Removing coin icon from cache page - the pros/cons

[+Geocaching-Geckos]

This is just my personal 2 cents, but I would vote against it.

 

I do actually (more than just every once in a while) go to a cache for no other reason than to grab a coin that I haven't seen before. I always check the logs to make sure nobody has said it's not there, but I like the icon.

 

IMHO

 

Be cautious when you are doing this! A while back I used to target geocaches that contained geocoins as well. I moved several but, more often than not, the geocoins would not be where they were suppose to be and I missed them. A fellow geocaching team, who shall remain nameless, who noticed my pattern of activity accused me (in these forums, no less) of being a geocoin thief. Which, of course, I wasn't. I privately tried to politely explain my actions and the fact I was laid up in the hospital for a most of the summer to these two but they failed to respond. Now, I generally avoid geocaches that allegedly contain a geocoin.

 

Geocaching-Geckos

[+Six Little Spookies]

As I've said before, I'm an icon hound. I'd love caches to accurately reflect their contents. It is irritating when a cache lists a coin that hasn't been in it for months. I'd rather cache and TB owners be quicker to mark items as missing. But I'd really hate to see the icons disabled from the cache listings.

 

I used to think thieves were the reason for all my missing trackables, but I don't anymore. I doubt coin thieves are widespread. What are they going to do with them? They can't sell them. I think ignorance and apathy are the greatest culprits of missing trackables. A lot of new cachers don't understand the etiquette of geocoins. They may only go caching every couple of months. They mistake coins for swag. They mean to log them but never get a round to it (need a supply of that coin to send out to them!). And they lose them. Most cachers are not as avid or passionate about caching as those who frequent the forums, otherwise they'd be here and this wouldn't be a problem! You'll never get a perfect caching community, but education is the solution to make it the best we can.

 

I've seen a number of trackables die when the entire caches they were in were stolen or destroyed. Death by bulldozer, that's a sad way to see them go.

 

*13 of my 27 wild coins and TBs are currently missing. Have you seen them?*

[ELTADA]

I've been trying out the idea of removing the icon for my geocoins from each cache it gets dropped into. I used the idea of the terrier dog going to earth, so have a look at my "Disappearing Dog" geocoin. I wanted to keep the coin 'out of sight' as much as possible so that it would be a surprise for any cacher who came across it unexpectedly in a cache.

 

MrsB

 

Such a neat idea! I might borrow this idea for my next coin I send out...whenever that will be.

 

Discovery only won't add any mileage, and you wouldn't know where the Trackable was, ever, except by an email.

 

That's true -- that's why I mentioned it would be ambitious if burgessfour ever wanted to map out where it went. The only thing you could do is use your own mapping software and input by hand the general areas where the coin went. Time-consuming and hardly accurate...not at all convenient. If you did this for one or two coins, no big deal. For 20...yikes!

 

I've got your coin on my watchlist too...am interested to see if cachers will follow your instructions.