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Keeping/passing on coins?


Narcosynthesis

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Firstly, apologies if this has been answered elsewhere - I have had a look and didn't find the answer in any obvious place.

 

Here there is a lot of talk about collecting geocoins, whereas the couple I have found when out with friends caching have all been trackables, so have been put back into the wild. I think there may be something blatantly obvious I am missing, but how can you collect/trade coins when they are in circulation around the geocaching world? I assume it is a fairly obvious faux pa to keep someone else's coin when they want to see it travelling about, so how does it work? For example we currently have a Severn Bridge coin which I would love to keep for myself, but it comes with a tracking number so should be put back into the wild...

 

It is quite possible there is some very obvious fact I am missing, which is why I am asking the help of those in the know...

 

Cheers for reading.

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If you find a coin in a cache it is probably owned by someone else and should be placed into another cache. If you would like to start collecting coins, you check out the sites if the many coin vendors and buy some. Then you can keep them to show off or release them into the wild and watch them travel. I am sure someone here will come along very soon with a better worded response than this.

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Firstly, apologies if this has been answered elsewhere - I have had a look and didn't find the answer in any obvious place.

 

Here there is a lot of talk about collecting geocoins, whereas the couple I have found when out with friends caching have all been trackables, so have been put back into the wild. I think there may be something blatantly obvious I am missing, but how can you collect/trade coins when they are in circulation around the geocaching world? I assume it is a fairly obvious faux pa to keep someone else's coin when they want to see it travelling about, so how does it work? For example we currently have a Severn Bridge coin which I would love to keep for myself, but it comes with a tracking number so should be put back into the wild...

 

It is quite possible there is some very obvious fact I am missing, which is why I am asking the help of those in the know...

 

Cheers for reading.

 

Hi there and welcome.

 

There are quite a few threads discussing this, but they can be hard to find.

 

Geocoins are like stamps - some people use them (activate them and send them travelling), some people keep them in a collection (activated or unactivated) and some people collect and show them (take their collections to events for others to see and discover).

 

Those that are in the wild and moving from cache to cache hopefully keep moving, but sometimes they get picked up by someone with good intentions and then forgotten about for a year or two, or some people just steal them outright for their own personal collections. This is why a lot of people these days choose to hold onto their geocoins or send a proxy out in its place.

 

If you check the coins details (by entering the tracking ID) you see whether it is owned by someone or now. If it comes back as unactivated (very rarely) then it has been left as a trade item and should be treated as such. If there is a note with it saying it is a gift - then that is exactly what it is and you are free to do with it what you please. :)

Edited by keewee
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Ha.... I love the stamp analogy, except that used stamps get collected too. Traveling coins should never be collected as it's considered stealing..... and there is such a fiend as the coin thief (a scourge on his head and tempest of fleas on his house - and vice versa).

 

Until you find the geocoin vendours listed under the Trackables menu (start with Play and let your mouse scurry about) check out the resale market on Ebay. Prices can be outrageous there but you can see what's been floating around. Good luck and beware of ONE THING - it can be addictive.

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Ha.... I love the stamp analogy, except that used stamps get collected too. Traveling coins should never be collected as it's considered stealing..... and there is such a fiend as the coin thief (a scourge on his head and tempest of fleas on his house - and vice versa).

 

Hmmm - good point! :laughing:

 

OK - let's say that geocoins in the wild are like stamps (on letters) bouncing around in a never ending postal system: some times they slip off the conveyor and fall under a seat, only to be found months latter and then sent on their way again; sometimes the weather (or other factors) get to them and damage them; and some times they get taken by a unscrupulous postal employee! That works :laughing:

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The coins I own have been purchased by me, or won by me, or given to me.

 

I've activated some, not all.

 

I've released a couple into the wild. Not having great luck with that so far, so I'm probably not going to release the others.

 

I used one as a personal mileage tracker for a bit, but then forgot about it. I might clear the miles on that one and use it for individual cache runs.

 

Generally speaking, the coins that are found in caches are meant to travel. That's why their owners released them into the wild.

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Ha.... I love the stamp analogy, except that used stamps get collected too. Traveling coins should never be collected as it's considered stealing..... and there is such a fiend as the coin thief (a scourge on his head and tempest of fleas on his house - and vice versa).

 

Hmmm - good point! :laughing:

 

OK - let's say that geocoins in the wild are like stamps (on letters) bouncing around in a never ending postal system: some times they slip off the conveyor and fall under a seat, only to be found months latter and then sent on their way again; sometimes the weather (or other factors) get to them and damage them; and some times they get taken by a unscrupulous postal employee! That works :laughing:

Yep! Nice analogy. I'd add to the mix, NOT all the delivery people work for the USPS or even Canada Post etc. Some of those ARE affected by not only weather, but other work, spouses, family, illness and so forth. So there can be unseen delays.

 

Might I suggest that you compile a new version incorporating all the new bits plus any you have been considering further and put it all in one easily copied post? This is a very good explanation for the hobby.

 

Doug 7rxc

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Another newbie question: How do I know if a coin in a cache is a trackable or just regular swag? Is the tracking number of a geocoin always readily identifiable and/or in some particular format?

 

I've seen some coins in a few caches, but have always avoiding taking them in exchange for something I leave, 'cause I don't know if they're swag or trackables. I'd definitely enjoy picking up geocoins and moving them along on their journey as per their owner's request, but I'm just not sure how I'll know if what I found is really a geocoin or just swag.

 

Thanks in advance.

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Another newbie question: How do I know if a coin in a cache is a trackable or just regular swag? Is the tracking number of a geocoin always readily identifiable and/or in some particular format?

 

I've seen some coins in a few caches, but have always avoiding taking them in exchange for something I leave, 'cause I don't know if they're swag or trackables. I'd definitely enjoy picking up geocoins and moving them along on their journey as per their owner's request, but I'm just not sure how I'll know if what I found is really a geocoin or just swag.

 

Thanks in advance.

Good question.

 

Hopefully any that are swag would have a note with them saying as such, but this doesn't always happen (or the note is lost). It is quite rare to find one that is swag these days, so if you treat them all as activated.

 

But is you come across one that is not activated and is in fact swag, then you should do the right thing - if you don't want to keep it either return it to the cache is came from (if practicable), or place it into a another cache (along with a note that it is swag); if you decide to keep it then you should put an unactivated geocoin back into the cache the first one came from, or (if not practicable) then place it into another geocache.

Edited by keewee
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So to get into geocoins you really just need to go out and buy some...

 

The majority of those you will find in caches will be trackables, so can be moved but not kept, and any that are swag should really be swapped for something of similar value - ie another coin.

 

Sadly I doubt I can really justify spending anything on coins at the moment, maybe sometime in the distant future...

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So to get into geocoins you really just need to go out and buy some...

 

The majority of those you will find in caches will be trackables, so can be moved but not kept, and any that are swag should really be swapped for something of similar value - ie another coin.

 

Sadly I doubt I can really justify spending anything on coins at the moment, maybe sometime in the distant future...

 

Correct and correct - 99.9999% (a pure guess) of the geocoins found in geocaches are owned by someone (who has purchased and activated the geocoin) and are "in play" as part of the geocaching game.

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