Acitivating my first coin

[+isuquinndog]

I received a geocoin as a FTF prize today and am going to activate it and send it out.

 

I've only seen/moved travel bugs, never a coin. Does it need a mission sheet or any thing attached to it, or should I put it in a baggie? I wouldn't want some one to take it as swag instead of moving it on.

 

Thanks!

[+fuzziebear3]

I guess I would say that is up to you. Some people drill a hole in the coin and attach a laminated tag with airline cable. The hole defaces the coin and makes it less likely to get stuck in a thief's collection.

 

I personally can't do this, even if I know my coin is at risk. Me, I print a little card and laminate it and put it in the flip. I usually also use a baggie, can't hurt to protect it a little more.

 

I do find and move coins 'in the wild' with no information ... just in the flip, sometimes in a baggie. I guess it works ok for them.

[+Droo]

There has been much discussion on how to protect your coin in the wild from coin thieves or muggles. To be honest, you can't. You can make it less desirable by drilling holes in it, attaching locks and cables to it along with laminated notes explaining to the noob how to log the thing in the system. Many a cacher have complained that I've marred some of my travelers to keep them on the road and it may have helped and it may have pissed some people off enough to get even. There is just no telling what's going to happen when you drop your shiny bauble in the woods.

 

I suggest at the very least you print up a card that fits in the coin sleeve describing your coin's mission and how to use the tracking number to find the coin page and log it's retrieval - include the tracking number if it happens to be small and hard to read on the coin.

 

Good luck and may your coin enjoy many miles of smiles.