in. Who ever finds it first picks the coin up and is supposed to put another cache out with the coin in. Seems that these coins stay around longer and get new caches put out in our area.

 

Oh, make sure you give your FTF coin the "pay it forward" idea as it's mission.

 

Congratulations on your new coin!

[+UncleJimbo]

What do I do with my new coin? Seams kinda pointless for me to activate it and then just hold on to it for others to discover. Should I give it a mission and send it on its way? If so what is a good way to make sure it dosent get taken? Please help. If you think I should hold on to it thats cool to. Thanks.

I would keep it as a trophy of the FTF (and perhaps activate it so that it would appear in my icon list), but I collect coins. If you are not a collector, you could use it as a prize in one of your caches, or activate it and send it out. IMO, sending out copies of coins is pretty lame, and I would not recommend that. If you send out a coin, just assume that eventually it will be lost or stolen, and don't sweat it. Enjoy the travels for as long as they last.

[+joranda]

No one may not get excited over a piece of paper with a picture of a coin on it but it better than drilling a hole in it. Why would you want to ruin a good coin that way. At least the coin theives won't want to still the copy. If I find a coin copy in a cache, I still log it and move it along. Why do people get so up in arms about the paper coins? Why do they need the metal ones so bad?

[+UncleJimbo]

No one may not get excited over a piece of paper with a picture of a coin on it but it better than drilling a hole in it. Why would you want to ruin a good coin that way. At least the coin theives won't want to still the copy. If I find a coin copy in a cache, I still log it and move it along. Why do people get so up in arms about the paper coins? Why do they need the metal ones so bad?

I have not drilled any of mine.

 

I guess I don't like paper copies because they are not really coins. At best they could be considered TBs. A coin is a "coin". There is no perfect solution to prevent coin loss and theft.

[+joranda]

We could always put a washer between the paper. Then it would feel more like a coin.

[+Droo]

Choices, choices, choices.....

1. Activate it and release it as traveler.

2. Activate it and keep it for others to discover.

3. Keep it as a collector's item.

4. Activate it and send out a Proxy in case it gets muggled or the cache it's in gets muggled.

5. Give it away as swag in a cache for someone else to deal with.

6. Put out a new cache with the coin as a FTF prize.

7. Activate the coin with the mission that it always be a FTF catch and must be dropped in new caches only.

8. Drill it and deface it before you release it so it's less likely to attract thieves.

9. Activate it and release it with tags explaining what it is and how to log it out and back in. The info sheet you find on the tracking page does a pretty good job explaining what's involved and it looks cool with a picture uploaded.

10. Write up a contest here on the forums and give it away to lucky winner.

11. Sell it on Ebay...

12. Trade it.

13.

14.

15.

Edited June 29, 2008 by Droo

[+pghlooking]

Why do people get so up in arms about the paper coins? Why do they need the metal ones so bad?

It's not a paper coin. It's nothing. People don't get up in arms about it, they are just tired of fake pretend stuff. When someone discovers a coin, it should be the coin. Not some Xerox copy of a coin while the coin is hundreds of miles away. That's a joke. I can't believe you can't see the difference between moving a coin and moving a piece of paper. I always thought it was a simple distinction.

[+PJPeters]

Why do people get so up in arms about the paper coins? Why do they need the metal ones so bad?

It's not a paper coin. It's nothing. People don't get up in arms about it, they are just tired of fake pretend stuff. When someone discovers a coin, it should be the coin. Not some Xerox copy of a coin while the coin is hundreds of miles away. That's a joke. I can't believe you can't see the difference between moving a coin and moving a piece of paper. I always thought it was a simple distinction.

I get so disappointed when I find the coin I was looking for in a cache turns out to be a photocopy or a picture of a real coin. Yeah, I get the icon, but I want to handle the coin. I want to feel the weight. I want to keep move it along.

Seriously - if you found a cache with two coins, and could only take one coin out of it, which would you take? The 2008 Compass Rose or the 2008 Compass Rose (paper version)?

 

Back on topic...

Usually I hold onto a coin for a while and then either release it or hand it out as a prize.

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

Choices, choices, choices.....

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7. Activate the coin with the mission that it always be a FTF catch and SHOULD be dropped in new caches only.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

My personal Favorite.

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

Why do people get so up in arms about the paper coins? Why do they need the metal ones so bad?

It's not a paper coin. It's nothing. People don't get up in arms about it, they are just tired of fake pretend stuff. When someone discovers a coin, it should be the coin. Not some Xerox copy of a coin while the coin is hundreds of miles away. That's a joke. I can't believe you can't see the difference between moving a coin and moving a piece of paper. I always thought it was a simple distinction.

Agreed, It would be exactly like discovering a picture of the coin online. On second thought, I might be MORE likely to throw a proxy in the trash.

Edited June 29, 2008 by WRITE SHOP ROBERT

[+BrierPatch]

Wow Have never found a copy yet that will be disappointing.

[+Clan Doyle]

It ia disappointing. I personally don't move copies unless I don't have a choice. I think it goes against the "trade up, trade even" philosphy. As for what to do with the FTF, it's yours, do whatever you want! I kept my first one, activated it, and keep it in my "Discover Me" book. The other 2, one went traveling (I dropped in my next FTF), and the other went into my next cache as a prize. If I set out another as a prize, I'll probably activate it and then have the FTF winner adopt. That way, we both win! It's up to you, though, congrats!