My FIRST GEOCOIN!

[+joemanfro]

Hey Geocaching world, I am completely new to geocaching, caught on very quickly, and am loving every bit of it so far. I've only got 8 caches under my belt, but I plan on changing that soon lol

 

The guys at work who got me into it gave me kind of a "welcome to geocaching!" gift of a new, unactivated geocoin. Specifically, it's a "The Mighty Canyon" Grand Canyon Geocoin from 2006 with beautiful color engravings of the canyon on both sides of the coin. Images of it can be found on google I'm sure

 

ANYWAY---question 1: does anyone by any crazy chance know who may have minted this coin and who we can contact to get the "Activation Key?" The tracking number is stamped right on the coin, but Joe (the other joe) who gave it to me got it off ebay, and an activation key was not provided with it.

 

question 2: What are some tricks in releasing geocoins out into the wild to prevent "coin theft?" The last thing I want is for such an awesome coin and gift for that matter to get swiped by a group of cachebandits.

 

Looking forward to exploring and caching Please provide some responses!

[+drneal]

looks like hogwild stuff...get the activation code at www.hogcode.com

 

If I'm wrong, I'm sure the Maine family will be able to direct you to the right site .

 

As far as keeping the coin from being stolen, you can try drilling a hole in the coin, and use the hole to attach a mission for the coin (if you have one in mind,) with a zip tie. I see you are using a diver down emblem for your avatar...maybe a cache 30-60 feet down will slow down the coin thieves, but the coin wont be seen much. Otherwise, keep it, or give it a kiss, and send it out into the world.

 

ILYK

 

edited to add welcome to geocaching and geocoins!

Edited April 8, 2010 by drneal

[+Ian1959]

Is this the one? If so, all the information is one the page for you.

 

http://www.geocoin.byethost5.com/index_files/page0003.htm

[+GATOULIS]

Hello my friend and welcome to Geocaching!! Welcome to the game and to the forums!

 

Oh! you got a lovely coin as a gift, and I can understand that it is a very special one for you!!!

 

I hope I can help you with your questions, even if I do not know a lot about the coin... I do not have it but I searched a little to help you!

 

I think your coin was made by www.hogwildstuff.org!

This coin is a part of the national park series, and its icon is from this series, so... you will find the activation code for your coin in the site I gave you, in the link for activation codes... under the National park series!

 

I searched as I said, and saw that it was minted in maximum of 900 pieces, in copper, but this depends on the demand! So this number may be lower!

There were 60-80 pieces in a special version, a limited version, made in polished nickel!

 

Now... tricks.... As I said, I completely understand the feelings you have for the coin! IT is your first and...

Many cachers, just to prevent coin theft, they are drilling a hole in the coin to destroy it so it will not worth stealling it! I do not find this idea nice enough... especially if this is your first coin!

 

So.. you can activate it and turn it into a pocket coin! By that way, you will always have it with you and drop and retrieve it again, from the caches you will find, take it to events and let others discover it...

 

and an other idea is... to make a proxy coin (but a good one... not just a piece of paper!) and release the proxy! In that case, you have to mention in the title of the coins page that this is a proxy! Some cachers do not like proxies and throw them, or they do not retrieving them from caches!

 

Since the coin is round and not shaped, with a nice big metal washer you can do great things! On it you can glue a clear photo of both sides of your coin maybe laminate the photos too... and give them the round shape! Make sure the tracking number is clearly visible!!! Of course you can write the tracking number in a piece of paper too and put it in a plastic bag like the one the coin is in... you can put the proxy coin in it too and... drop it in a cache to start travelling! Do not forget to put a nice mission (goal) too!

 

Try to make a good looking proxy! ok?

 

I hope other forum member will not get mad at me by posting about proxies, but since it is your fist coin, it has sentimental value for you and this is priceless! Since you do not want to lose your first one..

[+WWC-World's Worst Cacher]

Yep that is a Hogwild Stufff coin and I would be fairly nervous about releasing it into the wild. If you primary goal is to get some coins traveling, I would suggest you offer this coin up in in trade for at least two coins that have less perceived value, then put them out to travel. Those will be less likely to be taken and kept and you will have two (or more) travelers to watch.

 

My thoughts!

[+chaosmanor]

Yep that is a Hogwild Stufff coin and I would be fairly nervous about releasing it into the wild. If you primary goal is to get some coins traveling, I would suggest you offer this coin up in in trade for at least two coins that have less perceived value, then put them out to travel. Those will be less likely to be taken and kept and you will have two (or more) travelers to watch.

 

My thoughts!

 

I agree completely with this. That particular geocoin is fairly sought-after; in fact, we don't own one of it, so if you are looking for a trade, send an e-mail my way through the link. But if you want to keep it, then keep it. Take it with you on caching adventures and show it to any cachers you meet; many of them will be thrilled to Discover it. In fact, you might consider using it as your personal "chronicle" coin of all your cache Finds. Basically this just means that you drop it into each cache, then retrieve it back into your inventory. Some people copy the Find log that they wrote, others write something else; it's up to you.

 

Congrats on the nifty present, and welcome to the club!

[+Silfron Mandotheneset]

We have a coin that we use to track our miles, and we let people discover it when they want to. you can see it here if you'd like. You can also keep it unactivated if you like. We found our first coin in a cache (luckiest day EVER) and still have it, unactivated.

 

If you want to watch things travel, TBs and cheaper/more common coins last longer.

 

Just my $.02

[+Droo]

If you can't get help from Chaosmanor or follow WWC's sage advise I'd suggest attaching an anvil to it and set it free. It may not accumulate many miles but at least it won't go missing.

You can always activate it and make available for discovery to cachers you meet and use it to dip into the caches you find to keep a track of your caching history and mileage.

[+joemanfro]

Wow lol thanks for all the responses and great ideas! I know for sure that as my first coin this will have some sentimental value, and I really like the idea of creating a proxy, at least for just this first one, so that I'll never have to part with my first coin. I also like the idea of using it to track my miles, though... Decisions decisions haha.

 

In any case, I think I'll keep the original copy in my hands. Another cacher mentioned geocoindesign.com that sells 'proxy tags' to accompany the proxy coin. I think I'll look into this.

 

On a side note, I just got a 5 Star Scuba geocoin from a 1-star cache, and know exactly where I'll be bringing this one on my next dive