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Interest in geocoins going down?


tsunrisebey

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I think it is more geocoin overload. When I started collecting there wasn't that many geocoins around. They were special and unique. Sort of like the beanie baby craze. Then the beanie baby became a success and they mass produced and just made them until there was so many they weren't special or unique. Now we have geocachers who put barrels of them out in there yard, put a log sheet in it, call it a cache and say come and get them. To me that is what is happening to geocoins. They aren't special and unique. Anybody who wants to have them made can have one made. All it takes is money. I have read so many times about the resale value of the coins. Well looking at today compared to the past the resale value isn't nearly as good as it was. It seems like if you wait long enough the coin that you want will either be done again or put on the auction block. I don't think there is collectors any more because a collector is someone who buys the unique and special. But in todays world the unique and special doesn't end until it is mass produced to death.

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I've been "collecting" Geocoins for awhile and certainly don't see the interest going down - I see more selectivity and more selection. Which may slow the sales on any specific coin.

 

In the "olden" days, when there were only a few coins each month - there was a large audience waiting to buy them. The majority of the audience is still there (people come and go), but the selection is so large that their buying power is distributed and no single issue will be huge.

 

Plus, there were too many shenanigans around limited editions, commercial-only, etc, etc. This creates distain amongst the purists, drives values up (initially) and "fatigues" the market for new releases as it confuses what is and is not a "real" geocoin. That's happened in many collectibles: stamps (Tonga), coins (Franklin Mint), Beanie Babies, Comics and more.

 

In all those above mentioned hobbies - collectors originally attempted to complete an entire collection, then specialized, and then became "topical" and focused on one aspect of the hobby.

 

This is my take. I only really collect Personal coins from people I meet or connect to in some way. I also like technology coins, but the challenge is that as soon as a topical area (caching-related, technology-related, geo-related emerges then the commercial interests will seek to fill that market with product)

 

Personally, I think the interest in "commerical" and "product" coins is down, but the interest in coins that have meaning and connection to the hobby and others in it remains.

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I'd love to make a coin,. I have a design in my head. I can't draw, so I'd have to outsource the art. I can't find some one that would help me make it without either requiring a major down payment, a large order for them to front the costs, or a minimum that is way more than what Groundspeak requires for certain things. Oh, and I'm a public school teacher with a 2 year old daughter that doesn't have a chunk of change just sitting around to make a coin that is for a hobby type activity.

 

Looks like a lot of obstacles that I'd have to overcome to get a coin made. Anyone ever think that maybe this is part of the issue?

 

(that being said, a lot of very interesting observations...)

 

:)

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I'm relatively new at geocaching and have considered having some trackable geocoins made with my own design and motto. However, the longer I geocache, the more I conclude that their usefulness as trackables is nil. I come across plenty of caches that have geocoins listed, but the vast majority are gone. And gone for a long time. I don't think this can be attributed to lag between the time geocachers pick up coins and when they log them. I did a little caching this afternoon, and of the ten trackables that were listed as being in the caches I saw, none of them were actually there.

 

While some of this could be attributed to muggles, it doesn't explain the magnitude of the problem. Some of these trackables were placed three days ago by the last person on the log. It makes me wonder if they're being actively mined. Maybe the bust in the geocoin business is just what's needed to make them useful again.

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LFD sums it up well.

 

My interest hasn't gone away, it's simply changed over the last 5 years. The trading market is all but a dead. And my only interest in collecting is personal coins. Been getting rid of the rest.

 

As far as a siggy item, I went the PT route in 2008 and make those for caches rather than coins. Much more affordable.

Edited by AtlantaGal
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but see, I'm a bit different though. I'm still new, but I find that I don't want a ton of personal coins. I like geometrically nice coins (the compass roses) and coins that hit my interests. I look for coins that make me go 'ooooh,' but lately I haven't seen very many that do that for me.

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I have a pathtag and I like to leave them for people to find and trade

 

I want to say that I STILL love geocoins, and will keep saving because i want to get more geocoins from the other cachers I meet talk to and read on the board here

 

If leaving coins in caches is your goal, plus personal trading then go the iconless \ non-trackable route... it removes about $2.50 off the sting of a coin. In the ballpark of the cost of a pathtag.

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In the "olden" days, when there were only a few coins each month - there was a large audience waiting to buy them. The majority of the audience is still there (people come and go), but the selection is so large that their buying power is distributed and no single issue will be huge.

 

I disagree. The number of coins back then was just as staggering as today. If you think how many 2005 trackable coins were made and we only officially were allowed to make them in late May of 2005 (and then end of August of 2005 for personals)... that 7 and 4 months respectively and there are tons of coins from that era, not including non-trackables!

 

I agree. The number of people buying geocoins in 2005 and 2006 was 5-6 times what it is today, at least it was in coin hotbeds. We had about 50 people in Northern New Jersey alone collecting coins, and some 200 in the region. Now I can count on my (10) fingers all the people in the region who collect coins. Coins also cost and were bought by people who geocached, now they are bought as works of art and collected... different time different market! :)

 

There would be 1000 coin runs selling out in a day and 500 selling out in 5 minutes! :P

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In the "olden" days, when there were only a few coins each month - there was a large audience waiting to buy them. The majority of the audience is still there (people come and go), but the selection is so large that their buying power is distributed and no single issue will be huge.

 

I disagree. The number of coins back then was just as staggering as today. If you think how many 2005 trackable coins were made and we only officially were allowed to make them in late May of 2005 (and then end of August of 2005 for personals)... that 7 and 4 months respectively and there are tons of coins from that era, not including non-trackables!

 

I agree. The number of people buying geocoins in 2005 and 2006 was 5-6 times what it is today, at least it was in coin hotbeds. We had about 50 people in Northern New Jersey alone collecting coins, and some 200 in the region. Now I can count on my (10) fingers all the people in the region who collect coins. Coins also cost and were bought by people who geocached, now they are bought as works of art and collected... different time different market! :P

 

There would be 1000 coin runs selling out in a day and 500 selling out in 5 minutes! :D

 

:D okay... what if I change that to the "ancient old days" :)

 

I well remember there being less than 100 coins in total to collect. As in 100 unique coins.

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I'm old school, been collecting since early 2005, had my first personal made in April of 2005, and I still check the geocoin forums every single day....but my geocoin buying has gone way down and trading has become almost nil. I honestly think that the interest in geocoins has gone down.

 

For example, in the Bay Area, we used to have a GBA Coin Club and have monthly un-events to trade coins and talk about coins. The un-events eventually became a time to talk about geocaching and rarely were geocoins discussed.

 

I do miss the days of trading personals though. I've still got a bunch of my v2s left if anyone's interested! =)

Edited by Mauison
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There was a day when I bought anything and everything, and every version, but, that was also a time when selection was not as wide and there are not 20 different versions of one design (okay, I might be exaggerating here, but you get my drift). The market became flooded with numerous designs and way too many versions of the same coin. That is when my coin buying slowed down. I had decided that I did not want every design, and did not need every versions of the coins that I liked. Maybe it took a little longer for others to reach the same point as me.

 

My most prized coins are the personals that I traded face-to-face. I guess that is because of the memories associated with them, not so much because of the design. So, like AG, I prefer to trade for personals, or drop my coin in caches for others to keep. I pretty much stopped trading our personal for commercial coins a long time ago...just did not see the point of trading for something that I could buy myself.

 

I miss the more vocal folks from the forums...where are they? I just do not see them posting like they used to. There has been a shift to newer collectors, with names I do not always recognize and posts that are not as colorful as back in the glory days of trading. Maybe there is just not that much to get folks riled up as there used to be. I dunno. I kind-of miss the heated discussions and the coins that sold out in minutes. I also miss the days were geocoin designs were discussed in the forums...now, it seems, I only know if new designs if I am so-and-so's newsletter list...and like I said...I am not so much into the commercial coins anymore.

 

Is interest in geocoins gone...I don't think so. I just think that the market has shifted a bit. Maybe the days of 20 different versions and remints are gone. Maybe there are new, more discriminating collectors out there.

 

Just my thoughts.

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I don’t know about others or if I am typical or not but here’s how I see it.

 

Not sure what the following really has to do with your question but it was mentioned and struck a chord with me so here’s my two cents.

 

I’ve only been caching for 7 months and the geocoins are the only items in a cache I will take the time to take and move along, travel bugs are cumbersome and often poorly constructed so the tag and item get separated. AFAIK, TB’s are a big PITA. Coins on the other hand are easy to transport and provide a lot of interest both in finding a cache and in placing them.

 

However, in that short 7 months I’ve seen so many coins that I helped move along go MIA and IMO, that stinks. I had planned on releasing several coins until I found that out. Now I am creating proxy coins to release in their place. That’s not an easy task since I really want the proxy’s to have the look and feel of a real coin.

 

Now to your question.

 

As for coins, I’ve been bitten, I now have nearly 100 coins as keepers and several of those have proxy coins traveling in their place now. I have several I still want to have bought traders to interest those with coins I want. So the fact that coins are going MIA and that I am currently out of work have not dampened my determination to get the coins I want but it has meant I am very discrimination about what I want. I like creative designs that are well thought out or just have good old plain WOW value. Some coins I grab simply because of what they commemorate and others no matter how neat they look I won’t buy for the same reason. The commemorate things I don’t care for but that’s just personal taste. One thing I have noticed is that if you aren’t watching this forum all the time you will probably miss something you do want. That might be a problem for artists if they are hoping to get more sales, I dunno because it seems they are always sold out. The economy certainly plays a role but if people really want something they will find a way to get it. And I guess my last thought is I’ve noticed a fair amount of in-fighting (what look like little political or personal spats) between well known cachers. That could have something to do with people getting out of it due to disillusionment. And finally I think the large number of trashy caches, poorly implemented and poorly maintained may have a role if interest really is dropping. I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to a cache expecting to find something only to find it’s MIA or the cache is half destroyed or MIA itself. When I look through the logs and find the cache has been logged as DNF for five months and the owner hasn’t taken the time to archive or update the cache and they have hundreds of caches out it really is irritating and disheartening. Its things like this that I can see causing someone to decide it isn’t worth it and dropping out. That’s a lot of stuff but hopefully you find something useful in all of that.

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I suppose it also begs the question: is interest in geocaching itself on the wane?

 

Personally, I've always been a fair-weather cacher, cacher of opportunity, or travelling cacher - whatever you want to call it. I don't cache as an activity unto itself, but rather as an added element to my pre-existing travels and journeys. I also gave-up logging caches I don't like a long time ago - the old saying "if you don't have anything nice to say..."

 

The entire purpose and use of coins took a dramatic turn somewhere in early to mid 2006 (in my opinion - some would place the date earlier). This was when they started (in general, not all cases) to become caching collectibles rather than artifacts of the hobby itself. Some were certainly released, but the percentage of release-to-held was very low. In fact, some folks "rebelled" and created coins for "release-only", but many more were intentionally or unintentionally created for the purpose of collecting - commercial coins if you will.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it's sort of like commemorative coins versus coins for circulation. True coin collectors (I'm talking about real money here) do not normally collect commemorative coins. When you see the Franklin Mint setting a "Strict limit of 5 per customer" - it's sort of a joke amongst those that collect coins.

 

Geocoins were signature items. Then they changed. They were over-minted. People grew confused and tired.

 

Many people have talked about a return to the roots of geocoins. That's already happening. Many people have coins that are just personal signature items. Some people have returned to non-coin signature items (for awhile I was using little marbles of the planets - Mars, Earth and Moon - okay, the moon isn't a planet). I just wanted something durable that would "survive" in a wet, damp, cache.

 

Back to caches. Caches (at least that I see) have changed as well. The ammo can in the woods has become a micro by the mall. That's an entirely different discussion, but it relates to coins in that you can't really place a coin in a nano-cache (yeah...I know...) and you also can't expect a coin to survive in a cache that is easy to access anonymously and subject to muggleization (new word!)

 

All this may seem to make coins less popular, but I maintain that there is still strong interest. I just don't see the interest being by the same people in the same way. So once you buy a coin, you are less likely to "flip" it for profit. It's more of a commemorative keepsake. Unless you find a personal or one that is not for sale :anibad:

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My interest hasn't necessarily declined, but it definitely shifted. Getting my own coin produced definitely changed my perspective. When my personal, with so many colors and details came out to less than $4 per, it's hard to justify paying more than $10 for a commercial coin, even if a large part of the difference is trackability. Actually, especially since that difference is trackability since I'm probably not releasing it.

 

Regardless of the $2.50 for trackability though, it seems like some designs are just unnecessarily expensive ($2.50 + $4 = what $6.50?). Without mentioning which one, the turning point for me was a really pretty (round) coin that I really wanted, but with shipping came out to $16! I think it did well, but I had to stop myself and say this is just ridiculous. Since then, it's been a lot easier to tell myself no. Some coins have more to them, and I certainly don't expect people to design them for free and sell them at cost, but there is a point at which it reaches absurdity.

 

Trackables go missing. People keep real coins sent as travelers. It seems like at least once a week, I get an email from someone who found a cache one of my coins was supposed to be in, asking me to mark it missing. This doesn't make me want to release more coins. Though I do like to see them travel. People don't like replicas. People do like icons. Cheaper options, like the tags are therefore appealing. Not only are they less likely to go missing, they're a cheaper loss when the do.

 

Coins to keep in my collection, I still want. But, honestly, not a lot of designs have called my name lately. That statement does not include a single one of your designs. But your designs have the opposite problem! I've gotten really busy. In life, in work. I'm not complaining, looking around at much of the country, I'm very lucky to be so busy. But, my attention span, my patience, and my memory suffer. Life is hectic. A week after your designs sell out in under a minute crashing your server again, I think to check the thread wondering when the sale is going to happen and then smack myself in the face.

 

I'd love to be trading, I have a box of silver personal coins waiting to be traded! But I'm so busy, it's hard to get to the post office when its open, it takes time to look at trade lists and answer emails and buy bubble mailers. Time, and attention span, and energy. With this weather lately, I have no energy for all of the things I would like to be doing. I'm about 50 cache logs behind! I recently found my 2000th cache, but I have no idea when or which one it was because I haven't logged so many. It gives me a lot of pleasure dropping off my copper coins in caches, and I keep doing that, but I've yet to hear about someone finding one, even in their log on the cache. It makes me wonder if they just didn't say anything because they didn't trade fairly, or if no one took it b/c no one liked it. Its a tad discouraging, but I'll keep on hoping someone finds them who will appreciate them. Which reminds me, I need to send an email thanking someone for something unexpected :anibad: Maybe everyone else is really busy and forgetful too, and really meant to say something! I've reminded myself so many times and forgot when I got back to a computer, but I do certainly appreciate the gift :anibad:

Edited by ThirstyMick
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Minting costs vary widely. Size, shape, thickness, colours, etc, etc.

 

You can make an inexpensive (and nice) trackable for the $6-$8 range to be sure. More complex designs can come in at over $12-$15 per coin. I've minted at both ends of that spectrum. (actually, I did some non-trackabe 100 lot sets at about $4 each!)

 

Cost could certainly be a factor affecting interest. You can get some pretty nice trading material elsewhere for $4-$6 per item - so why bother with coins? It's a question worth asking.

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:anibad: okay... what if I change that to the "ancient old days" :anibad:

 

I well remember there being less than 100 coins in total to collect. As in 100 unique coins.

 

LOL! You mean the proto-geocoin or Platinum Age! :) I'm sure you remember when there were only 20-30 coins... ! Since surely the Golden Age was 2005 (and yes I did once own a comic book store!)

 

As for...

 

I suppose it also begs the question: is interest in geocaching itself on the wane?

 

I think it's a fad just like anything else... people burn out of it... but I do see more people entering than ever before as witnessed by newer cachers attending my events.

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I have been collecting coins since late 05 or early 06. At first I bought one for me and one or two to trade in all the metals. This wasn't hard to do because there usually were only a few metals used and very rarely a remint. Almost everyday I was sending out or receiving trades. Then came the coin explosion and it seemed like coins were coming out almost everyday. The commercialism of the coins turned me off. Remints were rampant and sometimes were announced 20 minutes after the sell out. No one knew about the remints beforehand so bought as if there wouldn't be any more available. That also turned me off. Numerous versions minted with only a color changed (how many tranquility versions are there actually?)Like others I became much more selective in what I buy and no longer even bother with all the metals of most coins. It seems that the trading has dropped drastically and for me that was a lot of the fun.

 

Many coiners here now don't remember the times when the F5 was used for every sale. They don't remember the more "colorful" posters nor the reasons for the anger with pre sales. Their taste in coins will be different than mine. Nothing wrong with that at all. As time goes on the market will shift as always. I think that the market has changed a lot since I started collecting. What I think of as geocoins others don't. What I think of as geocaching related others don't. The market has changed and it will leave some of us behind and pick up new members.

 

With the tons of coins coming out the financial strains also come into play not only for me but for a lot of people here. With finances tight I have made choices and usually the coins lose.

 

Has my interest dropped? Well maybe but I still look. Yes I'm still addicted but not as obsessed as I once was :anibad::anibad:

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We at GeocacheAlaska! have found ourselves in a distressing death spiral that will most likely lead to the end of a domestically produced proof quality geocoin. Raw material and die-making costs have escalated at the same time we sell fewer units which drives up the unit cost which reduces the number purchased, and so on, and so on.

 

The untrackable (but sequentially numbered) 2005 Alaska bronze geocoin sold 1500 units at $5 each. The 2009 Alaska bronze geocion has sold a mere 300 units at $12 each. We don't think we're getting greedy by trying to make fifty cents a coin for the Alaskan non-profit geocaching organization, but cachers are voting with their wallets.

 

I've spoken with the mint about where we can get a break and there's been no movement there other than the suggestion that we make a smaller coin. We don't think that will work out because we'd have to make two new dies for the first edition.

 

On a personal level, I've always been most interested in regional and personal coins, but issues of those types of coins are becoming increasingly rare while non-geocaching related geocoins appear to be more prevalent. I feel there's a distinction between a geocoin and a medallion made by a geocacher. Many of the non-geocaching related geocoins have really striking designs, but I had to draw the line somewhere on what I purchase.

 

Like mentioned by Mauison and MustangJoni, individual trading used to be more common and a lot of fun. Now, more personal coins are offered for sale and I never jumped into that market. Another thing I never really bought into was multiple versions (LE, XLE, Artist's editions, different colors) of the same coin...if a coin has a the same zinc or other metal core, then changing the epoxy color or metal plating really doesn't change the coin in my opinion. Compare that to Nevada or South Carolina, or others that issued a "regular" metal coin along with a 0.999 silver coin for instance.

 

So, is my interest in geocoins waning? Certainly not! Is the number of geocoins that I'm interested in waning? Certainly!

Edited by Ladybug Kids
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I still have interest in geocoins, just not the frenzy I once had or the energy and time to be the trader I once was.

After 1500+ geocoins, what the heck will become of them all? I have so many and not the time to be the coiner I once was with a change in lifestyle I had. I also have many coins I have desired after 3 years (except a dang Moun10bike) and no longer feel the need to collect every version.

 

My coin collection is rediculous, I am currently narrowing my collection down as a result of several reasons, but I hope to utilize it for new hobbies, new coins and hopefully a new laptop! (which will come first)

 

Much more reserved now, but I find myself diggin through my coins several times a week and droppin em for prizes more-so than activating and releasing them.

 

Im still a collector, and killer designs play the biggest factor in anything i buy these days, other than that I can trade for almost anything I want. So as far as buying goes, I just dont buy many. Another factors in a change in popularity may also be the level of new cachers entering the scene. maybe there has been a decrease in new cachers?

 

Definatley seen a few come and go and a few hang in there since I started...I still like em :anibad:

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I started collecting late 2006 and was bit HARD. I have hundreds (thousand? :anibad: ) of coins and loved the personal coins. I never saw the need to get every edition, every color and didn't really understand the idea of the LE, XLE, XXLE, AE, SE and so on. (Even though I do like to get the LE and XLEs. I do that because there were fewer numbers.) There just became too many commercial coins and too many versions for my taste. So I took a year off. I stopped buying coins, I stopped trading coins, but I continued to drop coins in caches. I just pulled out my collection, dusted it off and am starting to thin it out again. I have begun to buy coins again and want to do more trading. I still will try to stay away from commercial coin, but there are a few I like. With so many coins coming out each day, it's hard to keep up with it. There are so many coins that I never knew existed and had never seen. I like the smaller run coins, I like the personal, I like the one on one trading, I liked to see others coins and know them. All of this has changed. I am not sure that I would say that interest has gone down, I just think that people are being more selective.

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I think it is more geocoin overload. When I started collecting there wasn't that many geocoins around. They were special and unique. Sort of like the beanie baby craze. Then the beanie baby became a success and they mass produced and just made them until there was so many they weren't special or unique.

Agree.

 

I've been "collecting" Geocoins for awhile and certainly don't see the interest going down - I see more selectivity and more selection. Which may slow the sales on any specific coin.

Personally, I think the interest in "commerical" and "product" coins is down, but the interest in coins that have meaning and connection to the hobby and others in it remains.

Agree.

 

My interest hasn't gone away, it's simply changed over the last 5 years. The trading market is all but a dead.

Agree.

 

I'm old school, been collecting since early 2005...and I still check the geocoin forums every single day....but my geocoin buying has gone way down and trading has become almost nil.

Me, too.

 

The commercialism of the coins turned me off. Remints were rampant and sometimes were announced 20 minutes after the sell out. No one knew about the remints beforehand so bought as if there wouldn't be any more available. That also turned me off. Numerous versions minted with only a color changed (how many tranquility versions are there actually?)Like others I became much more selective in what I buy and no longer even bother with all the metals of most coins. It seems that the trading has dropped drastically and for me that was a lot of the fun.

 

Many coiners here now don't remember the times when the F5 was used for every sale. They don't remember the more "colorful" posters nor the reasons for the anger with pre sales. Their taste in coins will be different than mine. Nothing wrong with that at all. As time goes on the market will shift as always. I think that the market has changed a lot since I started collecting. What I think of as geocoins others don't. What I think of as geocaching related others don't. The market has changed and it will leave some of us behind and pick up new members.

 

Has my interest dropped? Well maybe but I still look.

Well said. Agree.

 

Thanks everybody for saving me a lot of typing! :anibad:

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When people use the term "commercial coin" what does that mean? Coins that are sold?

 

I just see that term used and wondering what it's referring to. :anibad:

 

Also, I'm beginning to understand now why I don't get many trade offers on cointracking! I do a lot of trading using their service, but don't get many people initiating contact with me. I agree, trading is a ton of fun, and it's part of what led me to creating my own coin. I'm selling the majority to make back the cost of minting, but I have set some aside for trades and have been using them to do so! :anibad:

Edited by anne.and.eli
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When people use the term "commercial coin" what does that mean? Coins that are sold?

 

I just see that term used and wondering what it's referring to. :anibad:

 

Also, I'm beginning to understand now why I don't get many trade offers on cointracking! I do a lot of trading using their service, but don't get many people initiating contact with me. I agree, trading is a ton of fun, and it's part of what led me to creating my own coin. I'm selling the majority to make back the cost of minting, but I have set some aside for trades and have been using them to do so! :anibad:

 

When I said that the commercialism of the coins turned me off I meant that coins were suddenly being churned out just for a profit. I don't think of commercial coins as simply all the ones that are being sold. I think of them as the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with geocaching and are sold only for the money they will bring in. They may be pretty works of art and such but to me thay are purely made for a profit. Since I mentioned the Tranquility coin earlier I will again use that as an example of something I think of as purely commericial along with the titanic coin and others along that line.

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Personally, I define commercial coins as those coins which are produced primarily for a non-cache purpose. For collection and trading. In some regards, any coin can be commercial (at inception or after-market).

 

I suppose I would rather say "commemorative" and "signature item" as the two buckets. I still collect "signature items", but I don't really like commemorative edition coins for events, people or subjects that I have no connection to.

 

This is the reason that I will actually never sell any of my coins. They still all represent something meaningful to me and occasionally I get a surprise one! :anibad:

 

These have "meaning" to me. That's not really a definition of commercial - but it's my personal take on the subject. My interest in the coins I have has not changed - they are all very cool to me. Interest in new coins? It depends on who they are from and how I get them. It's been a few months since I have gotten any coins - but I've dropped a few of my V2's here and there.

 

In fact, besides coins - I have a Team 360 Kokopelli stone and some old shot glass that mean as much to me as my Moun10bike V2 that I got from the man himself. :anibad:

For me, the coins always were and always will be about that special connection to people around the world. That's my "interest" in them.

Edited by Lemon Fresh Dog
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Personally, I define commercial coins as those coins which are produced primarily for a non-cache purpose. For collection and trading. In some regards, any coin can be commercial (at inception or after-market).

 

I suppose I would rather say "commemorative" and "signature item" as the two buckets. I still collect "signature items", but I don't really like commemorative edition coins for events, people or subjects that I have no connection to.

 

This is the reason that I will actually never sell any of my coins. They still all represent something meaningful to me and occasionally I get a surprise one! :D

 

These have "meaning" to me. That's not really a definition of commercial - but it's my personal take on the subject. My interest in the coins I have has not changed - they are all very cool to me. Interest in new coins? It depends on who they are from and how I get them. It's been a few months since I have gotten any coins - but I've dropped a few of my V2's here and there.

 

In fact, besides coins - I have a Team 360 Kokopelli stone and some old shot glass that mean as much to me as my Moun10bike V2 that I got from the man himself. :D

For me, the coins always were and always will be about that special connection to people around the world. That's my "interest" in them.

 

Ok, now you got me to post. I'd love to get that old shot glass :unsure: I wasn't around for those. Dern my luck.

 

TMA

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When people use the term "commercial coin" what does that mean? Coins that are sold?

 

I just see that term used and wondering what it's referring to. :unsure:

 

Also, I'm beginning to understand now why I don't get many trade offers on cointracking! I do a lot of trading using their service, but don't get many people initiating contact with me. I agree, trading is a ton of fun, and it's part of what led me to creating my own coin. I'm selling the majority to make back the cost of minting, but I have set some aside for trades and have been using them to do so! :D

 

When I said that the commercialism of the coins turned me off I meant that coins were suddenly being churned out just for a profit. I don't think of commercial coins as simply all the ones that are being sold. I think of them as the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with geocaching and are sold only for the money they will bring in. They may be pretty works of art and such but to me thay are purely made for a profit. Since I mentioned the Tranquility coin earlier I will again use that as an example of something I think of as purely commericial along with the titanic coin and others along that line.

 

It’s interesting to see the different attitudes towards coins. For me it just comes down to what I like and I really hope that it doesn’t get to the point where the only coins are “personal” coins released on a whim by the owners. There are several coins I wouldn’t have were it not for eBay and someone’s willingness to sell them or the trader lists.

 

I’m also concerned about the notion of not making them for a profit. I am hoping to save enough money to make a run of coins. They aren’t going to be cheap because I want them done right meaning they will have a unique icon and I am having the tracking info and number stamped on the edge of the coin. I am also hoping to do a new set once each year and I do hope to make enough on them to pay for the next year since I may not be able to fund them otherwise. I am even entertaining the idea of a companion tag so you release the tag instead of the coin. It’s an idea anyway. These are going to be a cross between two of my hobbies. I run a 3D website and enjoy caching. I intend to use our 3D models to help create the coins and promote the site as well as make an artistic and worthwhile coin. I guess I don’t consider that commercialism but in essence it is and like it or not I have to make something on them to make it worthwhile for me. I know that several of our members will buy them as site swag but I liked the idea of merging two of my interests and offering a geocoin.

 

I would hope there is enough room for all of us to enjoy coins the way we want. The idea of only personal coins that get traded seems contrary to the whole idea of caching to me simply because it starts putting coins out of the reach of many and certainly out of the reach of those of us just getting started who aren’t known to the old timers or those making personal coins. Even on trading lists I am surprised at the number of supposed traders who don’t ever give you the time of day. IMO, but it would become nothing more than an elitist club and growth would definitely stagnate in that environment. You would essentially be saying don’t bother us, we have our group and we don’t want any new comers. Everyone has their reasons and I don’t see commercialism as bad or good, it just is and because of it there has been a lot of neat coins made available which I enjoy having the opportunity to own. Coins certainly played a part in my interest in caching since TB’s don’t really catch my attention. It would be a shame to discount that.

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I make no judgement on commercialization of coins. If someone produces a coin and seeks to generate profit on it for whatever reason - more power to them.

 

Personally, in response to the OP - I just have lost all interest in 99% of commercial coins. I remain healthily interested in personals.

 

That's just my way of enjoying them.

 

If you decide to make a coin that requires community funding by way of sales to the coin collecting community - just be aware that that interest may not be what it once was. If your coin is stunning and amazing - then you will do fine. In the old days, you could make a really bad coin, mark it up by $2 over cost, and sell 1000 of them. That would have been a quick $2000 in pocket. (less any expenses, etc)

 

Today? - not so much.

 

There is certainly enough room for us to all enjoy the coins we want. What may be happening (as per the OP) is that interest in certain "types" of coins is on the wane.

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I guess I'll add.

 

I the "olden" days. People made their own personal coin so that they could trade for other people's own personal coin. It was pretty simple and you basically "bought" everyones personal coin by fronting the cost to get your own made and trading for them other ones you wanted. This didn't change the cost to you. If you paid $1000 for 200 coins, then traded for 200 other coins, you basically "paid" $5 for each coin. It was normally some sort of split though. You'd trade off half and cache half. Everyone had their own "ratio" - some were even 100% cached, some where 100% traded, etc, etc. Some people even created different metals for different purposes, etc, etc.

 

Of course, there were folks that couldn't afford the initial outlay of cash and didn't want that many coins. So other people created runs of coins (usually caching clubs) and sold them to members, friends, etc). People could buy 2,5,50 coins and then trade those ones for others they wanted or even place them in caches!

 

Finally, some people started making coins and adding an extra amount over minting costs to generate a profit. The "commercial" coins. Some people pocketed the profit in cash, while others used it to "pay for" their own coins. For example, mint $1000 worth of coins (200), sell 100 of them for $10 each to cover costs and have 100 left for trades, caches, etc, etc.

 

Years ago, I did a 600 coin set of coins that were sold at cost. These were trackable (before custom icons) and cost just under $6 each - which is what they were sold to the community for. Anytime I see a simple coin that sells for more than $6-$8 - I know that there is profit being made. More complex designs cost more though... my last coin (trackable, custom icon, big, etc, etc) cost somewhere around $15.50 each or so to make.

 

The point being. Commercial coins are "okay", but there are just too many of them and people are not really wanting to fund someone's personal coin project any more. (there are plenty of reasons for that).

 

There are also enough companies making coins that if you want a coin for your cache - then go ahead and buy a bunch. There's no exclusion there.

 

If you want the community to support your own personal design? Well.. it better be excellent - because that is where the interest is faltering.

 

I think that anyone that really wants a personal coin should spend their own money on it and then trade it, cache it, etc. Expecting the community to fund it is probably not going to work as well anymore and may soon be a thing of the past.

 

This isn't exclusion. This doesn't create an "elite" coin group either. It does create somewhat of an economic barrier - which we all face every day.

 

I've always been on the fence in some regards on this. Community funding has allowed for more coins to be made, more variety, and created an item that is less unique. While I was all for this in the past - because I thought it would stem the tide of theft from caches - that has not happened.

 

Now, I find myself back to viewing coins as a signature item pretty exclusively (which is probably the side of the fence I was facing anyhow) and only collect what I consider "pure" coins. Those that are created by some cacher for that cacher.

 

I still want a magic wand...

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When people use the term "commercial coin" what does that mean? Coins that are sold?

 

I just see that term used and wondering what it's referring to. :unsure:

 

Also, I'm beginning to understand now why I don't get many trade offers on cointracking! I do a lot of trading using their service, but don't get many people initiating contact with me. I agree, trading is a ton of fun, and it's part of what led me to creating my own coin. I'm selling the majority to make back the cost of minting, but I have set some aside for trades and have been using them to do so! :D

 

When I said that the commercialism of the coins turned me off I meant that coins were suddenly being churned out just for a profit. I don't think of commercial coins as simply all the ones that are being sold. I think of them as the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with geocaching and are sold only for the money they will bring in. They may be pretty works of art and such but to me thay are purely made for a profit. Since I mentioned the Tranquility coin earlier I will again use that as an example of something I think of as purely commericial along with the titanic coin and others along that line.

 

It’s interesting to see the different attitudes towards coins. For me it just comes down to what I like and I really hope that it doesn’t get to the point where the only coins are “personal” coins released on a whim by the owners. There are several coins I wouldn’t have were it not for eBay and someone’s willingness to sell them or the trader lists.

 

I’m also concerned about the notion of not making them for a profit. I am hoping to save enough money to make a run of coins. They aren’t going to be cheap because I want them done right meaning they will have a unique icon and I am having the tracking info and number stamped on the edge of the coin. I am also hoping to do a new set once each year and I do hope to make enough on them to pay for the next year since I may not be able to fund them otherwise. I am even entertaining the idea of a companion tag so you release the tag instead of the coin. It’s an idea anyway. These are going to be a cross between two of my hobbies. I run a 3D website and enjoy caching. I intend to use our 3D models to help create the coins and promote the site as well as make an artistic and worthwhile coin. I guess I don’t consider that commercialism but in essence it is and like it or not I have to make something on them to make it worthwhile for me. I know that several of our members will buy them as site swag but I liked the idea of merging two of my interests and offering a geocoin.

 

I would hope there is enough room for all of us to enjoy coins the way we want. The idea of only personal coins that get traded seems contrary to the whole idea of caching to me simply because it starts putting coins out of the reach of many and certainly out of the reach of those of us just getting started who aren’t known to the old timers or those making personal coins. Even on trading lists I am surprised at the number of supposed traders who don’t ever give you the time of day. IMO, but it would become nothing more than an elitist club and growth would definitely stagnate in that environment. You would essentially be saying don’t bother us, we have our group and we don’t want any new comers. Everyone has their reasons and I don’t see commercialism as bad or good, it just is and because of it there has been a lot of neat coins made available which I enjoy having the opportunity to own. Coins certainly played a part in my interest in caching since TB’s don’t really catch my attention. It would be a shame to discount that.

 

Maybe I should clarify here a bit. What I meant as commercial was a coin that is made purely/solely to turn a profit i.e. a company/person that comes here and sees that they could make a killing making coins. They start minting coins one after another. Then the remints and the AE coins and such. All for a profit and no thought to caching whatsoever. What you are describing for your coin is not what I am trying to say by commercial coins.

 

Everyone likes different types of coins and the pendulum does swing. Initially it was personal coins of the cachers and now it is swinging in the opposite direction. I hope that there will be a place for all types of tastes and also for buying, selling and trading of coins.

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I'm curious because as a designer/seller myself, I start wondering at what point does a person walk away from offering coin designs or try to find a new direction for their creative outlet?

 

I think the minute it stops being fun designing coins it's time to take a break :D I've gone through a couple slow times and helping people designer their avatars and personal caching logos was a great exercise to get back in the designing mood!

 

I think there are a number of reasons coin interest "appears" to be slow. I don't think it actually is, but economy and taste have definitely had an impact. With so many choices there's less hurry to snag one that may not be available in a short time. Trading is still available as an option, too.

 

This forum began feeling very hostile to creativity, innocent questions and open conversation last year and I think that might be the biggest contributor I've noticed personally. I see a lot of interest in geocoins truthfully, I just don't see it in the same places online :D That's not a slight against anyone at all, but when people have good questions and they get beaten to a pulp for asking without realizing they might be walking in sensitive territory then it doesn't breed a lot of interest in talking about coins. :unsure:

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When I said that the commercialism of the coins turned me off I meant that coins were suddenly being churned out just for a profit. I don't think of commercial coins as simply all the ones that are being sold. I think of them as the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with geocaching and are sold only for the money they will bring in. They may be pretty works of art and such but to me thay are purely made for a profit. Since I mentioned the Tranquility coin earlier I will again use that as an example of something I think of as purely commericial along with the titanic coin and others along that line.

 

It's interesting to hear this because as a commercial coin designer I actually feel the same way. I've dropped more than a few designs over the years that I really liked just because I didn't feel like they had enough focus on caching to be worthy of the title "Geocoin". There's a fine line that can be crossed, but sometimes that line seems to have been left miles behind. I don't mind though. I like to see variety and without a wide variety how would we each have our favorites? :unsure:

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It's been very interesting to see how each person "sees" the geocoin market (world). Thanks for the responses.

 

Unfortunately for each of you that have responded, you have unwittingly subjected yourself to my wicked experiment. In 2 weeks you will slowly start to notice changes to your DNA makeup. You will slowly turn into a commercial geocoin design at which time I will mass produce and sell to the geocoin masses. I will make hoards of money at which time I will buy the manufacturing plants in China and then slowly take over the world :D Those that buy the geocoins will eventually turn into my personal droids and do my geocoin bidding allowing my rcontinued reign of geocoin terror on planet Earth.

 

I guess watching District 9 and some other sci-fi movies has made me lose my mind a bit :unsure:

 

tsun

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It's been very interesting to see how each person "sees" the geocoin market (world). Thanks for the responses.

 

Unfortunately for each of you that have responded, you have unwittingly subjected yourself to my wicked experiment. In 2 weeks you will slowly start to notice changes to your DNA makeup. You will slowly turn into a commercial geocoin design at which time I will mass produce and sell to the geocoin masses. I will make hoards of money at which time I will buy the manufacturing plants in China and then slowly take over the world :D Those that buy the geocoins will eventually turn into my personal droids and do my geocoin bidding allowing my rcontinued reign of geocoin terror on planet Earth.

 

I guess watching District 9 and some other sci-fi movies has made me lose my mind a bit :D

 

tsun

 

OH MY GOD!!!!!!! So that's what Azdecs predicted for 2012!!!! The world will come to an end as we know it!!! Everything will be covered by Nutella!!!! :unsure:

 

We must not let this happen!!! Take your spoons now!!! :D

 

My dear Tsun... and with all that money you will buy the nutella factory and have all the nutella for personal use, the world will be names nutelland.... :D

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It's been very interesting to see how each person "sees" the geocoin market (world). Thanks for the responses.

 

Unfortunately for each of you that have responded, you have unwittingly subjected yourself to my wicked experiment. In 2 weeks you will slowly start to notice changes to your DNA makeup. You will slowly turn into a commercial geocoin design at which time I will mass produce and sell to the geocoin masses. I will make hoards of money at which time I will buy the manufacturing plants in China and then slowly take over the world :( Those that buy the geocoins will eventually turn into my personal droids and do my geocoin bidding allowing my rcontinued reign of geocoin terror on planet Earth.

 

I guess watching District 9 and some other sci-fi movies has made me lose my mind a bit :D

 

tsun

 

So that is what I volunteered for in that other thread!! Here I was just thinking it was to squeeze the Charmin! :D:D:unsure::D

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I think it comes down to the economy. Of course everybody wants to blame everything on the economy but I have seen firsthand the effects. I live in a small town and companies have been closing down and laying off for the past 2 years. I have several friends and family members that have lost their jobs. We have lost 80% of our employees at my company but are still surviving with a skeleton crew. My hours have been cut for the past 7 months and don't know when I will ever return to a full work week.

 

I hardly see any Geocoins in caches anymore around here. I have maybe seen 2 all year until this past month a few came through the area. The last large event I went to it seemed like the latest rage were pathtags. I think that people are looking for a more cheaper alternative. Of course, nothing can compare to the true beauty of a solid geocoin. I think people are tired of shelling out money for coins only to have them get muggled.

 

I have been wanting to have a personal geocoin made for the past 2 years and was thinking that this could be the year. My plan was to have 100 made and sell half, and the other ones I would donate for prizes at events and keep some for myself. However, with money being tight these days I don't know if anybody would even buy one. I would hate to invest the cash in a project like this and be stuck with a whole bunch of coins. Of course it would be a Star Wars themed coin!

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It's been very interesting to see how each person "sees" the geocoin market (world). Thanks for the responses.

 

Unfortunately for each of you that have responded, you have unwittingly subjected yourself to my wicked experiment. In 2 weeks you will slowly start to notice changes to your DNA makeup. You will slowly turn into a commercial geocoin design at which time I will mass produce and sell to the geocoin masses. I will make hoards of money at which time I will buy the manufacturing plants in China and then slowly take over the world :D Those that buy the geocoins will eventually turn into my personal droids and do my geocoin bidding allowing my rcontinued reign of geocoin terror on planet Earth.

 

I guess watching District 9 and some other sci-fi movies has made me lose my mind a bit :D

 

tsun

Must buy Tsun Nutella...

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It's been very interesting to see how each person "sees" the geocoin market (world). Thanks for the responses.

 

Unfortunately for each of you that have responded, you have unwittingly subjected yourself to my wicked experiment. In 2 weeks you will slowly start to notice changes to your DNA makeup. You will slowly turn into a commercial geocoin design at which time I will mass produce and sell to the geocoin masses. I will make hoards of money at which time I will buy the manufacturing plants in China and then slowly take over the world :D Those that buy the geocoins will eventually turn into my personal droids and do my geocoin bidding allowing my rcontinued reign of geocoin terror on planet Earth.

 

I guess watching District 9 and some other sci-fi movies has made me lose my mind a bit :D

 

tsun

Must buy Tsun Nutella...

Is this what Nutella deprivation or dts looks like?

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OH MY GOD!!!!!!! So that's what Azdecs predicted for 2012!!!! The world will come to an end as we know it!!! Everything will be covered by Nutella!!!! :D

 

We must not let this happen!!! Take your spoons now!!! :D

 

My dear Tsun... and with all that money you will buy the nutella factory and have all the nutella for personal use, the world will be names nutelland.... :D

:D:D:blink::D:blink: ROFLMAO..... :)

Very funny, Nikos.

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Interest isn't down - but the quality generally is :P

 

just wait for the next delft v.!

 

More coins moving down under - love seeing them in caches so yes they do travel!!! not all of them do it well, some are still far too cute so iuess there is a place for those not so ooh designs after all. There's a sort of happy medium i think which makes a good travelling coin.

 

generally i see it improving as they get more common and more cachers know what they are and what to do with them - I like tb's but coins are still so much easier to carry and place.

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I've been buying, trading, freeing, and collecting geocoins for about two years now, so that is how I might qualify my thoughts on this. :P

 

I agree that interest in geocoins has shifted from (in my estimate) trading and for use as travellers to more for profit in the e-bay realm. The interest in boosting one's own collection I think has always been there, and given that the number of active forum participants and lurkers is always fluctuating, identifying a change in this kind of interest is difficult.

 

Directly related to this is the uncertainty of vendors. There are several vendors with stellar reputations and my dealings with them have left me feeling satisfied and, in some cases, with a warm, fuzzy feeling! Then, there are others mentioned in the thread pinned at the top. I sank a chunk of money into those stupid Dragonfly 2008 coins, tried to deal respectfully with the vendor, and ended up losing both money and some pride. The pride will grow back, but the money smarts to this day. I now avoid pre-sales of coins that are not yet manufactured, as it is not worth the risk and residual hard feelings

 

A few people have touched on this, but I believe that a number of what I'll call "external factors" have also influenced coin buying, trading, and interest in coins. The loss of coins that have been set free is disappointing. Let me say here and not that I am prepared to lose every coin I set free, but I think we all can agree that when it comes to many coins it's not a matter of "if" it disappears so much as when. This is sad, and a blow to the fun that trackables brings to geocaching.

 

AS for my own interest in coins: it is still there, just tempered with a bit of caution when it comes to purchases.

 

Tsun - a while back in another thread you urged us all to think of ACTION: what could we DO to change things?

 

In 2010, my personal goals are to release several geocoins and TBs with the aim of spreading knowledge as well as icons to geocachers near and far. In addition to an information sheet, I want to also include a rule/guideline or two about moving, logging, keeping geocoins, highlight the differences between swag and travelling coins, etc. I know the effectiveness of this effort depends on people READING the information, and many people don't/won't. We see it all the time ere in the forums, even. However, I think it is worse to identify a problem/concern and not do anything at all. This is my personal effort at addressing the "external factor" I spoke of above.

 

Thanks for this question, and thanks to everyone for their responses. It is encouraging to see that there are others who feel the same way as me, and it is enlightening to read other opinions/conclusions I had not thought of on my own.

 

Happy 2010, everyone!

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Speaking for myself, my interests in geocoins has diminished a tiny bit, but the far bigger issue is finances and school. The economy has affected everybody. I am fortunate to still be employed, but times are tough, I have an empty apartment in my three-family during the middle of a New England Winter, which is losing me over $1100/month. Folks naturally don't want to move till Spring and even if they do, getting the security and first months rent is a big deal for a lot of people. That in itself kills the coin-buying budget.

 

As I said, I am currently employed, but not making the money I need to live comfortably. Every week is a scramble to pay this off or that - never feeling like I'm close to being caught up, so I started going back to school to try to better myself. School + homework = less time for geocaching and shopping for the coin designs I like.

 

Frankly, I'm also bitter about the whole AE Toys thing - one of the biggest buzz-kills I've ever had. I was one of the lucky ones to have received a refund (after filing complaints with the police where they live), but things weren't the same for me buying-wise after that. I have great admiration for Tsun, Karma and several others and have had great success buying from them, and so many others, but I really hated how those people (AE Toys) handled that whole situation and as a result, my love of geocoins diminished a bit. I was out caching a few weeks ago and found a Pirate Treasure geocoin/travel bug in a cache and I cringed ever so slightly. I still retrieved it and will move it along, but I would have been happy to see any other coin in the box but that one.

 

I used to follow this forum religeously and though I have fallen off the radar for a while (because of school), I thought about it and coin-collecting often, so I can't say my actual interest has diminished. I have a 3-week break before my next (final) class begins and what do you know, I'm back reading the forum.

 

And as far as my collection goes, I still go through it from time to time and marvel at the creativity and beauty of the designs. No matter how bad the buzz-kill of vendors past, there is no tarnish that can dull the magic they still seem to posess. I won't be having a sale any time soon and in fact I hope to start adding a few new faces to the mix. Now if I can just get that better job and my apartment filled, , , , ,

 

Take care every one and I hope that this New Year brings us all fresh slates of every kind.

Edited by nashuan
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Is it just me or has there been a slow but steady decrease in the interest in geocoins?

 

Seems to me that thread after thread has popped up with people selling their collections for a variety of reasons. Lots of people selling their collections on ebay (I'm talking wihin the last year).

 

I know the economy around the world has been hit hard so that may account for some of the drop-off. Seems that average life-span for a coiner is about 2-3 years and then they move onto something else.

 

Others think coins jumped the shark so they left.

 

I've noticed that (bad word coming up here :P) pathtags have really taken over as the more inexpensive option to sending out sig items. Not trying to start a pathtag discussion as I'm not a collector but just one more piece of the observation puzzle.

 

Many vendors have come out with "dog tag" style trackable items which seem to be gaining in popularity?

 

I have talked with a couple people over the past year about geocoins and the direction that geocoins will go. My thought was that maybe geocoins (as far as new mintings) may become extinct within the next 3-5 years in favor of newer/inexpensive trackable items. Yet, I don't think (in my opinion) as far as trackable items go, comes close to the impressiveness as a new geocoin does.

 

Is the coiner public just getting much more selective in their purchases? Have you noticed the trend, is it all in my mind? Do you even care (lol)?

 

I'm not here to bash any trackable items or coins for that matter, just observing what looks like a major slow down in coin purchasing and collecting.

 

Thoughts? Observations? Discussion?

 

I'm curious because as a designer/seller myself, I start wondering at what point does a person walk away from offering coin designs or try to find a new direction for their creative outlet?

 

Floors open :lol:

I've certainly noticed a declining interest in Traveler bugs and coins. Personally, I've been turned off by the Bug and Coin "Vultures " I've had problems with in My area in New Jersey. i Had about 14 coins and bugs taken ... (still to be heard from ) from a Swap Motel I was trying to get started. I moved the cache and more were taken from the second location. I guess when I see lots of them on eBay, I wonder if some of those are some of mine ? Are people only interested in Bugs/coins for personal gain ?

That being said, I am now enjoying placing micros and nanos with No Room For Travelers. I think it's a shame . I enjoyed travelers and still have about 60 or so that I still enjoy getting logs on. Another "too bad " part of my sad tale of woe is that the bugs and coins I had taken were part of a Cub Scout program where the Cubs were going to study and report on locations their Bugs and coins travelled to ... Oh well . Let's see if it improves .

1captainBob

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I have been collecting coins since late 05 or early 06. At first I bought one for me and one or two to trade in all the metals. This wasn't hard to do because there usually were only a few metals used and very rarely a remint. Almost everyday I was sending out or receiving trades. Then came the coin explosion and it seemed like coins were coming out almost everyday. The commercialism of the coins turned me off. Remints were rampant and sometimes were announced 20 minutes after the sell out. No one knew about the remints beforehand so bought as if there wouldn't be any more available. That also turned me off. Numerous versions minted with only a color changed (how many tranquility versions are there actually?)...

 

Has my interest dropped? Well maybe but I still look. Yes I'm still addicted but not as obsessed as I once was :):)

 

if i remember correctly there were 44 tranquility colour versions. there was never any question about whether or not this was a commercial coin. it was designed and minted as such. but while there were a bunch of colour variations, they were not minted/reminted in the thousands. and there was an end to the editions. as castleman has said more than once there will be no more minted.

 

one of the reasons i got out of coins, besides the fact i had to fix my car, were designers who profited off making SO many coins and not really admitting they were a commercial enterprise. minting the same design with a myriad of colour choices and yet, still calling them "art."

 

there was/is something in the tranquility design that resonated with collectors. they are still some of the most highly sought coins in the geocoin world and some of the highest sellers on e-bay. even i kept four of them.

 

i still read here occasionally and even look at ebay once in a while and if someone would tell me they have two of the rubber ducky coins i would really like to have, i would seriously consider buying them. but they are non-trackables and not very highly sought after. i figure one of these days they will turn up.

 

and it still bothers me to no end, folks who have trading lists and yet do not have to courtesy to respond to trade request emails, that is just plain rude.

 

shill bidding on ebay, coins that are minted to only be sold on ebay, all reasons to stop actively collecting but there you have it. ebay is not a bad thing. but shill bidding is.

 

i have to agree with the comment, "The commercialism of the coins turned me off. Remints were rampant and sometimes were announced 20 minutes after the sell out. No one knew about the remints beforehand so bought as if there wouldn't be any more available."

 

exactly.

 

rsg

Edited by RedShoesGirl
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What killed my interest in most all coins.

 

Commercialization, Cost, Attitude of People.

 

I can count on 1 hand the coins i've purchsed in the last 2 years.

 

I had a pathtag made and for a few months really got back into the excitement of trading personals, but even my interest in that has waned.

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What killed my interest in most all coins.

 

Commercialization, Cost, Attitude of People.

 

I can count on 1 hand the coins i've purchsed in the last 2 years.

 

I had a pathtag made and for a few months really got back into the excitement of trading personals, but even my interest in that has waned.

 

I hear ya.

 

I will say that I really enjoy having one of those Nero coins in my pile though :)

 

I'm not sure if anyone here knows super-old comics, but the Nero character reminds me of a Schmoo for some reason. Gives me a chuckle.

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I have been collecting coins since late 05 or early 06. At first I bought one for me and one or two to trade in all the metals. This wasn't hard to do because there usually were only a few metals used and very rarely a remint. Almost everyday I was sending out or receiving trades. Then came the coin explosion and it seemed like coins were coming out almost everyday. The commercialism of the coins turned me off. Remints were rampant and sometimes were announced 20 minutes after the sell out. No one knew about the remints beforehand so bought as if there wouldn't be any more available. That also turned me off. Numerous versions minted with only a color changed (how many tranquility versions are there actually?)...

 

Has my interest dropped? Well maybe but I still look. Yes I'm still addicted but not as obsessed as I once was :):)

 

if i remember correctly there were 44 tranquility colour versions. there was never any question about whether or not this was a commercial coin. it was designed and minted as such. but while there were a bunch of colour variations, they were not minted/reminted in the thousands. and there was an end to the editions. as castleman has said more than once there will be no more minted.

 

one of the reasons i got out of coins, besides the fact i had to fix my car, were designers who profited off making SO many coins and not really admitting they were a commercial enterprise. minting the same design with a myriad of colour choices and yet, still calling them "art."

 

there was/is something in the tranquility design that resonated with collectors. they are still some of the most highly sought coins in the geocoin world and some of the highest sellers on e-bay. even i kept four of them.

 

i still read here occasionally and even look at ebay once in a while and if someone would tell me they have two of the rubber ducky coins i would really like to have, i would seriously consider buying them. but they are non-trackables and not very highly sought after. i figure one of these days they will turn up.

 

and it still bothers me to no end, folks who have trading lists and yet do not have to courtesy to respond to trade request emails, that is just plain rude.

 

shill bidding on ebay, coins that are minted to only be sold on ebay, all reasons to stop actively collecting but there you have it. ebay is not a bad thing. but shill bidding is.

 

i have to agree with the comment, "The commercialism of the coins turned me off. Remints were rampant and sometimes were announced 20 minutes after the sell out. No one knew about the remints beforehand so bought as if there wouldn't be any more available."

 

exactly.

 

rsg

It is funny that you bring up the Tranquility coin, because it is one geocoin that kind-of turned me off from purchasing coins...because there were SO many varieties of it...it seemed like every other day a new version was being minted. That was a big turn-off for me, no matter what the design looked like.

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Gotta say thanks Steph for starting this thread. It's reminded me that I DO like coins and lit a fire under my butt to get trading (and dropping in caches) while I have a few weeks at home :) Not that they don't have post offices on the other side of the country but the 70 hour work weeks kinda got in the way. That, and the fact that every waking moment I wasn't working, I was at the beach, definitely kept me away from the GC forums :)

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I still collect coins, but am much more selective. The fake bidding on ebay affected me more than anything, and I rarely buy there anymore. I also have an issue with so many versions of the same coin, but that is because I can't afford them all and can't decide on one....so sometimes I just don't buy any.

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It is funny that you bring up the Tranquility coin, because it is one geocoin that kind-of turned me off from purchasing coins...because there were SO many varieties of it...it seemed like every other day a new version was being minted. That was a big turn-off for me, no matter what the design looked like.

 

actually i wasn't the one that brought it up. i was sort of defending it. some of the colour/metal variations were mint errors and most were probably because the design was so popular but were made in very small numbers and certainly weren't advertised - at least i don't think so. i don't have a problem with that.

 

my problem is folks making coins that don't "admit" they are doing it for the money. and if they aren't making money, than why bother? and of course the response i quoted above.

 

but just in asking, how many tengwar editions are there? that is another gorgeous design that i certainly didn't mind seeing new colour versions come out. just glad i wasn't obsessed with collecting them all!

 

each of us that stopped collecting had different reasons for doing so — no one way was worse than another - just different.

 

>>>i have to agree with the comment, "The commercialism of the coins turned me off. Remints were rampant and sometimes were announced 20 minutes after the sell out. No one knew about the remints beforehand so bought as if there wouldn't be any more available."<<<

 

commercialism also means different things to each of us but hypocrisy is universal.

 

rsg

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