I don't want to buy a geocoin just to have it end up in someone's collection.

[+gururyan]

So what's the story on these collectors that horde geocoins? I'd be pretty ticked off if I dropped some hefty money on some geocoins just to have them end up in some collector's drawer where they horde them, trade them, or sell them. Am I misunderstanding this, or are there people that do not allow the coins to travel — they just take them and keep them. How often does this occur? And what's with people mailing them around to other collectors? Doesn't this defeat the point of tracking a geocoin? What's the scoop on this? Should I just use a boring bug as a trackable in order to protect myself from collectors?

[+tekkguy]

The collectors that mail and trade them between OURselves are collectors ... we've bought our coins.

 

The people you are talking about are THIEVES, which is something totally different.

[+BlueDeuce]

So what's the story on these collectors that horde geocoins? I'd be pretty ticked off if I dropped some hefty money on some geocoins just to have them end up in some collector's drawer where they horde them, trade them, or sell them. Am I misunderstanding this, or are there people that do not allow the coins to travel — they just take them and keep them. How often does this occur? And what's with people mailing them around to other collectors? Doesn't this defeat the point of tracking a geocoin? What's the scoop on this? Should I just use a boring bug as a trackable in order to protect myself from collectors?

 

Any traveler has a risk of being lost when released to the wild, coins more so. They are cool looking and shiny and difficult to replace. Boring, ugly travel bugs make the best travelers. They usually only go missing when someone picks it up and never bothers to go back out caching again. The number one rule in the Snoogans' Tb Longevity Clinic thread is to eliminate any collectable qualities of your TB. In my opinion, coins fail the first rule.

 

The bottom line is never release anything you are not willing to lose. It is perfectly fine if you want to keep your coins and maybe show them off at an event. Get yourself an ugly bug with a cool mission to fight its way through the cache jungle.

Edited April 6, 2010 by BlueDeuce

[+Isonzo Karst]

I've got some coins doing okay. I've had some coins disappear when the cache they were in disappeared. I've had some get picked up and properly logged by novices who never cached again. I may have had one or two flat stolen, seems likely.

 

I had one that I'd counted as lost reappear. It sat in one guy's possession for 2 years. Then one day he went caching and dropped it.

 

You do need to have an attitude of curiosity and acceptance about releasing travelers, especially coins. If you couldn't bear to lose it, keep it home.

[+gururyan]

It'd be kinda cool if the coin was only logged when picked up, not dropped off. This way you could prevent some thieves from "shopping" for coins so to say. It would just be a surprise when somebody opened a cache and PRESTO! — an unexpected geocoin awaits! When it hits the log it's too late to go steal, it's already en route to a new location.

[+dfx]

unfortunately, nowadays it seems that the only way to have your trackables not stolen by someone is to not put them out.

[+Ducky]

I've seen people drill a hole thru them

[+Alkhalikoi]

I've seen people drill a hole thru them

 

There is a fellow based in the SF Bay Area who does precisely that -- puts a laminated tag on a key ring through a drilled hole in the coin -- and has had a much better result. But after a year of caching, I realized I will never both to have a custom geocoin minted, since there are a lot of folks with sticky fingers out there.

[+NOSNOW]

So what's the story on these collectors that horde geocoins? I'd be pretty ticked off if I dropped some hefty money on some geocoins just to have them end up in some collector's drawer where they horde them, trade them, or sell them. Am I misunderstanding this, or are there people that do not allow the coins to travel — they just take them and keep them. How often does this occur? And what's with people mailing them around to other collectors? Doesn't this defeat the point of tracking a geocoin? What's the scoop on this? Should I just use a boring bug as a trackable in order to protect myself from collectors?

 

People that take other cachers Geocoins for there own are not collectors! They are either thieves or uneducated newbie’s on trackables.

 

There are collectors, but we make, buy, or trade other collector for Geocoin. You will find that if a collector does somehow get an active coin in a trade or purchace it does get put back into the wild. Collector also give a great many unactiaved coins away, in caches, cointest and by mystery gift. Come over to the Gecoin Discusion forum and you may have a different take on collectors.

 

Some collector activate there coins to be discovered at events, other do not, and the coins are for there own enjoyment. The coins belong to them, so they can do with them what they want.

 

Even travel bug goes missing.

 

It'd be kinda cool if the coin was only logged when picked up, not dropped off. This way you could prevent some thieves from "shopping" for coins so to say. It would just be a surprise when somebody opened a cache and PRESTO! — an unexpected geocoin awaits! When it hits the log it's too late to go steal, it's already en route to a new location.

 

The problem with this is you would never know when it goes missing, as no one would know to check and see if it's not there and give you the bad new. Also knowing where it was when it went missing you can go back though the logs and sometime find it was taken by a newbie and give them some helping in loging the coin, which I have had to do several times. If the coins were never log into the cache, I would be missing at least six more of my coins.

 

Most cachers are good - there will alway be some bad apples in every bunch. You just have to fun watching them travel with the good one.

[+kunarion]

Should I just use a boring bug as a trackable in order to protect myself from collectors?

Yes. That's one technique. The “Tb Longevity Clinic” link in Post #3 has a whole bunch of good ideas.

 

You can buy Geocoins for less than $10 each. Find one in that price range that interests you, give it a mission, and send it off. For the price of a couple of TBs, you've got a traveler that cachers will enjoy finding and moving.

 

But if you buy a real nice coin, it doesn't have to leave your possession to be in play. You can bring it along and “dip” it in caches, and to events for people to discover. Hang onto the coins you really like.

 

There are probably small durable items you own, that can make TBs that aren't boring. Most of your travelers can be these non-boring Travel Bugs, with one or two coins, for now. Then see how it goes.

Edited April 7, 2010 by kunarion