Geocoin etiquette

[+cmor2000]

I was talking to a fellow cacher yesterday, and the topic of geocoins came up. We hit upon a question neither of us is sure aboout the answer:

 

If you have a geocoin that you truly enjoy but don't want to risk it being lost in the wild, is it frowned upon to release a facsimile and not the original coin?

This all assumes said owner doesn't log "visits" or allow anybody else to log "discoveries."

 

Just posing a question, not looking to start any problems.

 

Steve

[+tsnyder88]

i am not a big fan of doing that but i have seen a lot of them out there and there are a lot of cachers uot there that do it

[+KBfamily]

I am disappointed when I find a "paper coin" instead of the real one, but am still happy to log it and help it on its way...it is your coin....YOU do what YOU want....why worry about what is frowned upon and play this game the way YOU want to play it...if someone doesn't like your facsimile, they can always ignore it and leave it in the cache.

[+Six Little Spookies]

People do it all the time. After you've had a few coins go missing most of us see the value in doing this. Some people frown on it, some are downright hostile towards it, but from my experience, as long as the coin's page says it's a proxy, most people don't care one way or the other about it. Personally, I like it.

[+LewisClan77]

It does not bother me. I have released a few "proxies", but I have noticed that they do not move as much. I think people just see a card or some other copy of a coin and probably do not even know that it is a coin.

[GregsonVaux]

Personally, I don't like proxies. It is like showing up for a date and instead of finding a real girl, there is a mannequin with a note taped to it saying "please accept this proxy, I didn't want to get hurt". Life is about risking. There is some winning and some losing, but you can't get anywhere without risk. Plain and simple, a real coin is solid, weighty, and a joy to hold in your hand. A proxy is little more than an insult. I am not saying that anyone should throw away money, it is quite possible to buy good looking coins for under $5.00 on sale. I bought a full-sized coin about a year ago on eBay for $2.50 that went missing for a while and then when I thought it was lost, it showed up again. That is the risk and pleasure of a real coin.

 

Some people might want to kiss an inflatable doll, but I choose to kiss real girls, even if there is a chance of getting hurt.

[+TreasureFerret]

I'm new and have only found 4 caches so far, but I was a little excited about one of them because it was listed as having a geocoin in it and I was happy that I was going to see my first geocoin. I was very disappointed when I got to the cache, opened it up, and found that it was just a laminated piece of paper with a picture of the coin on it. If you don't want the risk of sending out the coin then why bother buying one, why not just send along a cheap little travel bug instead?

[GregsonVaux]

Let me say more about what worked for me. I noticed that on eBay, some coins don't sell very well even though they look nice. I won an auction for $5.00 and contacted the seller. It turned out that he had hundreds of coins that he couldn't get rid of. I bought 60 of them off him for $5.00 each. I have now released about half and will continue placing them in caches until they are all gone. They are fine looking coins; I think that the seller just made too many of them.

 

I remember the fist time that I found a geocoin in a cache. It was a great feeling and I want other people to experience that. I also enjoy following the coins on their travels. My coins have been to Europe, Australia, and South America. One coin was even on its way to Antarctica, but the ship had to stay docked because of the weather.

[+EyeD10T]

Each to his own I say, although I would much prefer to see a real coin in a cache vs. a picture. What I do is release the coins that I get at a lower price (via ebay or other sales) - the ones that I enjoy I keep to take to events to be discovered. I think some people get 2 of a coin when they buy - 1 to keep and 1 to release.

[+goosefraba1]

Let me say more about what worked for me. I noticed that on eBay, some coins don't sell very well even though they look nice. I won an auction for $5.00 and contacted the seller. It turned out that he had hundreds of coins that he couldn't get rid of. I bought 60 of them off him for $5.00 each. I have now released about half and will continue placing them in caches until they are all gone. They are fine looking coins; I think that the seller just made too many of them.

 

I remember the fist time that I found a geocoin in a cache. It was a great feeling and I want other people to experience that. I also enjoy following the coins on their travels. My coins have been to Europe, Australia, and South America. One coin was even on its way to Antarctica, but the ship had to stay docked because of the weather.

 

May I ask which coin you are referring to? Thanks, Zach

[+Panther&Pine]

I've got a few coins out there now, I bought them off of another cacher here in the forums (Arvoir sp?) who got them from 9Key. It worked out to about $3.5 per coin.That even allowed me to send an unactivated one to someone who has released the coin, and one to my parents who don't quite get the idea...but that is okay.

I had a friend drill a hole in each one then I sent them out.I can only hope they make it.

I've seen a few proxies. I understand why- but the coins that I've released so far aren't worth the effort even though I like them all. I always hope when I find of those that the pics on the webpage are super nice.

The coins that I have that won't be released I wouldn't send a copy out of, but that is more of because the ones that I have that won't be released won't be activated. They are for keeping.

[+The Blorenges]

I like to release real geocoins.

 

I release some each year. Some do well, some disappear after only a hundred miles.

For those that disappear, I'll wait at least a year then I'll often release a proxy item as a replacement, making clear in the name that it is a Copy/Proxy/not the real geocoin.

 

Why do it?

 

Because it gives others a chance to collect the icon if they want to and it gives me further interest in a trackable item. Otherwise I'd just have lots of ghosts sitting in my geocoin inventory - I have about 40 MIA geocoins atm. They will live again! Eventually.

 

MrsB

[Gwydeon79]

I'm new. I have no coins as of yet. I have found like 27 caches. So my opinion's validity is worth what you paid for it. Here it is:

 

'Proxy Coins' (is)are cheating.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Gwydeon79

[+ThePetersTrio]

I'm new. I have no coins as of yet. I have found like 27 caches. So my opinion's validity is worth what you paid for it. Here it is:

 

'Proxy Coins' (is)are cheating.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course. But I wonder how you will feel when you've released dozens of coins and have had at least half go missing or be stolen? It is pretty easy to feel the way you do when you haven't lost your personal investment (not just monetary investment, either) yet.

 

FYI, after a year or two go by, I often re-release my coin as a proxy (I try to attach something symbolic of the coin - like a TB) so the community can still move it and cachers can collect the icon in their stats.

 

Why should I let the actions of a thief ruin my investment? If people don't want to move a proxy, they don't have to, and I don't expect everyone to like them. But please try to have some compassion for those of us who actually have tried to do the right thing by releasing a coin into the wild.

[+keewee]

I'm new. I have no coins as of yet. I have found like 27 caches. So my opinion's validity is worth what you paid for it. Here it is:

 

'Proxy Coins' (is)are cheating.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course. But I wonder how you will feel when you've released dozens of coins and have had at least half go missing or be stolen? It is pretty easy to feel the way you do when you haven't lost your personal investment (not just monetary investment, either) yet.

 

FYI, after a year or two go by, I often re-release my coin as a proxy (I try to attach something symbolic of the coin - like a TB) so the community can still move it and cachers can collect the icon in their stats.

 

Why should I let the actions of a thief ruin my investment? If people don't want to move a proxy, they don't have to, and I don't expect everyone to like them. But please try to have some compassion for those of us who actually have tried to do the right thing by releasing a coin into the wild.

 

I totally agree - I have many, many hundreds of dollars worth of geocoins that are missing - a number of them like in peoples collections. It really annoys me that such a high percentage of my coins are missing and I am considering releasing proxies in some shape or form of a number of these to get them back "in the game".

 

I agree with ThePetersTrio - buy and release a whole lot of coins and see if you feel the same way after a year or two. I paid good money to put coins out there into the game, and I get a lot of pleasure seeing people discover or move them. Often the comments people leave leave me with a broad smile on my face. Sometimes the stories make me laugh. Others out there are ruining our enjoyment of the game, so why should we put something back out there into the game again.

 

With such a high number of geocoins disappear so quickly I'm not surprised many people put proxies out right from the start, and keep the real thing with them at home.

[+Chokecherry]

I had one of my pink yime coins vanish after one cache. I bought two in case that happened. I will likely release the other one as a proxy only. I ordered two more coins recently and I release them at all it will be by proxy.

 

I don't much care if my travel tags and bugs go missing. They're cheaper and I don't care but the coins I'd like to see last longer since they typically cost more. Yeah it's great to find a coin in a cache but I've been cool finding proxies too because I know why people do it (too expensive to release or gone missing in the wild).

 

I don't expect to see any of my trackables again after I release them but I would like if more people could experience them than a couple which is why I pay the money for these things in the end. It's cheaper for me to keep sending out proxies versus keep sending out new and shiny coins.

[+nessie3d & Ynka]

I also enjoy finding the real stuff in a cache, but I would never send out my real coins.

We have some copies travelling around, I started writing stories on the pages of my coins and Ialways mention they are copies or sometimes virtuals. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to make copies of other coins (I bought too many )

And some coins don't fit under the scanner to make a good copy.

 

That's why I had the idea of making a discovering cache-series (our 'Disco Bunkers'). At this moment I have 12 filmcanistercaches in the area who have the code of one of my larger (hard to scan) coins on, the back of the log. People can discover these coins after finding our caches.

I also put pictures of every coin on the coinpage, so people who discover them can actually see what they look like.

I've had many positive reactions, and my coins are safely stored in a 'warm dry box' ... coinalbums

 

Some people think it's a shame I didn't put a picture of the coin in the cache ... DUH ... they are filmcanisters!!! how on earth should I put pictures of a cosmolabe coin in a small filmcanister??? The pictures are on the website, but for some people even that ain't good enough!

Luckily most people do appreciate it

 

So my opinion: you are brave to send out a real coin, ok for the cheaper ones, but some are really expensive!

[+NOSNOW]

I also enjoy finding the real stuff in a cache, but I would never send out my real coins.

We have some copies travelling around, I started writing stories on the pages of my coins and Ialways mention they are copies or sometimes virtuals. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to make copies of other coins (I bought too many )

And some coins don't fit under the scanner to make a good copy.

 

That's why I had the idea of making a discovering cache-series (our 'Disco Bunkers'). At this moment I have 12 filmcanistercaches in the area who have the code of one of my larger (hard to scan) coins on, the back of the log. People can discover these coins after finding our caches.

I also put pictures of every coin on the coinpage, so people who discover them can actually see what they look like.

I've had many positive reactions, and my coins are safely stored in a 'warm dry box' ... coinalbums

 

Some people think it's a shame I didn't put a picture of the coin in the cache ... DUH ... they are filmcanisters!!! how on earth should I put pictures of a cosmolabe coin in a small filmcanister??? The pictures are on the website, but for some people even that ain't good enough!

Luckily most people do appreciate it

 

So my opinion: you are brave to send out a real coin, ok for the cheaper ones, but some are really expensive!

 

If I understand you, You have just the code in the film canister. Would that not be a virtual log of the coin, The logger does not see the coin or a proxy. Should that coin get locked?

[+Chokecherry]

I was going to tap out the number for my coins on a metal tag. I assumed the numbers were just like travel bugs. I could write them on what I wanted to write them on once I bought the product.

[+NOSNOW]

I was going to tap out the number for my coins on a metal tag. I assumed the numbers were just like travel bugs. I could write them on what I wanted to write them on once I bought the product.

 

The quote from Eartha below in the "unusual coin activity", a poxy would be allowed, but a list is not. Is a list in a cache not the same thing?

 

The proxy is allowed. Sometimes it is a replacement for a lost geocoin. Like a replacement TB Tag. It's the slip of paper with the additional tracking numbers that is taboo. If you spot something like this, it can be reported by sending a link to me, your local reviewer, or contact @ geocaching dot com. You don't need to report the proxies, just the virtual logging.

[+JackHoe]

 

I remember the fist time that I found a geocoin in a cache. It was a great feeling and I want other people to experience that. I also enjoy following the coins on their travels.

 

I also remember the first coin I found and how happy it made me feel. I also remember the first proxy I found and how disapointed I felt. Therefore I only send out real coins to travel. I know some get lost (about 1/3 of mine got lost by now), but 8 years ago a lot of my money went up in smoke. Now I don't smoke no more, so I can put some money/pleasure in the game and have fun myself reading the logs and seeing the coins traveling, knowing many people who find them get a good feeling finding them, wich they wouldn't get when it would have been a proxy. That's worth a lot more than the few dollars I spend on buying them. But do I understand why people send out proxies.

[+FraenCache]

Personally, I don't like proxies. It is like showing up for a date and instead of finding a real girl, there is a mannequin with a note taped to it saying "please accept this proxy, I didn't want to get hurt". Life is about risking. There is some winning and some losing, but you can't get anywhere without risk. Plain and simple, a real coin is solid, weighty, and a joy to hold in your hand. A proxy is little more than an insult. I am not saying that anyone should throw away money, it is quite possible to buy good looking coins for under $5.00 on sale. I bought a full-sized coin about a year ago on eBay for $2.50 that went missing for a while and then when I thought it was lost, it showed up again. That is the risk and pleasure of a real coin.

 

Some people might want to kiss an inflatable doll, but I choose to kiss real girls, even if there is a chance of getting hurt.

 

Thank God, finally ONE person thinking the same like me ... You´re speaking right out of my heart. There´s nothing more to say ...

[+Ambient_Skater]

It's your coin. You can decide how you want to release it. Besides, if someone doesn't like it, what are they gonna do? Destroy it? HAHA they can't because they don't have the coin!

[+fox-and-the-hound]

I was talking to a fellow cacher yesterday, and the topic of geocoins came up. We hit upon a question neither of us is sure aboout the answer:

 

If you have a geocoin that you truly enjoy but don't want to risk it being lost in the wild, is it frowned upon to release a facsimile and not the original coin?

This all assumes said owner doesn't log "visits" or allow anybody else to log "discoveries."

 

Just posing a question, not looking to start any problems.

 

Steve

 

Is it frowned upon? Not nearly so much as you might think. Most are all for it, some are totally against it, but among the latter the biggest complaint seems to be poorly constructed proxies or proxies that are not listed as being such. Many who express a feeling of being cheated because the item's page misrepresents what is in the field have very strong opinions about it. The best thing to do is play your game your way, but be honest about what you're putting out there and most will be happy to help move your traveler along

 

There are many constructive and beautiful ways to make proxies and even a new company that makes them professionally as real, full-sized coins (you can find it through my signature if you're interested in learning more). Even using these means though, you should let cachers know in your traveler's description page what you have out traveling. Post a picture of your traveler with/in addition to your original so people will recognize it, too.

 

The folks at Groundspeak helped us (GxProxy) put together a simple how to list of what to do to ensure the success of a proxy traveler:

 

Proxies are Trackables acting as substitutes for the original Travelers that were approved for use by Groundspeak. Over time a Trackable item may become lost, destroyed or removed from caching permanently. When a Trackable is beyond retrieval a facsimile of the original Trackable will sometimes be created to continue on with the original mission. These Proxies can be made by any number of materials and bear the original Groundspeak Tracking Code.

 

Because Proxies are not original Trackables, there are special considerations that should be taken in their use.

 

1) All Proxies should state clearly on their Trackable Page that they are a Proxy and not the original. IE: Please use "Signal CITO Geocoin PROXY" rather than "Signal CITO Geocoin"

 

2) If possible a picture of the Proxy should be posted instead of (or in addition to) any image of an original Trackable.

 

3) No more than one Proxy bearing an identical Tracking Code should be in use at any time.

 

4) Before a Proxy is placed in a cache, the owner should make every attempt to recover an original Trackable that has gone missing.

 

5) If an original trackable should reappear for any reason while a proxy is use then either the Trackable or the Proxy should be removed from the cache as quickly as possible. If you can not remove one or the other item yourself, please enlist help from cachers in the area of your Trackable.

 

6) No more than one Trackable item bearing an identical Tracking Code should be in use at any time. IE: A Trackable and a Proxy bearing the same code should not both be in use simultaneously. Use of this kind is against Groundspeak guidelines, causes disruption of Tracking Mileage and is considered an abuse of the tracking code. Continual use in this manner may call for the permanent deactivation of the Tracking Code.

[+hudweiser]

I was talking to a fellow cacher yesterday, and the topic of geocoins came up. We hit upon a question neither of us is sure aboout the answer:

 

If you have a geocoin that you truly enjoy but don't want to risk it being lost in the wild, is it frowned upon to release a facsimile and not the original coin?

This all assumes said owner doesn't log "visits" or allow anybody else to log "discoveries."

 

Just posing a question, not looking to start any problems.

 

Steve

 

I am all for it. FYI, at the summit of Pike's Peak there is a cache with a proxy of a Colorado geocoin glued to the lid. I really enjoyed getting to discover that coin and now I have the icon to remind me of that great find (as does every other person that gets to discover the proxy coin in the lid).

Hud

[+The Lambs @ 9]

We do both a Brass and Acrylic Proxy Tag called a Travel Twin at NE Geocaching Supplies here in the United kingdom and they are proving very popular with Geocachers who do not want to release a limited Edition Geocoin or Trackable but still want it to travel.

They use the original Tracking number from the coin. We tried a "paper coin" as Geocachers ourselves but didn't have much success without them deliminating in the plastic laminating pouch we used. So we had the Travel Twins especially made.

We normally recommend attaching a photo of the actual coin using a picture keying to The Travel Twin.

We had lots of Trackables in our collection (including some rare limited editions Geocoin) and we are pleased to say that most of our collection is travelling. Here is a link to the item.

Travel Twins retail link (click here)

Here's a photo of a Travel Twin which is in circulation at the minute.

[Nikki&James]

It might not be cost effective, but my boyfriend and I buy two of the same geocoin. We send one of the twins out, and keep the other.