To Photocopy or Not To Photocopy

[+KsGeoGypsy]

Hello-

I was wondering if some of my fellow geo-cachers could help me out and let me know how they feel about coins, and the risk of them getting lost/stolen.

I have purchased a few coins for myself, and have found a few unactivated ones in caches, but I am afraid of putting them out into the big bad caching world!! Time after time I've read on cache logs that the coin that should have been there, was not.

I've noticed people will photocopy a coin and laminate it, and send it out in place of the coin itself, therefore taking away any worry about it turning up missing.

Is that okay? Is this frowned upon in the caching community? Or does everyone understand and think it's a personal choice? I am anxious to set out my first "trackable" item, but don't want to be bummed if it goes missing.

 

Please let me know you're thoughts. Thanks!

[XC_Tracker]

We always appreciate finding the actual coin - but we completely understand your worries. We don't send any of our coins out for the exact same reason. One thing we have thought about is sending out a coin that can only be passed from geocacher to geocacher and never left in a cache (ideally).

[+StarBrand]

I think it is completely lame to put out a laminated card and try to call it a "geocoin". Sounds like trash in the cache to me.

[XC_Tracker]

Should mention another idea we have seen. You could always create a wooden version of the coin . One geocacher we knew would make the coin 4-5 times the actual size and so it was a 'JUMBO' coin and then place a color copy of the coin onto the wood or paint a similar design into it.

 

You can use some creativity and release a coin without greatly depreciating the 'value' of finding the coin...