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Nice things to put into caches


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Hello community! I recently discovered Geocaching.

 

In the five caches I've found the last days weren't really cool things so I put some nice things into them without taking anything. But what to put into the next ones? I wasn't really creative..

 

Do you have any nice and creative suggestions? What would YOU like to find?

 

And sorry if there's already a thread like this, I haven't experience with forums. And also forgive me my poor English.

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Hello community! I recently discovered Geocaching.

 

In the five caches I've found the last days weren't really cool things so I put some nice things into them without taking anything. But what to put into the next ones? I wasn't really creative..

 

Do you have any nice and creative suggestions? What would YOU like to find?

 

And sorry if there's already a thread like this, I haven't experience with forums. And also forgive me my poor English.

 

Smushed pennies are cheap at 51 cents each, and fairly interesting if you get a variety from several places.

 

I usually like to find something unusual, but not necessarily costly.

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Smushed pennies are cheap at 51 cents each, and fairly interesting if you get a variety from several places.

 

I usually like to find something unusual, but not necessarily costly.

 

I know exactly the ones you are talking about. I recently discovered that laying some on a RR track, slightly off the edge gives pretty cool results (minus the logo) for 1 cent each.

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yes but the copper in pennies is highly corrosive in wet or damp enviornments.

 

if you plan on putting copper either in penny or other form into a cache, please place it in a seperate baggie to protect all the other contents of the cache.

 

and be careful putting pennies on the train tracks,

lost muh dang hermit crab skeeter that way.

(ya do dumb things when yer 5 dontcha?)

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Hallo, Joey.Beetle. Willkommen bei uns.

 

Here are some ideas.

  • batteries
  • camping supplies
  • costume jewelry = Modeschmuck
  • deck of playing cards = Kartendeck?
  • fishing tackle = Angelgeräte
  • flashlight = Taschenlampe
  • foreign coins = ausländische Münzen
  • keyring = Schlüsselanhänger
  • rain poncho = Regenponcho
  • tape measure = Bandmaß
  • toys = Spielzeuge
  • toys for dogs

Have you a hobby? Do you make something out of wood, metal, cloth, string, beads, etc.? I enjoy seeing homemade things in caches.

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Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service:

 

United States Code

TITLE 18

PART I

CHAPTER 17

331. Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins

 

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes,

falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of

the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current

or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States;

or whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or

sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into

the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered,

defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or

lightened Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than

five years, or both.

 

___________________________________________________________

 

The current wording effectively gives the court the authority to impose a fine at its discretion. Of course the imprisonment terms mentioned in the statute speaks for itself.

 

So wachit you hooligans - and you know who ye are! Obama and pals are watchin ya!

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Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service:

 

United States Code

TITLE 18

PART I

CHAPTER 17

331. Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins

 

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes,

falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of

the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current

or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States;

or whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or

sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into

the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered,

defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or

lightened Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than

five years, or both.

 

___________________________________________________________

 

The current wording effectively gives the court the authority to impose a fine at its discretion. Of course the imprisonment terms mentioned in the statute speaks for itself.

 

So wachit you hooligans - and you know who ye are! Obama and pals are watchin ya!

 

I think the agency is to busy busting disneyland and all the other parks that have penny smashing machines to go after small timers like us :unsure:

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...and back on topic -_-

When I hike in the woods and find caches I like finding pocket knife, there are a lot of them in woods caches here. Yes, yes I know it's against guidelines but it's a fun thing for an outdoorsmen to find :unsure:

I also like finding keychains and pins from different cities that visitors have brought in. So if you are going on a holiday and plan to do some geocaching bring some pins and keychains of your town and put them in caches

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Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service:

 

United States Code

TITLE 18

PART I

CHAPTER 17

331. Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins

 

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes,

falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of

the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current

or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States;

or whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or

sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into

the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered,

defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or

lightened Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than

five years, or both.

 

___________________________________________________________

 

The current wording effectively gives the court the authority to impose a fine at its discretion. Of course the imprisonment terms mentioned in the statute speaks for itself.

 

So wachit you hooligans - and you know who ye are! Obama and pals are watchin ya!

 

Pennies are exempt. This is a fact.

 

And what's with the Obama jab? THat law is VERY old and has nothing to do with any president in your lifetime.

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Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service:

 

United States Code

TITLE 18

PART I

CHAPTER 17

331. Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins

...

___________________________________________________________

 

The current wording effectively gives the court the authority to impose a fine at its discretion. Of course the imprisonment terms mentioned in the statute speaks for itself.

 

So wachit you hooligans - and you know who ye are! Obama and pals are watchin ya!

 

Pennies are exempt. This is a fact.

 

And what's with the Obama jab? THat law is VERY old and has nothing to do with any president in your lifetime.

All coins are exempt I believe, as long as they are not mutilated in a way to be used fraudulently:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elongated_coin

Legality

 

The process of creating elongated coins is legal in the United States, South Africa and parts of Europe. In the United States, U.S. Code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331 prohibits "the mutilation, diminution and falsification of United States coinage." The foregoing statute, however, does not prohibit the mutilation of coins, if the mutilated coins are not used fraudulently, i.e., with the intention of creating counterfeit coinage. Because elongated coins are made mainly as souvenirs, mutilation for this purpose is legal.

 

In countries where such mutilation is illegal, blank planchets, slugs, or U.S. cents are occasionally used, though this law is often ignored both by the users of the machine and law enforcement. This method is also often used in countries, such as Australia, who either do not or no longer have a cent (or equivalent) coin.

 

My kids have placed and taken a fair number of elongated coins. It is always fun to get one from someplace you haven't been to.

Edited by radak9
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"Nice things" to place in cache is rather subjective. It all depends on :

 

1. How much you want to spend per item?

2. Who are you trying to target - kids? Adult cachers?

3. Are you looking for a "signature" item, or just anything that is nice?

4. Does nice = fun, collectible, useful?

 

There are also multiple threads with some very interesting ideas that may be worth browsing through if you feel like it.

 

I don't suggest batteries (no telling how long it will sit in a cache).

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I have found some interesting and inexpensive swag items in craft/sewing stores, such as pretty stones, fancy pins, small wooden animals, and large beads. On-line stores such as www.orientaltrading.com and www.cafepress.com sell small pins, party favors, etc. that make good swag. If a lot of foreign visitors geocache in your part of Austria, maybe you can find local magnets and pins that they would love to take back home as souvenirs of their visit! Bookmarks are also a good swag to leave because they fit in small caches. You could even make your own decorative cards with your caching name on them and laminate them so they will be more durable; that would be really a nice item to find!

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...United States Code TITLE 18 ; PART I ; CHAPTER 17 ; 331. Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins...

 

Pennies are exempt. This is a fact....

Incorrect.

 

Amended on 16 July 1951 and "made section applicable to minor coins (5-cent and 1-cent pieces)." See amendments noted under http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/18C17.txt. But as a few folks have pointed out, this statue only covers FRAUDULENT acts. Smushed pennies or other decorative uses here aren't covered. AND it's still off-topic. I just can't resist an opportunity for trivial fact checking :unsure:

Edited by lee_rimar
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Just resurrecting this thread because a news item this morning made me laugh.

 

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/03/obama.pardons/

Excerpt:

... In 1963, (Ronald Foster) was earning $82 a month as a Marine at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, when he says he and 16 others hatched a scheme to cut pennies into dimes so they could use them in vending machines.

 

"We cut the lip off, and we were using them in the barracks only, in the vending machines. Washing machines, cigarette machines, pop machines," says Foster, now a retired mill worker from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

 

"Back then, a pack of cigarettes cost 20 or 30 cents a pack, so you could get a pack for 3 cents," he says, chuckling.

 

But the Secret Service caught them. They were marched into a courtroom on base, where his commanding officer entered a plea on their behalf to mutilation of coins, he says.

 

Foster was sentenced to a year of probation and a $20 fine, and he thought the incident was behind him. He served in Vietnam the next year and left the Marine Corps 12 years later to join the Pennsylvania National Guard. He got a job at a plant that manufactures ceilings near his home in Beaver Falls, got married and had a son.

 

Then, in 2005, he applied for a gun permit and found out for the first time he had a felony conviction. He applied for a presidential pardon, which was officially granted Friday, in the first round of pardons during Obama's administration.

So, keeping on topic with a previous part of this thread: Yes, if you're mutilating coins for fraudulent purposes, it's a crime. Even promoting a penny into a dime is a felony!

Edited by lee_rimar
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Actually, you are incorrect. The defacement in question has long been ruled to be legal. The key word in the legislation that you quote is "fraudulently". The modifications in question aren't being done with the intent to defraud, but as a decoration no longer intended to be used as currency.

This is the most accurate answer. You can smash coins and put stickers on paper money as long as the intent isn't to commit fraud (by making a $1 a $20, for example).

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Okay, enough about the pennies. The person is asking for suggestions for SWAG. So let's give some answers.

 

Here in the USA we have stores that sell small items for $1.00 each, or even 2 for $1.00. Sometimes I go to sales where I can purchase items in a bag for a few dollars. I like to leave small keychains, animal pins for clothing or backpacks, toy cars, dog and cat toys, homemade small crafts, bouncy balls, marbles, plastic army men, and so on. We have a cache here ( a 5 gallon bucket) that is totally loaded with Christmas ornaments and Christmas stuff. I got a really nice placemat for my wife there.

 

You really don't need to buy a lot of stuff to use. I often trade something new and then after a while I put a SWAG from one of the earlier caches into another one. Basically the SWAG is going from cache to cache unless it is something that I really like.

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I frequent thrift stores for my containers and occasionally find cool toys or gadgets that would be perfect to go in caches as exchangeables. Lately I have been finding Nintendo Gameboys and Gameboy colors. My last two regular sized hides had one in each with fresh batteries and a game or two. These have set me back a total of $4.00.

I also will drop in some fake grass like the kind you find in silk floral departments and staple a post-it on the label that is great for camouflage with a little hot glue.

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Actually, you are incorrect. The defacement in question has long been ruled to be legal. The key word in the legislation that you quote is "fraudulently". The modifications in question aren't being done with the intent to defraud, but as a decoration no longer intended to be used as currency.

This is the most accurate answer. You can smash coins and put stickers on paper money as long as the intent isn't to commit fraud (by making a $1 a $20, for example).

 

That's correct. If you bleach a $1 bill and print a different picture of someone else, or a humorous picture of Washington on it, and change a few words, you can legally sell it as a novelty for $5.

 

However, if you bleach a $1 bill, print a $5 on top, and try to pass it as a $5, you will be facing 3rd degree felonious federal charges with double digit incarceration. :laughing:

Intent is what's important.

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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We were talking about this the other day, too.

 

In urban caches, I tend to put items that kids might like. Fun stuff. I found packs of 12 round frog figures that jump up about 3 ft. when you push down on them that are pretty cool. I figure if I like playing with them a kid might. They were $3 a pack, so I've been putting those in urban caches. I have a friend who was bit by a buzz tail last year, so he puts plastic snakes in good caches that he likes.

 

Out in the desert and up in the mountains the swag game changes a bit. There I tend to put spare battery sets, space blankets, water packets, and other items that might well come in handy should someone come across a problem with hard times in the area. No jumping frog figuring is going to help much if you're stuck in the desert overnight. But some spare water or a flashlight just might.

 

At any rate, none of it's very expensive. But I do try to keep it somewhat interesting or useful.

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The Dollar store and Party stores are great places for kid-friendly swappables. Home Depot, Walmart, Army Surplus stores, and even the Dollar store are great places for other swappables. Finally, yard sales and flea markets can provide some really nice trading items for pretty cheep. I usually let my kids decide what to swap if they find something they like. I keep some compasses, whistles, flashlights, misc tools, as well as fun toys in my backpack so I always have something to trade even or up.

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Smushed pennies are cheap at 51 cents each, and fairly interesting if you get a variety from several places.

 

I usually like to find something unusual, but not necessarily costly.

I recently discovered that laying some on a RR track, slightly off the edge gives pretty cool results (minus the logo) for 1 cent each.

Don't do that, that could cause a train to derail and railroads frown on that activity. spend the 50 cents to smush one.

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Off topic here but I have to respond:

 

Covered here already: Mutilating coins, bad only if done fraudulently. A proven false "factoid". And yet people still quote the statute that proves them wrong. Smash those pennies and use as swag at will. Note that it is illegal to melt them down for scrap.

 

yes but the copper in pennies is highly corrosive in wet or damp enviornments.

 

if you plan on putting copper either in penny or other form into a cache, please place it in a seperate baggie to protect all the other contents of the cache.

No. The copper in pennies is not corrosive at all. If it was why would the US government and nearly all governments for thousands of years make coins out of copper? Why is copper flashing used on the roofs of houses to keep the water out of joints to masonry? Why are the water pipes in nearly every house in the world made out of copper?

 

Also, the edges of a P-38 can opener are not sharp and there is no danger in carrying one in your pocket or aound your neck as tens of thousands of GIs will attest. There is no need to "safely" package them if used as swag. They are safe as can be and make great swag.

 

Totally off topic: Glass is not a liquid and wavy glass in old houses does not prove that it is. It does not sag as shown by any number of ancient glass pieces in museums that have not sagged for centuries, unless they made special non-sagging glass for museum pieces.

 

Back to the topic: In at least one state an empty shell casing is legally classified as a firearm and there is a mandatory one year prison sentence if convicted of possessing a firearm without a license. Bad swag, at least in Massachusetts.

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Off topic here but I have to respond:

 

Covered here already: Mutilating coins, bad only if done fraudulently. A proven false "factoid". And yet people still quote the statute that proves them wrong. Smash those pennies and use as swag at will. Note that it is illegal to melt them down for scrap.

 

yes but the copper in pennies is highly corrosive in wet or damp enviornments.

 

if you plan on putting copper either in penny or other form into a cache, please place it in a seperate baggie to protect all the other contents of the cache.

No. The copper in pennies is not corrosive at all. If it was why would the US government and nearly all governments for thousands of years make coins out of copper? Why is copper flashing used on the roofs of houses to keep the water out of joints to masonry? Why are the water pipes in nearly every house in the world made out of copper?

 

Also, the edges of a P-38 can opener are not sharp and there is no danger in carrying one in your pocket or aound your neck as tens of thousands of GIs will attest. There is no need to "safely" package them if used as swag. They are safe as can be and make great swag.

 

Totally off topic: Glass is not a liquid and wavy glass in old houses does not prove that it is. It does not sag as shown by any number of ancient glass pieces in museums that have not sagged for centuries, unless they made special non-sagging glass for museum pieces.

 

Back to the topic: In at least one state an empty shell casing is legally classified as a firearm and there is a mandatory one year prison sentence if convicted of possessing a firearm without a license. Bad swag, at least in Massachusetts.

Pennies are not 100% copper. The outside copper layer does not corrode, but oxidizes, which can wear (or get damaged) and expose the zinc core which does corrode.

 

Glass - correct. Amorphous solid, not liquid.

 

I"d recommend putting coins in a baggie if placing in a cache. I've seen too many nasty looking coins bouncing around the bottom of a container.

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So if you are going on a holiday and plan to do some geocaching bring some pins and keychains of your town and put them in caches

 

Never actually occurred to me! Cool idea!

When I'm geocaching far from home I'm always expecting to find souvenirs from the area I'm caching in. I need to bring some "Chimney Rock Park" (www.chimneyrockpark.com) keychains with me (I work about 5 miles from there) the next time when I'm vacationing and place them in caches.

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Smushed pennies are cheap at 51 cents each, and fairly interesting if you get a variety from several places.

 

I usually like to find something unusual, but not necessarily costly.

I recently discovered that laying some on a RR track, slightly off the edge gives pretty cool results (minus the logo) for 1 cent each.

Don't do that, that could cause a train to derail and railroads frown on that activity. spend the 50 cents to smush one.

 

No way a penny is ever going to derail a train that weighs 10 tons with the engine alone. A nickel maybe. But certainly not a paltry penny.

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Being an over-hobbiest, I usually place some of my crafted stuff in there. Wire jewelry, polymer clay charms, beads, or something else I have some up with along the way. Concerning the penny, I actually took a penny and hammered it out. Cut it with my tools to make an arrowhead. Then attached it to a carved shaft about 2 in long. Looked really interesting when it was finished. I put a tag on it expaining how it was made, and what it was. I love to craft what can I say...

 

By the way, welcome to geocaching. I hope you find the joy in it, that it has brought to us. :laughing:

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Signature items are a fun way of saying "I was here".

I ordered a dozen pencils with my name on them for about $5 from Oriental Trading.

I've also been working on wooden nickels, using blank wood disks from a craft shop (a dozen of them for less than $5).

Here is a good thread on them

Nickels

Pencils will go like hotcakes judging from how many of my caches are missing the pencil!

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I don't know how things are in Europe or other places, but here in the US we have lots of thrift and charity shops. My favorite one will bag up little plastic animals, mctoys, keychains and other 'little nothings' and sell the baggies for around $2. I can get some great kid swag that way.

 

If you have kids who are outgrowing certain toys, you can make those into SWAG. We did that with our matchbox cars and littlest pet shop figures.

 

My parents are getting really great at decluttering their homes into mine: here's a bag of jewelry the kids might like for dress up! Instant SWAG! Because really, they don't need that many bead strings or bangle bracelets.

 

We have sorting gathers, where the kids help me sort out my thrift store and jewelry baggies. Anything sharp, broken, or deemed 'stupid' doesn't get turned into SWAG.

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