need advice - getting coin to England

[+Fondrick]

Hello, and thanks to everyone in advance for any advice.

 

I am new to Geocaching and have been completly obsessed with this new hobby. In my excitement I purchased a Geocoin and my intentions are to get it from Florida to my buddy in England.

 

Typical me jumping into things before researching them enough, I am a little comfused on the correct purpose of the Geocoin. Can I use it or designate it like a "Bug"?

 

I have read a bunch of posts on here and it's still not totally clear to me. I have read a suggestion on another post of drilling a hole in the coin and attaching it to a buddy to make it like a bug, but Im not crazy about the idea of drilling a hole in the coin.

 

My last question would be, if I could use it like a bug and post that I want it to make its way to a friend in a certain town in England what to you think the chances are that it would make it?

[+Clipper.]

You can use it exactly like a bug - set a mission for it, and let it go.

I have seen several coins in a clear plastic sleeve with the mission details on it, that might be an idea, as a lot of people can't look at it's mission in the field and may end up taking it the wrong way.

Regarding its chances - they do go missing, there is no way of knowing until it's on its way!

I might be able to give it a hand getting to the UK if you want, as I am going to Windermere near Orlando next week and will be visiting a buddy of mine in Clearwater before we head back to the UK 2 weeks later.

Edited September 3, 2011 by Clipper247

[+Bear and Ragged]

It IS a traveler.

 

Release it, with a mission statement attached, and written on the coins page.

 

The suggestion to drill it, is to make it "less desirable" to those with 'sticky fingers' and also allows you to add a key ring or attachment with the mission statement attached.

[+The Blorenges]

The reason some suggest drilling a hole in a travelling geocoin is that doing so may deter those who deliberately take geocoins from caches and keep them for their own pleasure (you can insert a shorter name for such people if you can think of one )

 

I understand your reluctance to do this, especially if it's a rather nice coin and you'd like it get to your friend in England.

 

A few ideas -

 

Make sure it's got its mission with it, stating where it needs to be heading.

 

Put a photo of the coin on its page, so that cachers can see what it looks like and state in the description something like, "This is a real geocoin, not a Copy or Proxy geocoin. If you find any item other than the original coin please contact the owner."

 

Wish it a lot of luck - It's a wild and dangerous world out there for any trackables.

 

MrsB

[+Droo]

I would suggest you read up on geocoins and how they work first. It's awfully hard to post to the forums stuff that is already published elsewhere without knowing the full extent of what you know and don't know. Here's a graphic to help you find the info you should know.

 

Edited September 3, 2011 by Droo

[+Fianccetto]

Do you mean you want to send the coin as a gift to your friend in England, and so want it to be unactivated? My advice is to post it, or you are basically offering as a gift to anyone who finds it and someone else could look up the activation code and claim it as their own!

 

If you mean to send it activated, then it would have its own page linked to your account, with all the logs on it.

 

If it is the coin you currently have activated, it is good to put the goal (e.g.'going to GCXXXX cache in England and stay there, please help move from cache to cache and take some photos!') on a tag or laminated card in the wallet with the coin. Also good to take a few photos of your coin (and write down the tracking number) before you set it off.

[+keewee]

The reason some suggest drilling a hole in a travelling geocoin is that doing so may deter those who deliberately take geocoins from caches and keep them for their own pleasure (you can insert a shorter name for such people if you can think of one )

 

I understand your reluctance to do this, especially if it's a rather nice coin and you'd like it get to your friend in England.

 

A few ideas -

 

Make sure it's got its mission with it, stating where it needs to be heading.

 

Put a photo of the coin on its page, so that cachers can see what it looks like and state in the description something like, "This is a real geocoin, not a Copy or Proxy geocoin. If you find any item other than the original coin please contact the owner."

 

Wish it a lot of luck - It's a wild and dangerous world out there for any trackables.

 

MrsB

 

MrsB always has great advise!

 

It is hard "drilling" your first geocoin, but if your are activating it and sending it travel it will increase it's chances of completing the mission. Drill it, add a travel buddy and a laminated card with the geocoins mission on it.

[+GeocoinGuy]

My last question would be, if I could use it like a bug and post that I want it to make its way to a friend in a certain town in England what to you think the chances are that it would make it?

Another option for you is this: Goto the World Release Registry (www.geocoindesign.com/wrr.htm) and find someone in the UK who is near the town you wish the coin to show up in - and then send it off to the individual who has agreed to release the coin in their town. It is much 'safer' to make the trip a short one and you will be less likely to have your traveler reported as missing.

 

Good Luck!

~J