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New to geocoin forums...can't find this answer, so...


mlomeli

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Ok, I can't figure out some things after spending a great deal of time sorting through this forum.

 

1.) Do people but coins just to collect (like people collect, say star wars figures)?

 

2.) Are they ever activated and used...ever?

 

3.) I've seen a thread where someone says "I received a letter from myself", in which they got a coin in the mail. What does that mean?

 

4.) Are "active" coins that are found in caches, ever part of these lists?

 

Thanks for reading. I just have no idea what is going on here and have questions.

 

Thanks,

Matt

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ALL EXCELLENT questions you ask of us,mlomeli. WELCOME to the beginning of what MAY become a rather pricey hobby ! Some may tell yo to RUN as fast as you can but hey< stick around as you'll enjoy !

1. YES, some collect geocoins as some do Figurines etc . . .

2. YES, coins get activated and some don't

3. As the "letter to and from self" that is when one usually recieves a "mystery" coin . . .

4. YES, there are some coins that DO get found in caches AND Sometimes, one may even find an unactivated coin to do as they wish . . .

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Kinda new myself, but am board so...

1)Yes, most of the coins that are purchased are for collecting only

 

2)Yes they are activated and sent on missions.That is how I found out about geocoins and I activated and sent my first one on it's way today. However that being said most people don't seem to sent them out since they have a high chance of getting "lost" and at $8-10+ per coin that is pretty expensive to be throwing into the wind. :blink:

 

3)A coin from yourself to yourself is usually a mystery coin from a mystery giver. They send these out just out of the goodness of their heart ;) the geocoin address book is a good way to possibly get one of these great coins.

 

4)Active coins in caches are discussed in this forum, for instance someone (forgive me for forgetting who) was saying just recently that their coin had completed it's mission!! Quite an achievement since like I said before, many seem to get lost in their journeys. The majority of the conversations seems to be about new coins, new designs, new mystery coins, or coin trading.

 

Just reading through the threads for a couple of weeks really helped me navigate the forums as I got sucked into my addiction to coins. Seeing all the new coins coming out, all the trading going on, and the kind generous spirit of the people in the geocoin forum really drew me in. I think that most people will agree with me that geocoins and this forum are VERY addictive!! Hope this helps you and I am sure that others will join in and/or elaborate more.

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>>1.) Do people but coins just to collect (like people collect, say star wars figures)?<<

yes.

 

>>2.) Are they ever activated and used...ever?<<

somewhat. many of us activate coins but don't send them anywhere, don't put them in caches to travel. it is fun to have the icon and to share coins at events where others can discover them. discover means someone has seen the coin, acquired the tracking number and logged it. they then get the icon in their profile. other folks actually activate coins and send them on journeys.

 

>>3.) I've seen a thread where someone says "I received a letter from myself", in which they got a coin in the mail. What does that mean? <<

 

when a sender that is a mystery sends out a special coin but wishes to remain anonymous. sometimes people will just send a regular coin as a gift to someone who perhaps has said that coin is one of their most desired. sometimes that is anonymous too.

 

but mystery coin givers like to remain anonymous so use the receiver's name as the return address also, thus "receiving a letter from myself."

 

>>4.) Are "active" coins that are found in caches, ever part of these lists? <<

not sure what you mean "these lists?" :) again, some activated coins get sent out to travel from cache to cache. those aren't for the cache finder to keep, but are like travel bugs.

 

sometimes people will leave an unactivated coin in a cache as swag. unless it says otherwise that is for the finder to keep. i put coins in caches for fun and in new caches as FTF rewards.

 

hope that helps to answer your questions. welcome to the forum!

 

rsg

 

edited for clarity

Edited by RedShoesGirl
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4.) Are "active" coins that are found in caches, ever part of these lists?

 

There are three kinds of coins:

1. trackable in a person's collection. They own it and it can be activated or unactivated

2. trackable found in a cache.

a) if it's activated it's a traveler, much like travel bugs and should be moved, not kept

B) if it's unactivated it's probably left as a prize for the next finder

3. non-trackable geocoins --- these can be both left in caches, moved or kept unless it has a note with it saying otherwise

 

People who keep coins in their collection sometimes activate them to show them off at events. Others don't activate their coins to keep as a personal collection.

 

Collectors in the forums never take coins out of circulation to put into their collections. If you do, Shame on you!

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The people in this forum are fanatics that collect coins (myself included), so we probably don't represent the average geocacher. I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and at least here it is easy to find geocaches with geocoins in them, which means that a fair number get activated and sent out in caches. Myself, I own about 370 geocoins. I have activated all of them and about 60 of them are intended to be sent out into the wild (placed in caches) I have probably placed about 30 of them so far. The other thirty are sitting next to my computer waiting to be placed in a cache. Many collectors do not activate their collectible coins so that they will remain "virgin" and have a higher resale value. I activate mine so that they can begin acquiring a history and stories. I personally just like to hold them in my hand and don't care much about resale value. If you look at the profiles of the people in this forum, you will see that many of them have a large number of activated coins. There is one person in particular who had 1500 activated coins when I last checked.

 

I think that most collectors put a certain number of coins into caches because that it their true purpose and coins want to travel. However, they also recognize that some coins are too nice and expensive to travel in the wild. Thus there are two types of coins, the inexpensive average ones that are for putting into caches and the nice looking one that are for keeping in a safe place and only sharing in a controlled environment such as your house or a geocaching event where the owner will watch over them.

 

I think that the hobby of geocaching and geocoins have become so popular because there are not many rules, which makes the hobby open to many different interpretations. There are lots of different ways to enjoys caches and enjoy coins.

Edited by GregsonVaux
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Interesting questions.

 

Well, I support all the above by my colleagues and I add that everyone can do whatever they want with their geocoins either activate, sell, give, save, make travel ... etc, obviously.

 

In my case, only active them if:

1) - I carry with me to events and meetings to teach and that other geocachers can do loggin.

2) - Are a gift to family and friends who are not geocachers, not yet ... :)

3) - If I let go to travel, with or without a defined purpose or mission.

 

If not active, it can be for several reasons, mainly because:

1) - It is possible to make a trade with another collector some day.

2) - Are valuable pieces of my collection, where the value is rather because I particularly like the design or its origin or meaning, not its economic value, which is rarely high.

3) - If I release in a cache as a gift for a next cacher.

 

At the moment this is what I do with my coins.

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Nice! Thanks all. I don't get activating before a "show/event/start a history" aspect. Are you giving them away and track them as "traded"? Or, are they only trackable through events, meaning...you met the original owner?

 

I've asked to be invited to the mailing list. Yikes!

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When you buy a brand new geocoin it is unactivated - mint - it has no history. It belongs to you but at this stage it doesn't show as belonging to you in your geocaching account. It's rather like a baby in the womb, it's there, it exists but it doesn't have an independent life of its own. You can show it off to people but they won't be able to log it as seen i.e. "discovered". Some people keep their collection of geocoins in this "as bought" state.

 

To bring it to life you have to activate it. This mean you use the tracking number (on the coin) in conjunction with an activation code (from the manufacturer) to activate the coin and thus register it to your geocaching account. Once this has been done anyone who has the tracking number will be able to see the geocoin's home page - They will see it belongs to you, they will be able to log a "discovered it" note to its page.

 

As the owner, you then have other choices to make - Do you want to keep this coin with you at all times to become part of your Trackables Collection? Or, do you want to release it to travel from cache to cache? You can choose to mark the coin as "Collectible" (i.e. it's to remain with you) or "Not Collectible" (i.e. it's going to be moved from cache to cache).

 

And so you set the destiny of your geocoin.

 

Hope that helps. :)

 

MrsB

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When you buy a brand new geocoin it is unactivated - mint - it has no history. It belongs to you but at this stage it doesn't show as belonging to you in your geocaching account. It's rather like a baby in the womb, it's there, it exists but it doesn't have an independent life of its own. You can show it off to people but they won't be able to log it as seen i.e. "discovered". Some people keep their collection of geocoins in this "as bought" state.

 

To bring it to life you have to activate it. This mean you use the tracking number (on the coin) in conjunction with an activation code (from the manufacturer) to activate the coin and thus register it to your geocaching account. Once this has been done anyone who has the tracking number will be able to see the geocoin's home page - They will see it belongs to you, they will be able to log a "discovered it" note to its page.

 

As the owner, you then have other choices to make - Do you want to keep this coin with you at all times to become part of your Trackables Collection? Or, do you want to release it to travel from cache to cache? You can choose to mark the coin as "Collectible" (i.e. it's to remain with you) or "Not Collectible" (i.e. it's going to be moved from cache to cache).

 

And so you set the destiny of your geocoin.

 

Hope that helps. :)

 

MrsB

 

This makes sense, thanks!

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Nice! Thanks all. I don't get activating before a "show/event/start a history" aspect. Are you giving them away and track them as "traded"? Or, are they only trackable through events, meaning...you met the original owner?

 

I've asked to be invited to the mailing list. Yikes!

 

if I understand your question, activating your coin allows others to "discover" the coin...add it to their list of trackable moved/discovered list on their profile. Some people like discovering coins so they can add the icon to the list (sort of like collecting the coins, without the cost!) you still own the coin, and you will get a notice from Groundspeak, when they discover your coin.

 

your unactivated coins cannot be discovered by others...if someone would try to discover the coin on geocaching.com, they would reach a page that would simply tell them that the coin has not yet been activated. I suppose that at this point, since they would have the tracking number, they could also activate the coin in their own account (has this ever happened?)

 

ILYK
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There is one person in particular who had 1500 activated coins when I last checked.

 

 

everyone needs a hobby, but isn't 1500 activated coins a little extreme :anicute: ?

 

ILYK

 

1500...NO, but 1800+, Maybe.

 

Yes, an update is required. It was 1500, but now it is 1807. I would call that insane, but I guess that means that all of us here are crazy together.

 

What is especially shocking is to do the math. The average new coin costs 8-10 dollars, but there is also the shipping cost. I think that it is fair to say that most collectors with more than 100 coins buy coins from overseas, which greatly adds to shipping costs, and from auctions, which greatly adds to base price, I think a more realistic average cost per coin is $15. Let's do the math for my collection:

 

(370 coins) X ($15) = $5550

 

That is not a hobby, but a full blown addiction. :o

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Ok, I can't figure out some things after spending a great deal of time sorting through this forum.

 

1.) Do people but coins just to collect (like people collect, say star wars figures)?

 

2.) Are they ever activated and used...ever?

 

3.) I've seen a thread where someone says "I received a letter from myself", in which they got a coin in the mail. What does that mean?

 

4.) Are "active" coins that are found in caches, ever part of these lists?

 

Thanks for reading. I just have no idea what is going on here and have questions.

 

Thanks,

Matt

 

Many have responded so I'm not sure if I can add anymore but this has been my experience. I love coins of all kinds and so I bought my first few coins and sent them out into the Geo-word only to find them stolen within a very short time. I believe most cachers will move the coin along as it is meant but it only takes a handful to ruin it for all.

Because I have had so many stolen I now keep the originals in a book and send a faux out to travel. I know some cachers hate finding a faux but at $5 to $20 per coin, one can't really afford to send the real thing out.

 

A short answer to your four questions is yes, yes, yes, and yes!

 

WB

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Yes, an update is required. It was 1500, but now it is 1807. I would call that insane, but I guess that means that all of us here are crazy together.

 

What is especially shocking is to do the math. The average new coin costs 8-10 dollars, but there is also the shipping cost. I think that it is fair to say that most collectors with more than 100 coins buy coins from overseas, which greatly adds to shipping costs, and from auctions, which greatly adds to base price, I think a more realistic average cost per coin is $15. Let's do the math for my collection:

 

(370 coins) X ($15) = $5550

 

That is not a hobby, but a full blown addiction. :o

 

I don't have nearly that many, but I am proud to say that even at about 75-100 coins between Anthony and I, I am a geocoin addict ;)

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Yes, an update is required. It was 1500, but now it is 1807. I would call that insane, but I guess that means that all of us here are crazy together.

 

What is especially shocking is to do the math. The average new coin costs 8-10 dollars, but there is also the shipping cost. I think that it is fair to say that most collectors with more than 100 coins buy coins from overseas, which greatly adds to shipping costs, and from auctions, which greatly adds to base price, I think a more realistic average cost per coin is $15. Let's do the math for my collection:

 

(370 coins) X ($15) = $5550

 

That is not a hobby, but a full blown addiction. :o

 

 

 

I don't have nearly that many, but I am proud to say that even at about 75-100 coins between Anthony and I, I am a geocoin addict ;)

 

insane.gif

 

ILYK
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1.) Do people but coins just to collect (like people collect, say star wars figures)?

 

I guess you mean "Buy"? I make they typo a lot. Yes, many coins that are bought and traded are just to collect(collected by the buyer), but that's not the intended purpose of most that are created. The root of geocoins is that they are trackable travelers like a Travel Bug. Many get "Lost" (or stolen) so in addition to releasing them to travel, many people have begun to collect them instead.

 

 

2.) Are they ever activated and used...ever?

 

Yes, in addition to the collectors, there are many geocoins that are activated and released into geocaches to travel. That is the original reason for them to exist after all.

 

 

3.) I've seen a thread where someone says "I received a letter from myself", in which they got a coin in the mail. What does that mean?

 

Coin designers/collectors that want to send an anonymous gift to another oten use the same address to avoid revealing who sent the gift. That would make them a "Mystery Sender". Some people have created special coins expressly for this kind of mysterious gifting, those are called "Mystery Coins". No one knows who made them, or who sent them.

 

 

4.) Are "active" coins that are found in caches, ever part of these lists?

 

By "These Lists" I guess you mean the trading lists, and the lists of coins being sold here by collectors. NO, these are NEVER the active coins traveling in geocaches. Active coins found in geocaches are the property of the owner listed on the website. They are to be considered "On Loan" to any person who finds them, and one should NOT keep them unless expressly instructed to do so by the listed owner. One should do their best to follow the goal of the coin, or at least move it along to another geocache. Merely spotting and moving one of these should be seen as a gift from the player who released them.

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some special coins go from anywhere between $25 to $300, with many hovering around the $100 mark on ebay or from private sellers.
personally, I have some serious reservations about many of these auctions

 

1. many seem to run for a long time - sometimes 30 days

2. many are "buy it now" auctions

3. I keep seeing some of the same ones over and over again

4. often a coin will be offered that is still available from the original online store for a fraction of the asked price

 

I conclude from this that just because a particular number is mentioned, it does not necessarily mean that the coin ever actually sold for that amount

 

I strongly suspect that many of these geocoins rarely (maybe even never) sell at the prices indicated

Edited by Bhob
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some special coins go from anywhere between $25 to $300, with many hovering around the $100 mark on ebay or from private sellers.
personally, I have some serious reservations about many of these auctions

 

1. many seem to run for a long time - sometimes 30 days

2. many are "buy it now" auctions

3. I keep seeing some of the same ones over and over again

4. often a coin will be offered that is still available from the original online store for a fraction of the asked price

 

I conclude from this that just because a particular number is mentioned, it does not necessarily mean that the coin ever actually sold for that amount

 

I strongly suspect that many of these geocoins rarely (maybe even never) sell at the prices indicated

 

Hi Bhob,

 

I feel obligated to respond to your post. You are making some assumptions about free markets that I don't agree with. However, not many people study free markets. I am fascinated by free markets and have been following them as an amateur for many years.

 

To specifically address geocoins on auction sites, I know that people really do pay the high prices that you see at the 30 day "buy it now" sales. I know this because I have sold a number of coins in just this way. In fact, I sold three coins in a 24 hour period at a much higher price than I charge in other places. Do I do this, to be evil? To take advantage of people? There are a number of reasons.

 

The first issue is that the correct price for any item is what the buyer is willing to pay. This is a basic concept of free markets and many people don't get this. Entire economies are based on the idea that a small group of people should decide what the fair price of a product should be. For instance, what is the fair price of a gallon of gasoline? is it $1, $2, $3? A country such as The Soviet Union might decide that a fair price is $1 per gallon, but we find that gasoline is sometimes in limited supply and some people need more than is available at $1 and they need it NOW. Thus they go to their neighbor and ask if they can buy some from their neighbor for $1 and the neighbor says that he needs it for some other purpose. Then the person says that he will pay $5 for the gallon and suddenly the neighbor is willing to sell it. This unofficial trading is known as a black market. The interesting thing is that the more control that is put on a market, the more likely a black market will appear.

 

So, why do I charge more at auction sites than I do in this forum? To a fairly large degree it is about advertising. How do I let customers know that I have a product to sell? I can advertise it here in a post and it will cost me nothing. However, I will only reach a very small number of people. If there is a larger demand for the coin, someone will sell it elsewhere, because the demand exists. What the auction sites do so well is match up buyers and sellers. They also charge rather high fees. I don't mind these fees because they have expended HUGE amounts of money to create their site and build up a customer base. The reason these auction sites are so popular, is that even though their fees are high, they have still done a remarkable thing for a relatively low overall cost.

 

Some people might make the assumption that it is unfair to sell at one price at an auction site and another on this forum, but people have very good reasons to purchase at a "buy it now" price. They are avoiding having to do the research to find the lower price and the chance that they might not win the auction. It might seem that in a world of search engines, researching prices is not all that hard. However, it really does take a lot of time to do the research and most people don't have a lot of time.

 

People are also willing to pay for things that are rare. This is a need that people have and I am still amazed at the strength of it. I would even go so far as to say that we all have it, but are often not aware. As an example, most of us would swat and kill a bug that was about to bite us, but if we knew that the bug was the last of its kind, we would let it bite us and even make an effort to protect it. Rare things become more important to us and more precious. I am aware of this in the world of movies, television, and books. A very easy may to make a character or culture in a story more interesting is to have them be about to die. Thus, a coin that is unique is so much more desirable than a coin that has 10,000 copies. I'll say it again, very few people are immune to this tendency, and maybe no one is immune. Although we might not be interested in a rare coin, other rare or threatened things tug at our hearts.

 

Most in the art world know all about this and as geocoin collecting moves from being all about putting coins in caches and more about putting coins in vaults, the buyers are becoming more savvy. Another important concept is the primary market and the secondary market. Generally a good art supplier recognizes that many buyers like to purchase a work of art because they want to sell it later at a higher price. Buying and holding is always a risk, because the price of any piece of art can go up or down over time. A smart dealer will not try to harm this secondary market of speculators. This is why I and other coin designers sell limited editions. We are saying to the buyers, "if you buy my coin, I will make sure that you can sell it later at a much higher price. I won't undercut you by making more and taking away your profit."

 

I think that this system only seems unfair to people who do not understand it. At this point in history, governments that embrace free markets tend to do well because free markets work, while governments that ignore the free market tend to flounder. This is not always true, but that is a topic for a much longer post. Also, the academic community is still arguing over the details of how it all works.

 

I edited this post to add one more important detail. I asked above whether I charge more at action sites to be evil but did not answer my own question. I do it so that I can make more coins. For me it is an artistic outlet, but a very expensive one and If you don't believe me, try making a coin. When all is said and done, I will probably do this at a loss. If I do make a profit, it will be less than if I were working a minimum wage job. Lots of people make a single coin and then realize that finding buyers is not easy. It takes many nights of hard word just to connect up with buyers. You need to create decent looking art (very hard work), you need to create a web store, you need to package and ship the coins, etc. Also, if you don't to things quickly, people stop trusting you and say that you are an untrustworthy seller. You can find lots of posts where people make those complaints. A successful artist either has to find a patron (financial supporter) or be good at business. I would argue that Andy Warhol was successful not because he was good at art, but because he was good at business.

Edited by GregsonVaux
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...

 

I strongly suspect that many of these geocoins rarely (maybe even never) sell at the prices indicated

 

well, since i have personally bought and sold coins those prices (except for the $300 one, but know one that did sell for that much) i can vouch for the numbers. there are a few coins that because of their desirability or rarity sell for much more than their initial cost. the tranquility comes to mind as that is one of the coins i collect. they have been off the regular market for years and routinely sell from $80-$150 or more. some of the rare compass roses sell for more than $200.

 

it is really illogical to think all of the auctions that finish for more than $25 dollars are somewhat suspect.

 

rsg

Edited by RedShoesGirl
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There is one person in particular who had 1500 activated coins when I last checked.

 

 

everyone needs a hobby, but isn't 1500 activated coins a little extreme :anicute: ?

 

ILYK

 

1500...NO, but 1800+, Maybe.

 

Yes, an update is required. It was 1500, but now it is 1807. I would call that insane, but I guess that means that all of us here are crazy together.

 

What is especially shocking is to do the math. The average new coin costs 8-10 dollars, but there is also the shipping cost. I think that it is fair to say that most collectors with more than 100 coins buy coins from overseas, which greatly adds to shipping costs, and from auctions, which greatly adds to base price, I think a more realistic average cost per coin is $15. Let's do the math for my collection:

 

(370 coins) X ($15) = $5550

 

That is not a hobby, but a full blown addiction. :o

 

But a relatively healthy addiction.

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everyone needs a hobby, but isn't 1500 activated coins a little extreme :anicute: ?

 

ILYK

 

1500...NO, but 1800+, Maybe.

 

Yes, an update is required. It was 1500, but now it is 1807. I would call that insane, but I guess that means that all of us here are crazy together.

 

What is especially shocking is to do the math. The average new coin costs 8-10 dollars, but there is also the shipping cost. I think that it is fair to say that most collectors with more than 100 coins buy coins from overseas, which greatly adds to shipping costs, and from auctions, which greatly adds to base price, I think a more realistic average cost per coin is $15. Let's do the math for my collection:

 

(370 coins) X ($15) = $5550

 

That is not a hobby, but a full blown addiction. :o

 

But a relatively healthy addiction.

 

That's an excellent statement, it makes me feel much better! There are certainly enough addictions that are more costly, both concerning money and health.

 

I'm thinking of applying a "10 caches per coin bought" scheme - pluses on the health/physical activity side DO cancel minuses on the financial side! ;)

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