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Puffin' my way to the next cache... Geocoin!


Eclectic Penguin

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This is the formal announcement of the forthcoming availability of my next personal coin - Puffin' my way to the next cache. Following the incredible success of Eclectic Penguin coin, the next coin is another bird, which also has a special place in my heart - sometimes called locally as the Pembrokeshire Penguin - this is of course the Puffin!

 

Front:

OakFRONT.jpg

 

Back:

OakBACK.jpg

 

Specifically, this is an Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica). The surley, rather startled look on the puffin's face is characteristic of the bird's features and the image on the background of the little island with the distinctive lighthouse is based on Skokholm Island in South West Wales which is a site of special scientific interest and a breeding ground for our friend the Puffin among other rare and not so rare birds.

 

Puffins can be observed in many locations in the Northern Hemisphere - though being ground nesters, they rely on the lack of ground predators so they are mostly observed on off-shore islands.

 

The coin is minted in 2 varieties; copper and nickel, both shiney. What's not clear in the pictures is that the sea and rocks on the island image are transparent enamel with a pattern minted in the coin to give the texture needed for what's being depicted. On the front, this has also been done on the bird's bill, the small yellow seciton on the back of the beak and also the eye's pupil (where a slight glint effect should be visible through the enamel).

 

Each delivery will be accompanied by an information sheet about puffins and the details on the coin including some anecdotes about the lighhouse and island depicted. As well as the obligatory tracking text, on the back the coin has the words "Puffin' my way to the next cache!" written underneath the image of the puffin soaring over the island.

 

I am currently awaiting delivery of the coins myself from Oakcoins - there is currently no pre-order for these coins but I may open my shoping cart for this in about a week's time. Delivery here should be in about 2 weeks time.

 

Surprisingly, although they can be observed within an hour and a half's drive from where I live, I've never actually seen a puffin myself - something I plan to rectify this spring. Unfortunately trips to Skokholm island are expensive and rare, but trips to nearby Skomer island (well known for its puffins) occur daily and several times a day during breeding season and are very affordable.

 

Announcement of availability/preorder and details about how to order will be made in this thread as soon as possible!

 

I hope you like Puffy - and if you haven't spotted it already, there's a new Eclectic Penguin coin now available too...

Edited by Eclectic Penguin
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Cute! I will be on the look-out for the sale!

 

I've decided to make this available to pre-order the moment I'm told they're in the postal service from Oakcoins to me (which will almost certainly be this week sometime).

 

I forgot to mention in the original post that the coin will have its own icon (taken granted these days of course):

 

32x32 icon: pufficon32.gif

 

16x16 icon: pufficon16.gif

Edited by Eclectic Penguin
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Due to popular demand, you can now pre-order the puffin coins on http://www.eclectic-penguin.org.uk/cart

 

This is a pre-shipping order as I'm currently awaiting delivery of these coins from the States in about a week's time myself. It does guarantee purchase once you've paid though and I'll be contacting every order when it is being finally processed.

 

This DOES however mean that you can combine an order for the new glow-in-the-dark Eclectic Penguin and penguin pin badges. It does also mean that if you do a combination order, the entire order will be delayed slightly until the Puffins are available for shipping.

 

One point to note: there isn't a limited edition version of this coin, however there are fewer copper in the initial run than nickel.

 

As with previous penguin orders, at least one order from this initial run of 250 coins will be randomly selected and have a gold Eclectic Penguin added as a free gift.

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Typical - ordered the new penguins last night then saw this morning that the Puffins were on pre-order! Have now just ordered one of each - looking forward to receiving them. Spent two weeks on Skomer a few years ago now as a voluntry worker and saw then in real life - fabulous little birds and as there are no predators on the island you can get really close.

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Ordered me some puffins :D

 

Can't wait to see them (and hold them, and pet them) :lol:

 

Last summer, PolskiKrol and I took a puffin and whale watching boat tour from Bar Harbor, Maine. My avatar pic was probably the best shot I got. We didn't get too close to them. Close enough to see (hundreds of) them pretty well with our eyes but not to get a good shot with my (puny <_<) 150mm lens!

 

We didn't see any whales so we got free tickets for next time, :D I was there for the puffins anyhow!

 

Gotta get myself a bigger lens for this year! ..and a wetsuit, we have kayaks to bring this year, but the waters gonna be cooooooooold memorial day weekend!

 

I'm really excited about this coin, I B) puffins

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The Puffin coins are HERE!

 

Thaks for all your patience in waiting after pre-ordering - I'll be packing the coins tonight and they'll be going in the post over the next couple of days in the order they were bought (ther's only so many packets that can be processed during my lunch hour).

 

I hope to take some pictures and post them here tonight.

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Just to let you know, everyone who pre-ordered this coin, the orders have been packaged and will be going into the postal system either tomorrow or Friday.

 

The reason I'm posting this here is because, after processing every single order, I discover that my cart software is no longer emailing out information about completed orders. This may be a web server issue or it may be the software - at this stage I can't tell.

 

Rest asured - if you've ordered and paid, your puffins (and penguins in many cases) are in the rather large sack going to the post office tomorrow during my lunch hour.

 

Don't forget to look on the other side of the packing slip for some information about puffins and the little island that's depicted on the coin. I especially like the story about the clairvoyant donkey :rolleyes:

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I've fixed the problem with the cart not emailing confirmations - and every order has been now been dispatched.

 

Thanks to all who have bought this, and for all your comments about "Puffy", my second personal coin - yet again I'm staggered at how quickly they're selling and also personally, how wonderful they've turned out. My best artistic renderings previous to these coins were little better than doodles and smiley faces... especially since I was mostly, not exactly top of the class in arts and crafts at school (even nailing one of my woodwork class projects to the floor when I was 12 - the teacher wasn't best pleased) and have been more of a sofware developer kinda geek for most of my life.

 

I have 2 other coins in development (other than the 2009 South Wales Geocachers coin which I've already said that most of the creative side was with Oakcoins) - I now need to wait though for my current coins to sell enough before I can invest in 2 brand new - completely different ideas.

 

As I've mentioned previously, I hope to go to see puffins in the wild this spring. I was speaking with someone who has both been to the island depicted on the coin and the one that's more commonly visited by tourists earlier on today - apparently, the puffins are so docile and un-bothered by humans being near - you can get within 2 yards of them and they're not even fussed (a bit like the pigeons in Trafalgar Square I guess)... I'm REALLY looking forward to this trip.

 

 

Also...

 

My dad was a crafts school teacher for his entire career and my sister also teaches arts and crafts - maybe I should consider another career after all - software developing is turning out to be an utter dead end at the moment, career wise despite the fact that I'm rather good at it... And yes, I was his pupil when I nailed 2 bits of wood to the floor much to his embarrassment I'm sure and also to the amusement of the rest of the class. :unsure::rolleyes:

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I guess I need to be a little more adventurous when I explore these threads! I thought "Puffin' " was written slang for "puffing" and that the coin would feature some sort of out-of-breath cacher. My education came when I searched for Eclectic Penguins, wondering if I could purchase or trade, and when I visited the website to purchase my glow-in-the-dark penguin, I saw the Puffins!

 

I saw Atlantic Puffins three years ago while my husband and I visited Acadia National Park in Maine (beautiful area, BTW). We took a puffin tour and were lucky enough to catch several good views of them before they ended their breeding season and flew off to wherever they go.

 

These are great coins, and I purchased on of each, as well as my penguin. I look forward to other pelagic bird coins, perhaps and albatross or a storm-petrel?! Anything to increase my "flock" of coins...

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I guess I need to be a little more adventurous when I explore these threads! I thought "Puffin' " was written slang for "puffing" and that the coin would feature some sort of out-of-breath cacher. My education came when I searched for Eclectic Penguins, wondering if I could purchase or trade, and when I visited the website to purchase my glow-in-the-dark penguin, I saw the Puffins!

 

I saw Atlantic Puffins three years ago while my husband and I visited Acadia National Park in Maine (beautiful area, BTW). We took a puffin tour and were lucky enough to catch several good views of them before they ended their breeding season and flew off to wherever they go.

 

These are great coins, and I purchased on of each, as well as my penguin. I look forward to other pelagic bird coins, perhaps and albatross or a storm-petrel?! Anything to increase my "flock" of coins...

 

Of course, the coin's title is a pun on the word Puffin and Puffing - and I think it works well!

 

My next coin is due for release sometime next week - though this coin is actually a group effort. This is the 2009 South Wales Geocachers Geocoin. I know that there's quite a bit of interest for this coin already - I'll announce its sale once it's available. A bit of a departure from my previous two avians, I think this also comes from my heart and I'm proud of the designs we came up with.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=214535

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing the puffins within 3 miles of the island depicted on the coin this spring (not long now). Skomer island is a lot easier to get to than Skokholm island, but I felt Skokholm should be the one depicted not only because of the lighthouse but also for its important history in the study of marine bird life.

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