Errors in trackable codes

[+germanybert]

As of today I have over 290 trackables activated and I have seen two errors.

 

1. I released a TB in Germany and it is still in Germany. I got a message from someone in NY saying she found a TB with the same number! I could not believe it but she mailed it to me and sure enough it was the same. It is not the COPY because I still have it.

 

2. I bought a trackable item from a well known Geocoin vendor and the GC code was invalid. It is ZDXAV. I am not concerned about posting the code here since it can not be activated.

 

I am sure the second error is just a punch error but the first on is a bit strange. I met Joe Friday in Koln (Cologne) Germany at the Geocoin Mega event and he showed me two coins, that were completely different coins, that have the same number.

 

Does this happen often?

 

The company I bought my recent punch error coin from is offering to replace it but I am wondering if it now is a bit valuable for a collection like minted currency errors. Whatcha think?

 

Has anyone else either of these two errors happen to them?

[+kunarion]

Does this happen often?

I've seen people mention #2 several times. They contact GS and get the code fixed in the database.

 

But #1 seems like your TB is (or was) in NY. Otherwise, the "other" TB owner would have noticed a problem upon trying to activate it -- or are there log notes on your TB page by a confused person who had the identical TB code? One of mine (a coin tag) suddenly appeared in Japan, and that was strange due to the timeline, caches, logs, etc., so I didn't believe it had moved there, at first.

[+rsfish1]

I have 2 geocoins that are sitting unactivated here at the house. Their twins are out there activated for years. The one in Germany was the same coin in a different finish and color. The other one I have is the exact same coin as another person has. Verified with photos.

[+woejam]

We have a couple of geocoins and TB's with 'interesting' codes

 

Here are some:

 

Travelbug with code: 8.20E+286

Travelbug with a 7 character code

Geocoin with code: 1.03E+06

 

Looks like someone made a mistake in excel....

 

woejam

[+germanybert]

 

But #1 seems like your TB is (or was) in NY. Otherwise, the "other" TB owner would have noticed a problem upon trying to activate it -- or are there log notes on your TB page by a confused person who had the identical TB code? One of mine (a coin tag) suddenly appeared in Japan, and that was strange due to the timeline, caches, logs, etc., so I didn't believe it had moved there, at first.

 

Nope. I have the one that was in NY. The person who found it mailed it to me. The original, mine, I have verified is still with the cacher who found it in Germany.

 

I have no idea why the person who got the second one released it into the wild. There was nothing attached to it other than the chain.

[+LadyBee4T]

I have had I think 3 geocoins that had the same code as a completely different geocoin. I bought them directly from the company. When I found it out or the person I traded it to found it out I contacted the company. Twice the coin was replaced with the same coin and once it was no longer available so I received another coin. I may have others in my collection that I don't know about because most of my coins aren't activated. Mistakes happen

[Love]

Sometimes I do notice that mints swap two numbers/letters on a coin or travel bug. If it truly is a duplicate in the system, there's unfortunately nothing we can do to fix it. If it's a valid 6 digit code that system doesn't recognize, we can usually fix this. I just ask people to send a picture that clearly shows the code on the trackable into contact@geocaching.com and then we'll determine here if we can fix it.

 

In the cases woejam pointed out, that usually is an issue caused by excel. While they look like cool numbers, we can't fix those either, I'm afraid. If you run into these and they were purchased from Groundspeak, send us a picture and we can look into getting you a replacement.

[+germanybert]

I have contacted the company that I bought the one with the invalid ID. They are sending me two to replace it which is cool because I buy most of my trackables from them because they are the lowest priced.

 

I am gonna hold onto the invalid one as a good luck charm and conversation piece.

[+Beleman]

I have a Four Musketeers in Gold with a calendar date as tracking code (for example like 6-Feb-12).

One of my Karma Geocoins is missing the last number/letter. I got it by trial and error.