Coin Reviews

[GregsonVaux]

I was going to contribute to the favorite coin thread that asks for your favorite three. I sat down with my collection with the full intention of picking just three. However, as I set aside my favorites, other coins kept saying "what about me?" I realized that it was unfair to pick just three so I decided that I was going to be a bad boy, throw out the rules, and list a number of favorites. In the end, I decided to start a new thread.

 

This thread will be for coin reviews. Instead of just listing my favorites, I will talk about what makes them so good as well as their weaknesses. The most important thing that that the designers of these coins should pour themselves a glass of their favorite beverage, put their feet up, and pat themselves on the back for making a darn fine coin.

[GregsonVaux]

 

Scavok's NAWWAL Tengwar geocoin

 

This is the coin that started it all for me. Tengwar are elfish runes from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I was searching for examples of tengwar using Google Image Search. I kept finding images of a beautiful coin with Tengwar on it. I soon landed at Scavok's website and learned that there were things called geocoins. I had never heard of these coins, but I knew that I needed to own one of these marvelous artifacts. I was very fortunate that this coin was being reminted, so I ordered three. Since then, I have ordered counless copies in the many different finishes.

 

The coin is often called NAWWAL, which stands for Not All Who Wander Are Lost. This quote comes from Tolkien and refers to the rangers such as Aragorn who later became king. It also serves the hobby of geocaching well. Thus, not only is this a very attractive coin, but it sticks to the geocaching theme.

 

The major strength of this coin is its use of color and depth. It sticks to a single transparent color, which offsets the metal finish and gives the coins a gravity and dignity. It's design uses three depths of knotwork that are complex without being confusing. It makes use of elfish runes, but also kindly provides the Latin (English) transcription on the other side so that the average person can read it. There are subtle direction markings in English on one side and tengwar on the other to again stick with the caching theme and give the illusion that this coin can somehow be used as a direction finding tool.

 

Weaknesses. The Elfish runes are subtle, but perhaps too subtle. They are quite small meaning that the knotwork design is the much more prominent feature. The runes are, in fact, so small that the elfish vowels could not be included. The vowels above and below the consonants make for a more appealing script, in my opinion.

[GregsonVaux]

 

 

Ginkgo - Living Fossil Geocoin

 

This coin comes in three versions:

 

Spring - light green on antique silver

Autumn - yellow on antique gold

Winter - brown on antique copper

 

Here we again see excellent use of color and texture under transparent enamel. All three version will knock your socks off with the texture that seems to glow under the enamel. The use of Chinese/Japanese(?) characters gives it an exotic and mysterious flavor. The back side has no color, which gives a more serious feel. Thus, we have the pretty and happy side as well as the text book side. The coin is also helped by the good choice of topic. Here is a fantastic tree that has the one charming flaw that its fruit smells like vomit. It is like the pretty girl who has a scar or birthmark that just makes her prettier.

My two complaints about the coin are that a summer version was never made and the blue color of the letters on the spring version. The blue does not go well with the light green and sort of gives the impression of a billboard in the ginkgo grove. In spite of that, still a first rate coin.

 

I bought the spring and winter versions from the online store where they were being sold, but the artist's (autumn) version was unavailable. I loved the coins so much, that I simply had the have the third version. So far there have been three coins that I paid too much for and the autumn ginkgo was one of them. I found it on ebay and bid high. When I sent off the payment, the seller (the artist?) sent me a personal note full of exclamation points. Whenever I see exclamation points after sending money, I know that I have just paid about three times too much. Oh well, the artist deserved it.

Edited October 25, 2010 by GregsonVaux

[GregsonVaux]

 

 

Pythagoras Geocoin

 

This coin may appeal more to people with a mathematical or scientific bend. In general, I prefer my coins to be round, but this coin strays for the purpose of embodying a mathematical proof. A worthy reason to deviate from the perfection of a circle.

 

The shape of the coin itself is the proof for the pythagorean theorem and the rest of the coin contains mathematical vignettes. There is a little spiral poem, a portrait of Pythagoras, a golden spiral, and the tetractys, among others. Who could not be impressed by a coin that acts as a freshman level primer of math history and appreciation. The coin displays good use of transparent enamel. The use of Greek and pseudo Greek is a nice tip of the hat to those who like languages.

 

My complaint with this coin is that the stars on the blue square look a bit too cartoonish. The pattern underneath the enamel on all three squares is the same. It would have been better if there had been three different patterns making the coin even more complex.

 

I liked this coin enough to buy four copies. I will keep one for myself, One I gave to my wife, who is a math teacher. The other two copies will be future gifts to people who love math.

Edited October 25, 2010 by GregsonVaux

[GregsonVaux]

 

 

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies . . ."

 

The coin is so great because it is full of flower power. On the front side we see a landscape with a yellow flower and in the sky . . . the earth! Think about it, where is this place? The earth is actually the right size for us to be standing on the moon. This place is definitely not on earth. I think back to a book from my childhood about two boys who travel in a rocket to an invisible planet very close to the earth called the mushroom planet.

 

Hey man, mushrooms, flowers, love, peace - woah - the colors!!

 

Simply put, this coin is a psychedelic trip. We are on some other planet with birds flying in spirals and words on the breeze whispering “sunshine, freedom, flowers” The sky is a shade of red that Paul and John mistakenly called marmalade. This is one of those fantasy worlds where instead of a vacuum, there is an incense wafting between the planets and birds carrying messages. There is sunshine, freedom, and a lot of the flowers seem to be poppies.

This coin has great imagery with circle and spiral themes. Beneath the transparent enamel, the words and birds are repeated to good effect; it is almost as though something you ate has changed your perspective on time. But wait, there is more! Next to the flower on the earth side are trippy swirls and in the sky is some sort of comet or spaceship.

This is not my favorite coin and probably not even in my top five, but I can’t find anything wrong with it. It is just full of flower power and if you listen carefully, you can hear the sitars under the electric guitar.

Edited October 26, 2010 by GregsonVaux

[GregsonVaux]

 

 

Do you remember in the book The Magician's Nephew the day Narnia was born? Aslan walked back and forth in the land singing the world into being. The animals were awoken and a tired old horse grew wings and leaped into the air with new vigor. The world was so alive that even a broken scrap from a lamp post acted as a seed and brought forth a living light. I imagine that the dawn of the fairies was this sort of day.

 

This is a magical coin full of beauty; the fairy is sweet and the garden is bright. I normally prefer round coins, but the shape of the window looking into the fairy's world is enchanting.

 

One minor complaint. The sun is very interesting, but it really looks hot! I'll bet she could use a really cold lemonade. She's probably going to stain her new dress with all of the sweating. That aside, a nice, NICE coin.

Edited October 27, 2010 by GregsonVaux

[+Zelanzy]

This is slightly off topic, but I like your ring! Is that engraved with your name? Actually it looks to be stamped? Awesome!

[+GeocoinGuy]

This is slightly off topic, but I like your ring! Is that engraved with your name? Actually it looks to be stamped? Awesome!

I think it's Laser Engraved without color fill, available only in Polished Gold!

 

~J

[GregsonVaux]

This is slightly off topic, but I like your ring! Is that engraved with your name? Actually it looks to be stamped? Awesome!

 

Thanks,

 

It's my wedding ring and has my wife's name, my two children's names and my name. My wife has an identical ring. I am not sure what technique was used to make it, but I believe that it was cast using a mold.

[GregsonVaux]

 

 

This is the coin of a graphic artist who knows logos. On the front side we see the blue fire. It's not exactly radial symmetry and it's not rotational symmetry. It's something in between and it works. I love how the spiral in the middle merges into a tongue of flame. Blue is also a nice color for fire. Very unusual. Is it blue because of a chemical emission? Is it blue due to extreme heat (black body radiation)? I have no idea, but it is definitely cool.

 

Below the flame is some mysterious symbol. Could it be the writing of an alien race orbiting around a blue star? Could it be a wizard's signature? Roman numerals are always good. The radial lines succeed at creating expansiveness and the feeling of radiating. The gold mirror finish looks fantastic.

 

On the back, the earth underneath the enamel looks great and the lines of latitude and longitude add to the science fiction feel. If not science fiction, it at least feels erudite. The symbol over the earth is fantastic! It looks like decorative grill work, but closer inspection reveals that it says "earth, air, fire, water". Alchemy, the artist fit in alchemy! Erudite widardry! Oh man, that's good!

 

My instinct is to hide the "track at geocaching.com" message because it gets in the way of the art. This coin designer just put it there front and center in bold letters and managed to have it compliment the design. Good job.

 

Negative. While the gold mirror finish looks good, my fear is that it will not age well. Polished surfaces have a tendency to look grubby quickly.

[+GATOULIS]

Beautiful coins!!! I have none of them!!!

 

I also love your ring!!! In a photo... I think I have sen a name.. Rohan... something like that... and to tell you the truth I thought it had something to do with the city in the Lord of the Rings1 It is a nice ring and since it is your wedding ring.. it is priceless!

 

Ok... back to the coins..... I saw that there is a greek theme coin... about Pythagoras!!! WOW!

 

Well... there are some mistakes in the greek words, but...

 

I do not understand some of them.... I see a γ and says Τρεις, then it says: γ Τετταρες, and then is that: ε Πεντε

 

What the maker is trying to say? If the Τρεις stands for three.... then it is Τρια...but sometimes we say... τρεις δραχμες (3 drachmas)

 

The ΤΕΤΤΑΡΑ doesn't exist!!! Is it Τεσσερα??? (Four) In ancient times it was ΤEΣΣΑΡΑ too...

 

The : trackable at Geocaching.com.... looks more Russian than Greek!

 

I know that this happens in USA, but the excact writing of that... in english (from the grrek letters that were used) is: TRLCKLBLS LT GS(TH)CLCIFPG.C(TH)M

 

The Θ is your "TH" But it is ok...

 

I can not understand the GCC ΓΞΒ 2010! What is that???

 

The "Ξ" stands for your "X"

Our "X" is your "H"

And our "H" Is one of the "I" we use (we have letters or combination of letters with the same sound: I, Y, H, EI, OI, )

 

I know.... I know... Greek is not an easy language!

[GregsonVaux]

 

 

Wood Sprite Coin

 

There were three coins that I paid too much for. I have already mentioned the AE ginkgo leaf mentioned above, but this was the first. It was listed as XLE and since I was new to coins, I thought that it meant that only 25 total had ever been made. I didn't realize that there were many types of finishes.

 

I bought the coin for the tengwar (elvish writing) that can be seen behind the Sprite (I think she looks like an elf) and on the back. Like with Scavok's NAHWAL tengwar coin, the writing is too small for my tastes, but it does include the vowels above and below the letters. However, due to their size, they are nearly invisible.

 

When I held the coin in my hands, I realized that I like the elf's . . . ahh . . . personality. My wife took one look at it and said that she hates the coin. I keep it out of her sight when I am looking through my geocoin collection.

 

Positives: tengwar writing, pretty elf, a leafy ambiance

Negatives: My wife hates it

Edited October 28, 2010 by GregsonVaux

[GregsonVaux]

Duplicate Post

Edited October 28, 2010 by GregsonVaux

[GregsonVaux]

I thought it had something to do with the city in the Lord of the Rings1

 

Thanks for the kind words, my wife and I like our rings very much.

 

When I was about 13, I read the Hobbit and thought it was OK. When I was about 16, I read The Lord of the Rings and thought it was mostly boring. For a long time, I thought of Tolkien as a decent writer, but no more. Then Peter Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring was released and when I saw it, my mouth fell open and I have been recovering ever since.

 

My wife and I were trying to pick out names when our first child was on the way. We went through many, but none of them were right. Since we both love books, we tried many names from literature. In the end, we gave both of our boys names from Tolkien.

 

The name we gave our second boy is pretty obscure for most people, but when The Hobbit is released as a movie in a few years, everyone will know the name.

[GregsonVaux]

 

 

Cosmolabe Geocoin

 

This coin allows the owner to travel the different universes. That alone makes it a worthy coin. Sadly, I have yet to figure how it works. There are four different moving parts on the coin and each one contains some sort of pointer that allows the user to choose an arcane symbol. There is also Voynich Manuscript text on the coin, but since no one has ever deciphered the manuscript, the text does little to help the would be dimensional traveler.

 

Positives:

 

four moving parts

mysterious Voynich text

indicators are artistic

The artifact hints at deep and hidden knowledge

Too cool for words

 

Negatives

 

The cosmolabe was supposed to have been featured in a movie, but the movie seems to be nonexistant

The movement of the parts feels cheap and as though it could easily break

Edited October 30, 2010 by GregsonVaux

[+GoldBugGirl]

When I held the coin in my hands, I realized that I like the elf's . . . ahh . . . personality. My wife took one look at it and said that she hates the coin. I keep it out of her sight when I am looking through my geocoin collection.

 

That's hilarious, GV! Tell your wife that I hate her, too (the elf, not the coin)! My husband is at a hunting camp all weekend--I sure hope he doesn't find her out there in the woods!

[+Zelanzy]

I really enjoyed reading through this thread. Be sure to keep it up! Also, I'm glad you list negatives, no one ever does that and its a breath of fresh air!

Edited November 1, 2010 by Zelanzy

[GregsonVaux]

I really enjoyed reading through this thread. Be sure to keep it up! Also, I'm glad you list negatives, no one ever does that and its a breath of fresh air!

 

Thanks for the positive feedback. I have at least eight more coins to go, but I am only including the ones that really jumped out as being great.

[GregsonVaux]

 

 

by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. . .

 

. . . The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him.

 

This coin may be a picture of the skin horse from The Velveteen Rabbit. This coin made it on my list because it touches me as a father, as someone who read The Velveteen Rabbit as a boy, and as someone who secretly can't shake the idea that things have feelings. This story has probably been told many times including by Disney as Pinocchio.

 

The artwork on the coin conveys an endearing cuteness that makes you want to hold the toy horse in your arms and make it real. My wife has complained numerous times that geocoins often have two very different side that seem to have nothing in common. The artist herself has mentioned this in her description of the coin how colors are used to unify the two sides. Colors are also used most effectively in the rainbow. There are five versions of the coins with different color schemes and five unique rainbows.

 

Negative. My biggest complaint with this coin is the phrase on the back. It implies that all you need are dreams. My experience has been that dreams only come true with much hard work. I know too many people who dream easily, but the dreams never come true because their heads are stuck in the clouds and their feet never touch the ground. It bothers me so much because I have seen people who have very tragic lives since they refuse to do the hard work.

 

As a final note, this is the third coin that I paid too much for. Actually, I bought the whole set of five on eBay. I had been outbid on several coins and I was determined to have this set. I waited for the last thirty seconds of the auction and bid $100. Fortunately for my bank account, the actual sales price was much lower. However, still too high. I doubt that I will ever bid like that again. Truth be told, the price was worth it and I am glad that the money went to the artist.