confused on coins

[+benalexe]

I see there are some very costly coins out there. Do people pay $15 $20 or more just to take the coins an put them in a cache?

 

Isn't that like just throwing away the $$. Sorry I hope I am not offending anyone?

 

Or do people buy the coins to just collect and never place them in a cache?

[+summerandnana]

People do a little of both. I would venture a guess that the expensive or rare coins are probably put in some ones collection and not left in caches. We have a local cacher that has many coins maybe hundreds) in the wild. I checked one of his coins and it has logged over 10.000 miles. They do some times go missing but we understand the risks. It is great fun to read about your coins adventures and sometimes strike up friendships. It can get very addictive and expensive, but..... Take care, happy caching, keep those coins moving.

[+benalexe]

So as a matter of practice, anytime I see a coin shoudl I take it?

 

then place it on my next cache?

 

What if I go several weeks without going geocaching?

 

Just trying to understand the etiquette.

[+summerandnana]

Many coins will have a mission attached to it. If you are able to help it reach its goal and plan to drop within a week or so, go for it. If you have a good idea that you will not go caching for a while it is best to leave it for the next cacher. If you were to take one home with good intentions and find you have held it longer than a couple of weeks just take it to cache you have visited close by and drop it off. It is always a good idea to contact the owner if you have held on to it longer than you expected just so they know it has not gone missing. Sounds like you are very conscientious and I am sure you will do just fine, have fun. There may be those occasions where you find that the coin has not been activated, it was put in as a gift. If you plan to keep it and did not leave something in return, take it upon yourself to leave something a little bit special in the next cache you visit to "pay it forward" Hope this helps

[+Brassine Family]

Thats pretty much what I would do. If you are going to be taking some time off and have a coin, please be kind enough to the owner know that you have it and when you plan to place it back in a cache.

[+larry739]

I used to put $1 bills in caches, but people just spent them. I used wheresgeorge stamps and wrote on them and everything. The geocoins and travel bugs seem to last a little longer.

[+nashuan]

I see there are some very costly coins out there. Do people pay $15 $20 or more just to take the coins an put them in a cache?

 

Isn't that like just throwing away the $$. Sorry I hope I am not offending anyone?

 

Or do people buy the coins to just collect and never place them in a cache?

 

Your question is valid. Some coins fetch hundreds of dollars and so will almost certainly end up in a collectors album. For me, $15-20 is a little steep to place in the wild, but I'd do $10-12 coins. I have about 10 coins and 5 travel bugs total, so my overall investment is not that high and I don't mind paying the $10-12. Some people have hundreds of coins in the wild, logging miles for years. I just moved one recently that had 37,000 miles on it. It started in Australia a few years back and who know how many places it will yet see?

 

I saw on one of your other posts that you ordered some Groundspeak tags, so see how you make out with those. I ordered five and set them all loose on the same weekend on a race to the Four-Corners National Monument. One of them jumped 1400 miles in a single move, while another one sat motionless for a month until today. Two moved in the wrong direction and the last has been sitting in a friend's cache bag for a couple of weeks, waiting to be released when he sets up a cach near his house. More bugs mean more of a chance of seeing something move that day, because they often hang up for one reason or another.

[+Droo]

Coin cost: $15-20 or more is the resale market or secondary market... Ebay. From the coin maker they should cost $10 or so depending on the detail and workmanship. Some are less expensive and use a "generic" back face that saves on die fees at the mint. There are a whole slew of coins priced at under $5 if you look at the various vendours online.

 

Etiquette: If pick up a coin or TB and keep it longer than 2 weeks it's nice to send the owner an email explaining what you're up to. They can then rest assured that it hasn't disappeared but is in the hands of a conscientious and consitderate cacher. <big smile>

 

BTW, the owner can reached through the coin's tracking page. Up at the top the owner's name is a link to their profile and in it you can find a link to email them.

[+MarkS224]

I see there are some very costly coins out there. Do people pay $15 $20 or more just to take the coins an put them in a cache?

 

Isn't that like just throwing away the $$. Sorry I hope I am not offending anyone?

 

Or do people buy the coins to just collect and never place them in a cache?

 

Thanks for this very good question Benalex. As a brand new geocacher myself I was wondering what to do if I stumbled on one of these. Now I know what the proper ettiquette is.

 

Thanks again!

MarkS224 & Bucky "The Cache Hound"

[+Geo.Error]

i see a coin as a flower that you put in a vase.

 

if you are lucky you can throw those flowers away within 3 weeks

 

i enjoy my geocoins and when i think they can go i set them free.

 

i get now nice logs and photo's from geocachers.

 

i enjoy there journey, one coin from me is now in china.

 

i see pictures from china, from the whole world.

 

That makes me happy. very happy.

I meet true logs other geocachers go so on.

 

do you understand why i love to set them free instead to put them in a box for my eyes only