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Theft


Strengthn1

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Cachers-

 

I'm new to the geocaching, but I've notice what appears to be an abnormally high rate of missing geocoins. It seems every time I go to a geocache in northern california I have to do research to see if the geocoin is still in the cache or if its been missing for some time from the cache. I have a theory that someone in the area has been stealing the geocoins and not trading them as the game was intended. IT'S FLAT OUT THEFT.... Has anyone else had this experience near them?

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Welcome to the forums... The more you geocache, the more that you will realize that missing bugs is a mixture of A. theft B. improper logging of the bugs and C. forgetfulness. It's just part of the game... and as the game grows, so will the amount of traveling coins and bugs... and the amount of missing coins and bugs. It is just something that you have to accept. When I cache, I always go for the caches that interest me and the caches with the tbs and coins. I just think of it as a bonus if the tb or coin is actually in the cache.

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Cachers-

 

I'm new to the geocaching, but I've notice what appears to be an abnormally high rate of missing geocoins. It seems every time I go to a geocache in northern california I have to do research to see if the geocoin is still in the cache or if its been missing for some time from the cache. I have a theory that someone in the area has been stealing the geocoins and not trading them as the game was intended. IT'S FLAT OUT THEFT.... Has anyone else had this experience near them?

 

For a long time, I used to think of it as theft, but now I feel that many coins simply get forgotten or lost by the cachers who grab them. Some of mine have turned up years after what I thought was lost or stolen.

 

That said, though, I do think that there are 'pockets' or areas in which there is someone or a group of people who collect coins found in caches. If you find a cache or an area where coins routinely go missing (I wonder if you are in the area where two of my travellers have gone missing?) think about leaving a note IN a cache for future finders that coins tend to go missing. You could leave a note on line as well, though many cachers don't read the notes until after they've been to a cache.

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Oh yeah!!

 

Originally I think there were geocoin bandits who made it part of THEIR game to be different and go against the grain... much the same ways as taggers get a thrill vandalizing other people's property. While that culture has certainly grown I also feel as others have stated above that carelessness and ignorance play a larger part as the game becomes more mainstream and populous. Lack of experience among cache owners and coin owners too plays a role.... refusing to mark a coin as MISSING several months after notes are posted that it is no longer in residence.

 

Yes, coins that were believed to be MISSING do turn up years later and we hear of these happy events now and then here and rejoice in it but I really believe they are the exception rather than the rule.

Edited by Droo
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One of the most effective means to keep your own Geocoins on the move is to scan them, print out paper representations and laminate them. If they go missing, just print up a new proxy and send it on its way. Too many of the real items find their way into the personal collections of people who are either Careless or Evil, others are simply muggled and have a very unlikely chance of finding the way back into circulation.

 

This is largely why most of my recent trackables have been dog tags. I have a laminator so I should be able to make proxies of my uber kewl geocioins and sent them out, without fear of their imminent disappearance. :laughing:

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One of the most effective means to keep your own Geocoins on the move is to scan them, print out paper representations and laminate them. If they go missing, just print up a new proxy and send it on its way. Too many of the real items find their way into the personal collections of people who are either Careless or Evil, others are simply muggled and have a very unlikely chance of finding the way back into circulation.

 

This is largely why most of my recent trackables have been dog tags. I have a laminator so I should be able to make proxies of my uber kewl geocioins and sent them out, without fear of their imminent disappearance. :laughing:

 

Except for the fact that many "serious" geocachers frown upon proxies and will take them out of a cache and throw them away. I thought it was a good idea too until I read all of the angry responses that those topics always get. If the paper proxy is going to go in the garbage and the actual coin is almost guaranteed to be stolen, what's the sense of even making coins trackable anymore?

 

I can understand losing a trackable every now and again, but the rate at which they seem to disappear seems too high to attribute to forgetful or unaware cachers.

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Welcome to the forums... The more you geocache, the more that you will realize that missing bugs is a mixture of A. theft B. improper logging of the bugs and C. forgetfulness. It's just part of the game... and as the game grows, so will the amount of traveling coins and bugs... and the amount of missing coins and bugs. It is just something that you have to accept. When I cache, I always go for the caches that interest me and the caches with the tbs and coins. I just think of it as a bonus if the tb or coin is actually in the cache.

 

So happy to see your post. To me this is a positive approach and discussion of an annoying problem (and especially if you like, love, own, move or otherwise are an affectionaire of Geocoins).

 

If we were to actually analyze the number of tracking numbers sold vs. the number activated vs. the number released vs. the number reported missing........well, it seems like a lot to those of us effected (owners of missing trackables and those who could not find them where they were supposed to be) but it is small compared to the massive numbers.

 

I also feel strongly that both the cache owner and the trackable owner play a role here! Once they know and are assured a trackable is missing from a cache - why in the world don't they mark it missing??? You are just asking for seekers of trackables to be frustrated and believe their are thieves lurking near the cache (which may not be the case).

 

Cache on - cache happy and thank you for the neutral post explaining all which may happen.

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One of the most effective means to keep your own Geocoins on the move is to scan them, print out paper representations and laminate them. If they go missing, just print up a new proxy and send it on its way. Too many of the real items find their way into the personal collections of people who are either Careless or Evil, others are simply muggled and have a very unlikely chance of finding the way back into circulation.

 

This is largely why most of my recent trackables have been dog tags. I have a laminator so I should be able to make proxies of my uber kewl geocioins and sent them out, without fear of their imminent disappearance. :laughing:

 

Except for the fact that many "serious" geocachers frown upon proxies and will take them out of a cache and throw them away. I thought it was a good idea too until I read all of the angry responses that those topics always get. If the paper proxy is going to go in the garbage and the actual coin is almost guaranteed to be stolen, what's the sense of even making coins trackable anymore?

 

I can understand losing a trackable every now and again, but the rate at which they seem to disappear seems too high to attribute to forgetful or unaware cachers.

 

I'm a serious cacher and would never destroy anyone's coin, proxy or otherwise.

 

I think you are telling me that coins make poor travelers.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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In my opinion, coins don't make the best travelers-- at least, not anymore. There's just too many people willing to steal them rather than move them along, not to mention the cost to replace them.

 

In regards to my comment about the varying attitudes about proxies, this quote from Penny and Kona in the "Geocoin cards" thread seems to present one of the many anti-proxy arguments pretty well, without being irrational or illogical:

 

My issue with geocoin proxies is more philosophical. The traditional purpose of a geocoin was to be a trackable. Granted, geocoins have evolved into a collectible, but if you are buying for the collectible aspect then it seems to me that activating and releasing aren't really part of the collecting process?

 

I DO understand how fun it is to watch a trackable accumulate miles and smile when that one-in-a-hundred cacher actually snaps a photo of my trackable. Who doesn't like this?

 

My question is why don't you purchase the considerably cheaper travel bug dog tags? Sure, these also go missing, but you certainly aren't out of pocket $15, not by a long shot. And they do the same thing as geocoins: log miles with a unique tracking number.

 

I can certainly understand not wanting to lose something you've invested money in, which is why we see all the time "don't release something you're not willing to lose." However, if you own a geocoin and don't want it lost, why not keep it in your collection? Or take it to events and let others discover it? Or turn it into your personal coin and "dip" it into every cache you find, which would be fun to see how many miles you've logged via geocaching?

 

I guess I'm a purist at heart, but to me the desires to have "something" accumulate miles AND to hold on to something forever can be resolved with two different things. If you want miles, buy a TB dog tag. If you want to "have" something, then purchase your geocoin and keep it safe. No disrespect to anyone choosing to send out proxies, but they seem to be a carelessly selfish way to have one's cake and eat it too, not to mention adding yet another facet of confusion when it comes to new geocachers and trackables in their many forms. I, personally, don't move proxies or discover them or abuse them, but do appreciate proxies with the word "PROXY" somewhere in the name of the traveler.

 

I might encourage everyone to put more thought into WHY they want to activate a geocoin, and then weigh their feelings about losing that geocoin against the desire to see "something" travel.

 

But, as with everything in life, it's all up to your own opinion and your own choice. I won't release coins because they are too expensive to lose. I won't release proxies because it just doesn't bother me that much to have them travel. Other people do, and that's fine by me. Potato, potahto. :laughing:

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Except for the fact that many "serious" geocachers frown upon proxies and will take them out of a cache and throw them away. I thought it was a good idea too until I read all of the angry responses that those topics always get. If the paper proxy is going to go in the garbage and the actual coin is almost guaranteed to be stolen, what's the sense of even making coins trackable anymore?

...

I've been following the Proxy debates for years as originally I was loathe to touch 'em if I found one. However thefts were few back then and with their increase my opinion changed. In all the debates I've rarely found a "serious" geocacher who was so offended as to trash a Proxy. I've noted those who posted that was their feeling but I never considered those folks "serious" cachers. My definition of a serious geocacher is one who respects the property of others (cache or travelers or swag), the location a cache is placed in and the guidelines under which we play this game.

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My sister saves all her coins. She is afraid of losing them. :laughing:

I send mine out. Yes, I have had a few missing but it is exciting to see the coins move around the world.

A pilot has one of my coins that I dedicated to my mother when she passed away. He writes nice logs and dips my coin in caches all over the world. Every year, he asks me if I want the coin back or to have the journey continued. I know the coin is safe in his hands. As for the other coins that are lost, I use to ask the previous person about the coin. Some would reply that they had a long illness and wasn't able to get out to geocache or others would say "oops, I have forgotten".

Unfortunately, some caches are muggled and I have to tell the coin owner that their coin or tb may be lost forever.

At the next event, I will be buying another coin and sending it out on a new journey. If it is a lucky coin, it will have a long journey. :wacko:

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Except for the fact that many "serious" geocachers frown upon proxies and will take them out of a cache and throw them away. I thought it was a good idea too until I read all of the angry responses that those topics always get. If the paper proxy is going to go in the garbage and the actual coin is almost guaranteed to be stolen, what's the sense of even making coins trackable anymore?

...

I've been following the Proxy debates for years as originally I was loathe to touch 'em if I found one. However thefts were few back then and with their increase my opinion changed. In all the debates I've rarely found a "serious" geocacher who was so offended as to trash a Proxy. I've noted those who posted that was their feeling but I never considered those folks "serious" cachers. My definition of a serious geocacher is one who respects the property of others (cache or travelers or swag), the location a cache is placed in and the guidelines under which we play this game.

 

I think maybe my wording didn't come out very clearly. I meant "serious" as in "taking it too seriously". The ones who are very literal about what exactly is or isn't a geocoin/tb. I realize now how without intonation my post can be misinterpreted, sorry about that.

 

I like your definition of a "serious" cacher. Thankfully, it seems like most cachers are that way. :laughing:

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