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Geowooden Nickel Trading Coins could be the next QSL's of Geocaching.


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Geowooden Nickles Trading Coins for Geocachers - GWNT's

 

Geocaching for me can bring on a bit of Nostalgia while looking for the cache. Walking through the woods is something I would do all the time as a kid and at age sixty two there is no way I would try to clime up a steep wooded hill. Yet, that geocache is up there some where and I'm going to find it. It's what motivation can do to get you off the couch. I remember being fascinated with a Captain Video code ring from the late fifty's. When I saw The Pocket Decoder from TheCachingPlace.com, I had to get me one including all the available code wheels. I started geocaching to better my heath, but now in the short time I've been at it, geocaching has took on life all it's own. Seems I'm always reminded of things I have not thought about for many years.

 

The one thing I keep forgetting to put in my cache bag is SWAG items. I try to put something in the cache box even if I don't take anything out. So I put in the logbook a dollar. I have my first geocoin on it's way and wonder how far it will go or if I will see it again in my hand. I would like to collect geocoins from other cachers but how do I collect the coins that has been around the world when the idea is to put it in the next cache box and send it on it's way again?

 

A hobby I had that was vary popular in its day was CB radio. Back then I had to have a FCC license with call letters, my QSL was KLK-3208 , “This is the Martin Bird Call, calling from”, ...where ever. This was before the time truck drivers know what a CB was.

 

That made for a sub hobby much like travel bugs and letterbox stamps. Collecting hundreds of QSL Cards from CB Jamborees and other CB'ers I would meet.

 

QSL cards are a ham radio operator's calling card and are frequently an expression of individual creativity — from a photo of the operator at his station to original artwork, images of the operator's alter ego. They become the individual pride of its owner much like Geocoins. The collecting of QSL cards of especially interesting designs has become an add-on hobby for CB'ers and my bed room was wallpapered with them.

I thought this would be a great way to go for SWAG items. Not QSL cards but individual custom made Geowooden Trading Nickles to put in a cache box. I looked up custom made metal coins and found out, and as cool as they were, I would have to mortgage my house to keep in stock for Stuff We All Get to put in the cache. Then I remembered something else from the past. “Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels”.

 

On December 5, 1931, the Citizen's Bank of Tenino, Washington state failed and created a shortage of money. This left the merchants of the area unable to get change A meeting of the Chamber of Commerce resulted in the local newspaper printing up the first issue of wooden money in the United States. Several other places, mostly in the Pacific North-West, issued wooden money after that. I think Congress today is about to reinstate the wooden nickles for money.

 

So what doe's all this have to do with Geocaching? Why not have individual made Wooden Nickles with the cachers name and alter ego to put in cache boxes ,trade and collect? I don't know how will this would catch on but I have some made up over one hundred at about the cost of a large geocache box. I will be placing my Geowooden Nickel Trading Coins in my cache finds. Geowooden Nickel Trading Coins could be the next QSL's of Geocaching.

 

Http://www.wooden-nickel.com is where I have mine made up. The Old Time Wooden Nickel Co. from San Antonio TX. For the letterbox fans they could make up Geowooden Trading Nickels ,GWNT's, with their own stamp on it. Might last longer then using paper. There is all kinds of ways Geowooden Nickels could be made and used n traded.

 

Now that I have got all that out, I would like to hear from you folks what you might think of GWNT's. :)

 

An added note here I originally put this in the Geocoin Form which was the wrong place. The website is just a reference and no more that.

Edited by Bitterseed
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This has been going on for a while. Nothing new, sorry.

 

I don't think anyone has linked a wooden nickle to a QSL card in the same way. If used in the right way and made to look like a cachers calling card or something more than a sign log book. But a piece of gold held in my hand so to speak lol. This is just an idea that may change letterboxing. However you input is a good start thanks :)

 

Bitterseed

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A couple of things you can search for in the threads.

 

Signature items

Pathtags

 

;) What I found with pathtags is the cost of having a hundred or so made. The wooden nickle is more like a business card to pass out and drop in a cache box as swag. One hundred GWNT's can cost less then $20.00 to make and that's the whole point. Its not intended to be a geocoin or travel bug nor is it pathag. A letterboxer could have his or hers spacial Logo or Avatar that represents the letterbox stamp. A QSL card used for Ham radio is the same as a simple wooden nickle tha can be used for geocachers.

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Maybe I'm confused about what you're asking about, but a lot of people do already use wooden nickels as signature items. I collect sig items, and about half of the ones I have collected are wooden nickels. I may be missing the point though...

 

;) oh well it's just a story about how I compared QSL cards with wooden nickles and how I plan to us them.

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He has me confused, too.

 

I'm not sure if he knows that geocaching and letterboxing are two different things and that most people here are not letterboxers.

 

I'm pretty sure that he hasn't seen some of the wooden nickels that cachers have made & doesn't "get" that they are truly unique signature items, much like he seems to be suggesting that they could be.

 

I'll stop short of suspecting that he has stock in a wooden nickel company.

 

Welcome aboard, Bitterseed. Have fun. I'll take one of your wooden nickels any time, despite all prior warnings about such things ;)

 

P.S. There is a section on these forums devoted to HAM operators, too.

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I'm pretty sure that he hasn't seen some of the wooden nickels that cachers have made & doesn't "get" that they are truly unique signature items, much like he seems to be suggesting that they could be.

 

 

Could be, that's sort of the way I interpret it too. That being said, Bitterseed, you DO really have a great idea, and it is really fun, but it's not a new idea. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to find a lot of folks' signature wooden nickels in caches. I enjoy all of the ones that I have collected over the years.

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He has me confused, too.

 

I'm not sure if he knows that geocaching and letterboxing are two different things and that most people here are not letterboxers.

 

I'm pretty sure that he hasn't seen some of the wooden nickels that cachers have made & doesn't "get" that they are truly unique signature items, much like he seems to be suggesting that they could be.

 

I'll stop short of suspecting that he has stock in a wooden nickel company.

 

Welcome aboard, Bitterseed. Have fun. I'll take one of your wooden nickels any time, despite all prior warnings about such things ;)

 

P.S. There is a section on these forums devoted to HAM operators, too.

 

I thank you for that. Its the first time I used a forum and I think I will set back and be quit lol.

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I thank you for that. Its the first time I used a forum and I think I will set back and be quit lol.

 

Don't do that. I wasn't trying to be negative, honestly. If anything, these forums need more folks like you.

 

There are a lot of really cool wooden nickels made by cachers as signature items. Some of us have tried to point you to them but many of us tend to not think about new folks' possible lack of experience on forums.

 

I don't have a wooden nickel but I do have a signature button and would be pleased as punch to swap with ya.

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I've been making my own wooden nickels for caching for years. It's a fun project. You can get stamp carving supplies at most craft stores, and the blank nickels, too. If you don't feel crafty enough for that, you can have the stamps made & still do the stamping yourself.

 

Here's my stamps & nickels:

c957fd8f-7218-42fd-a0b1-06efa3cabfb1.jpg

A bit of explanation: "MollyGSP & Me" is my wife, she's the one in the pic with the dog & standing next to the guy who won't fit on the nickel. Who that guy is is anyone's guess . . . ;)

Edited by Too Tall John
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I've been making my own wooden nickels for caching for years. It's a fun project. You can get stamp carving supplies at most craft stores, and the blank nickels, too. If you don't feel crafty enough for that, you can have the stamps made & still do the stamping yourself.

 

Here's my stamps & nickels:

c957fd8f-7218-42fd-a0b1-06efa3cabfb1.jpg

 

;) Now that's what I'm talking about. These nickles are ones personal art. Where a cacher leaves a part of himself for other to fine. To me finding one of your coins would be better than a gold coin lol will maybe not that better but I would mount special coins like this on my wall. Good Job

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I'm confused by what the OP is asking for.

 

QSL Cards are the radio operator's personal calling cards, exchanged with other operators to document and verify that a radio contact was made between two stations.

 

We don't just exchange QSL cards as one would business cards.

 

The QSL card equivalent in geocaching is a signed log.

 

How would you know that another cacher had found a cache that you had found? Maybe you want to set up a verification and handling system like eQSO?

 

QSL = I Signed Log? ;)

 

If you're talking about something to leave in caches or exchange with other cachers, that's a personal signature item and isn't much related to earned QSL cards.

 

73 de W4AGA

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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I'm confused by what the OP is asking for.

 

QSL Cards are the radio operator's personal calling cards, exchanged with other operators to document and verify that a radio contact was made between two stations.

 

We don't just exchange QSL cards as one would business cards.

 

The QSL card equivalent in geocaching is a signed log.

 

How would you know that another cacher had found a cache that you had found? Maybe you want to set up a verification and handling system like eQSO?

 

QSL = I Signed Log? ;)

 

If you're talking about something to leave in caches or exchange with other cachers, that's a personal signature item and isn't much related to earned QSL cards.

 

73 de W4AGA

 

Back in the day about 1959 there abouts, CB users used their own version of QSL cards to swap with each other. We had call letters for a CB back then. Not the same as your QSL today. They were simply post cards with our handle and call letters. Go back and read my article to see what my handle was. What we called QSL cards were displayed proudly over our home stations Later the FCC made CBs free air then the truckers started using it. The popularly of CB Radio fell off quickly after that. However what I was trying to convey was making a inexpensive idem that expressed proud of its owner that once made never changed, The QSL card was a special token of my buddies on the other end of the radio. The Geowooden Nickle could be used something like my old QSL cards. ;)

 

 

 

q

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I think that you might still be confusing us a mite.

 

Many geocachers make or buy various items which we call signature items. Wooden nickels are one good and well-established example.

 

These items are usually left in geocaches when we find them, either in most finds or those which we particularly enjoy. Later cachers who find that cache might trade their own sig item or something else for them (we won't discuss here whether it's ok to take them without trading). They are also traded, either by mail or in person, with others who enjoy collecting that particular type of signature item or signature items in general.

 

How does what you are proposing differ from those two practices?

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I started buying wooden nickels about a month after I started geocaching with artwork like our avatar. I drop a little over 500 a year and have expanded our signature item with pathtags back in July 2009. The wooden nickels go in every cache they will fit and the pathtags go in a few here and there since they can be expensive.

 

Wooden nickels are great sig item and collectible IMHO and are relativity cheap all things considered.

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I've been making my own wooden nickels for caching for years. It's a fun project. You can get stamp carving supplies at most craft stores, and the blank nickels, too. If you don't feel crafty enough for that, you can have the stamps made & still do the stamping yourself.

 

Here's my stamps & nickels:

c957fd8f-7218-42fd-a0b1-06efa3cabfb1.jpg

A bit of explanation: "MollyGSP & Me" is my wife, she's the one in the pic with the dog & standing next to the guy who won't fit on the nickel. Who that guy is is anyone's guess . . . ;)

 

Hey! That's my favorite wooden nickel in my collection...

 

For the op, I traded ome of these for it: (may not be the exact metal. I've slept since then.)

 

f9e95d2c-cd58-4c20-badc-f0c37b3727d6.jpg

 

38afa2b0-8860-43c9-99f8-df12bd027ee6.jpg

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I started buying wooden nickels about a month after I started geocaching with artwork like our avatar. I drop a little over 500 a year and have expanded our signature item with pathtags back in July 2009. The wooden nickels go in every cache they will fit and the pathtags go in a few here and there since they can be expensive.

 

Wooden nickels are great sig item and collectible IMHO and are relativity cheap all things considered.

 

:rolleyes: Thank you The Ravens you got what I was writing about. I Plan to do the same thing along with other swag items I will put in. Something to say " Bitterseed Was Here " Geocaching has made me feel like kid again and I believe Geocaching could be a good contribution for veterans like me who struggle with PTSD but thetas a whole new blog lol >>> I hope to find one of your coins one day

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I started buying wooden nickels about a month after I started geocaching with artwork like our avatar. I drop a little over 500 a year and have expanded our signature item with pathtags back in July 2009. The wooden nickels go in every cache they will fit and the pathtags go in a few here and there since they can be expensive.

 

Wooden nickels are great sig item and collectible IMHO and are relativity cheap all things considered.

 

:rolleyes: Thank you The Ravens you got what I was writing about. I Plan to do the same thing along with other swag items I will put in. Something to say " Bitterseed Was Here " Geocaching has made me feel like kid again and I believe Geocaching could be a good contribution for veterans like me who struggle with PTSD but thetas a whole new blog lol >>> I hope to find one of your coins one day

 

And I hope to find one of yours one day Bitterseed. Rarely do I have the pleasure of stumbling across such a well thought out post as your original one in this thread. Thank you.

 

(personally, don't have any 'marketable' wooden nickels yet, but I am having a fantastic time buying blanks and trying different techniques to come up with a 'signature' design for them. I have no idea what they will turn out like, but the journey is quite pleasant).

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I like to leave signature items (siggys)

 

I have all kinds of options

 

personalized pens for about 35 cents a piece - these are great cause they are personal yet useful and may be used for a long time. Unfortunately the number of pen fitting caches is slim in areas.

 

personalized metal objects from an outside source about a buck a piece for when I want to brighten someones day

 

engraved dice at about 42 cents a piece from an American supplier. I love dropping these especially when hitting many caches in an area. That way folks can find a die in a cache and find another a few caches on to make a pair.

 

and I am currently getting professional poker chips made at about 48 cents a piece.

 

I am thinking about making wooden nickel rubber stamps and buying blanks. I have a great source for custom stamps.

 

Another thing I am thinking about is a vinyl sticker with my earthturtle on it.

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I've been making my own wooden nickels for caching for years. It's a fun project. You can get stamp carving supplies at most craft stores, and the blank nickels, too. If you don't feel crafty enough for that, you can have the stamps made & still do the stamping yourself.

 

Here's my stamps & nickels:

c957fd8f-7218-42fd-a0b1-06efa3cabfb1.jpg

A bit of explanation: "MollyGSP & Me" is my wife, she's the one in the pic with the dog & standing next to the guy who won't fit on the nickel. Who that guy is is anyone's guess . . . :lol:

 

Very cool. Any chance that you will ever leave some in SW Michigan caches?

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ooooh Uncle Uncle.

 

Gotcha. The barb that is. And my apologies for the inexplicably lazy question.

 

Truly, I thought I had edited that to ask a specific question about quality and aesthetics. (Hmmm. I guess that explains why my post is uncharacteristically pithy...) I'm a very recent aficionado of wooden nickels only because I have found two that seem to be of unexpected and uncommon quality. I thought I had asked about that. Note to self: double check posts...Truth is I should stick to my original plan and ask the sig item owners who will be flattered by my noob-nickiel question and moreover will know what I am talking about. It may have little to do with manufacturers for all I know.

 

Back to our regular programming... cheers, fatcat2 the dumb nickel cacher

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Don't do that bro. I got ya from the start. My dad is a HAM from way back. He collected many thousands of QSL cards in his time and your comparison is right on track. I'll be leaving wooden nickels as calling cards too. Can't afford Geocoins or Pathtags.

 

 

I thank you for that. Its the first time I used a forum and I think I will set back and be quit lol.

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Those are amazingly cool!!!! We take shrinky dink sheets, draw little designs on them with our name, shrink them small enough to put in basically any size cache container. They are waterproof and they look great. (And they're inexpensive). Will post a picture when I have some time.

I like the look of the shrinky dinks but I've seen some that don't hold up to a Texas summer heat too well.

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