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interest in coins declining?


LionsLair

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I'm curious what everyone's opinion is to whether or not they feel geocoin interests are declining, or are collectors just becoming more selective on what coins they pursue to add to their collections?

I ask this because I have found myself as part of the latter group. Although I still purchase, trade and collect geocoins, I don't find myself ooohhing and aaawwing over every design.

I've also found my collection to be too large to drag around to events the way I used to and have decided to start liquidating some of my 2000+ collection.

So, being the research type of person, I went to the e-place and started looking at what is selling and what isn't. I was shocked at several things, first the number of coins being sold - I can remember when there were only 200-300 coins listed. Now there are some 1200-1400! Second was the number of coins listed that had zero or only 1 bid. Third I was surprised that many coins that are being bid on are not even fetching half of what they were once sold for when they first came out.

This concerns me a bit, only because I'm not willing to sell a coin for $5 when it cost me $10 five years ago. I suppose there are those that will say "selling them for something is better than nothing..." but if I can't sell them for what I have in them, I would rather donate them to help with some of the larger events (GW,GCF,MWGB and such)

I realize some coins are overproduced and the geocaching community is saturated with them, but I'd rather donate them than start them traveling only to be stolen( which BTW, I can officially say 100% of my 90+ travelers are now MIA and haven't been logged or discovered in over 6 months) So realeasing them in the wild is not an option...

 

On the flip side of this, I also see some coins that are being sold for 8-10 times what they were when they made their debut to the caching world. Is this due to rarity or just overzealous bidders that must add the coin to their collection regardless of cost?

 

I know geocoins have seen their day in the sun and the peak interest has been all but gone for several years now, but you would think even with the 1000's of design choices these days that there would still be a market for some of the coins produced a few years back with much smaller minting numbers than the coins minted now...

 

opinions please...

 

 

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Welllllllll.... seems to ME that if it weren't for collectors coins wouldn't BE stolen. WHO's keeping the stolen coins? OR... who is the thief selling them to??? I have 4 coins. I've released all of them. I have almost NO hope that any of them will make it. I know ONE has already gone awol. I've only been caching for 2 months. My feelings are that they were MADE to travel... LET them travel.

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Welllllllll.... seems to ME that if it weren't for collectors coins wouldn't BE stolen. WHO's keeping the stolen coins? OR... who is the thief selling them to??? I have 4 coins. I've released all of them. I have almost NO hope that any of them will make it. I know ONE has already gone awol. I've only been caching for 2 months. My feelings are that they were MADE to travel... LET them travel.

 

Disagree wholeheartedly. Geocoins were originally made as swag and weren't trackable so they weren't made to travel. Collectors don't build their collections by stealing coins. We buy them and trade them. Some coins disappear from caches because a newbie picks them up and thinks they are cool swag. Others are simply lost--in a backpack, under car seats etc and yes some are taken and kept/stolen. Coins are cool so even if there weren't collectors they would be kept I bet.

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We are very selective in the coins we buy. There has to be something in the design that appeals to us. After having our first few coins go missing, we just collect them. The first coin we placed, was picked up 1 day later and hasn't been seen since. The next 2, pretty much the same fate, although it took longer. Now we just collect them and only buy from the same reputable dealers, never off the E-thing. As of right now, we only have about 60 coins in our collection. If it makes us say "cool", and the price is right, we buy it. Hope all this helps.

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My interest has decreased somewhat for a couple of reasons. First of all I don't have a lot of money so I am forced to limit my purchases. I don't get a lot of trade offers for some reason which is too bad as I really enjoy that.

 

For me though it seems that the "geo" part of geocoin seems to have left the building. When I first started collecting a large number of coins weren't trackable and were mostly personal and if not personal coins most were directly related to geocaching. Now it is the opposite it seems. (Kealia where are you? :laughing: :laughing:) Some of these commercial coins are true works of art but I am less interested in those. A lot of times I am amazed at the prices of coins on ebay in both directions. I like to see the older nontrackables there because I may have a chance to get some that I could never hope to find way back when. New collectors don't seem to be interested in those coins. For instance I do not understand the prices that the tranquilities can fetch knowing how many were produced in total.

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I enjoy collecting coins that relate to a theme or an artist. I like the ones that have history behind them.I think the sales are down because the supply is bigger then the demand. I like trading and personal coins. I purchase less sets of coins now because I find its hard to keep up with the editions and numbers made. I purchase less spares also. :rolleyes:

Edited by GaryM53
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Welllllllll.... seems to ME that if it weren't for collectors coins wouldn't BE stolen. WHO's keeping the stolen coins? OR... who is the thief selling them to??? I have 4 coins. I've released all of them. I have almost NO hope that any of them will make it. I know ONE has already gone awol. I've only been caching for 2 months. My feelings are that they were MADE to travel... LET them travel.

 

I think this is an insult to the many honest collecters I know.

 

My interest in coins is not less then before, although I'm more selective. I'm also one of those people on eBay who is willing to bid a lot for a coin I really want to add to my collection. Just place a Delft Blue "Windmolen" or a "Gele Bussie" on eBay, and you'll see ;). But I also think there are a lot designs comming out, so much choise to pick from. My budget has it's limmits, so I can't buy all the coins I like. I'm happy I don't collect cars , they take a lot more money and space :lol:

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I think,like LadyBee4T says, that the decrease in geocoin sales is less to do with declining interest and mre to do with lack of funds. I have only been geocaching for a year and collecting for less but I, like many others that come to this forum, see all the new coin designs coming out and wish I could buy them all :) Many of the cachers that have been collecting for years have found that their collections are getting a bit on the big side and now need to slow down for a time and as yet the new collectors, myself included, have not been able to satisfy our geocoin disires because money is short and with postal prices going up as well as more than a few coins getting lost in the mail the trading side has dropped as well.

I truly believe that as things get easier and geocachers have more disposable income then the coin sales will pick up aagin.

Buut I do agree that the coin market has gone very commercial, from what I can see there are a lot less personal coins being produced and I'm sure thats down to no money as well. I myself have a few coin designs on the go but I have tried to aim them back to the geocaching theme.

As with many hobbies over time they change and evolve and it is down to us the players to shape it the way we want it. Enjoy it rather than complaining about it and if you want things to change then step up and be one of the ones to change it instead of insisting other people do it :)

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The global economic crisis also affects the world of geocoins, could not be otherwise, making it necessary to adapt to the new situation ... doing less coins, less versions, and cheaper.

 

Many collectors are reducing part of their coins, me also affects.

 

However, in addition to increased sales on ebay, it is also true that manufacturing costs have increased, instead decrease.

 

This is because suppliers and vendors also have to survive, and as there are fewer individuals making coins, the price increase, which does not help to revive the demand.

 

Thus becomes an endless circle :(

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Like many others, my interest hasn't declined - but my resources (meaning "cash") have! Also, like many others, I started collecting coins because so many of them are beautiful and I got tired of them going missing from caches.

And, p.s., people don't collect geocoins by "stealing" them from caches!! Geocoining has taken on a whole separate meaning from geocaching, and collectors buy, sell, and trade coins just like stamps or even real money. Coins are stolen by a relatively small number of low-life people, or taken accidently by those who don't understand (and don't take the time to understand) how to log them properly. They think they are swag, to be kept. Funny, too, 'cause they can't really display or share them if they are stolen.

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I don't own any coins myself, but I think they are very very cool. If I did buy some, I would never set them out in the wild. They are too dadgum neat to let someone steal them. I'd rather buy them for a collection.

 

When I see coins in caches, I love grabbing them and taking them along with me. They're just so cool. I enjoy going back into my profile and watching the paths of some of the coins I've passed along. It's disappointing to see some of the going go missing..... but, that's the way it is.

 

When I buy trackable tags to let go into the wild, I buy the cheapest ones I can get my hands on.

 

I might start shopping for coins and probably buy some to reflect our milestones & lifestyle. Life is busy and money doesn't grow on trees. Lol

Edited by Lieblweb
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I search the e-place almost every day (can't take the chance of missing a Nerd I don't already have!), and have noticed some trends myself.

2/3 of them seem to be the same coins constantly listed and relisted at ridiculous prices. Since They changed their price structure its become possible to forever list coins at high prices in the hopes of eventually finding that person who has to have it. I have to sift through the same old stuff to find the truly new auctions. Most of the non-perpetually relisted coins do seem to sell, with prices ranging from 5-15 dollars. Most of the desirable coins seem to go for upwards of $20, and I still haven't been able to win an Earth Turtle v1 with $40, although I've tried numerous times!

The forums have changed a bit too over the years. Not as many folks around as before. It's a lot quieter...

 

I agree that people's economic situations are the main factor in this change of coin habits. I have become more focused in what I buy, but part of that is devoting time and money to completing the various sets I'm interested in. (Still need yellow and pink MAMD peeps from GW 5, and lots of v1 and v2 Geocoin Nerds!)

 

I too only have about 10-20% of my wild travelers still traveling.

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As a long time collector, full time coin designer and enthusiast, I see several paths colliding that's resulting in a single outcome.

 

1) Supply vs. Demand: Many more coins were being produced in the recent past than the current economic status will support.

 

2) Economy - 'nuf said

 

3) With so many choices, people are being far more selective in adding to their collections.

 

4) What seemed like a great money-making opportunity for some churned out a lot of uninspired designs with little or no corrolation to caching unfortunately.

 

5) Coins with tracking numbers have those numbers to record their travels whether by personal discover or travel in caches. When coins become so desirable that they start dissappearing at an alarming rate people are less inclined to spend good money to release these coins which drives the demand down as well.

 

6) Dwindling number of personals being created. Coins are expensive to produce and require a serious commitment. Personals have always seemed to be the highest on the hit list of must-haves because they can't be made endlessly as the market demands so they're more desirable. Unfortunately the first 5 factors have taken a heavy toll on this factor.

 

7) Over-policed forums. I don't think it's a coincidence that the moment threads on coins started being closed (because people hadn't decided yet whether to make a coin trackable yet) and the shared creative process came to screaming halt helped anyone. This place used to be buzzing with dozens of excited people 24hours a day sharing ideas, asking questions and generally a hot bed of excitement. Now it's almost empty. A new section for non-trackables or something might have helped, but it seems too little too late. Coincidentally, dozens of conversations shifted immediately to other social websites or forums and still continue there with more fervor than here. (Coincidentally, the vast majority of them ARE or WILL BE trackable at geocaching.com anyway, but people don't seem inclined to share their projects here anymore.)

 

Coins are still very popular, but with so many choices, so little money and so many people with interest being afraid to ask questions it's going to be awhile before the fervor revives. I believe that it will though in time. It's like the stock market I think. The bubble burst, the strongest producers withdrew a bit, are recovering and will continue to do well over time, but there is now a large supply of dwindling value coins out there. Hopefully as the market rebounds so will the interest and excitement. Afterall, geocoins ARE a luxury and luxury items are the first to suffer during hard times.

Edited by fox-and-the-hound
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We're just starting out on the collecting side of geocoins. We've seen and moved a few in the wild, and were amazed by the artwork.

 

Having said that, we're not made of money unfortunately - and the collection needs to take a definite direction out there with so many coins appealing to so many varieties of tastes. I know we have a list of interests for geocoins that we'd like to add to our collection and a vast many of them, while beautiful pieces of art they simply don't appeal to us. Ours has to be a collection with a purpose and focus, if that makes sense.

 

I think there's still a market here, but I definitely wouldn't try to do it as a money making venture, that's for sure. I guess its all up to why a person collects.

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I've always been collecting (since 2007) within a theme and have traded or bought only one (on exception two) versions of the coins I liked, so I can't really say I'm more selective.

I too have noticed the changes from swag to really commercial coins.

I'm not against this, but sometimes it seems to me that "dressing yourself up" with all kind of stuff, including trackables, seems more important than to go out and finding the adventure, true friends and nice geocaches.

My geocoin collection is not the main thing about geocaching, although I like it a lot.

Many of the new geocoins are really gorgeous and I still trade and even buy new ones, although a lot less, because for me (and I notice for a lot of others)

... Well there is a world wide crisis going on and when there are more important bills to pay, buying geocoins simply must wait.

That's alright though, there will come better times (and a lot of nice trades to make) :D

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7) Over-policed forums. I don't think it's a coincidence that the moment threads on coins started being closed (because people hadn't decided yet whether to make a coin trackable yet) and the shared creative process came to screaming halt helped anyone. This place used to be buzzing with dozens of excited people 24hours a day sharing ideas, asking questions and generally a hot bed of excitement. Now it's almost empty. A new section for non-trackables or something might have helped, but it seems too little too late. Coincidentally, dozens of conversations shifted immediately to other social websites or forums and still continue there with more fervor than here. (Coincidentally, the vast majority of them ARE or WILL BE trackable at geocaching.com anyway, but people don't seem inclined to share their projects here anymore.)

 

Great post Chris! I miss all those announcements of the new coins and wondered where and shy they had disappeared. These forums are really, really quiet compared to the way they were a few years ago. More fun then ;)

 

Looks like I will have to get active on some of those social websites also.

 

 

 

Welllllllll.... seems to ME that if it weren't for collectors coins wouldn't BE stolen. WHO's keeping the stolen coins? OR... who is the thief selling them to??? I have 4 coins. I've released all of them. I have almost NO hope that any of them will make it. I know ONE has already gone awol. I've only been caching for 2 months. My feelings are that they were MADE to travel... LET them travel.

 

I think this is an insult to the many honest collecters I know.

 

Agree

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I usually confine myself to the other forums, but when I stray here I often see things I can't live without. I like collecting a few and buying some extras so I can send them out into the world and see where they go -- I will say this, geocoins seem to have pretty short lives for traveling compared to dog tags, but both will just as easily vanish to a muggle's pockets or be binned by the militant cache vandals who claim to speak for the trees.

 

It is a lot of fun to find a geocoin from somewhere unusual and send it on its way (accompanied by a photo or two in the log.) Some brave souls still launch these.

 

One thing I'd like is more simple designs for sending out into the world. The prettier they be the more I worry about them being kept.

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We love to collect coins, take to events, etc. We have always been selective on what we purchase. We have backed off due to just funds, everything out there is going up, which leaves less and less in the pocket. We also prefer the personal coins a bit more than anything else out there, we see less and less of those, they are the ones we value the most, as in most cases we met the person, or gotten to know them some other way, gives things a personal touch with a story so to speak. Seems as though the personal touch has disappeared for some reason. We liked the collaborative posts when someone had an idea, or a thought for a personal coin. I dont think interest has gone away, I think things got a bit flooded so to speak, and with the economy my guess is others are being more selective as we are. Only going after the coins that have a special meaning to them, a story of some kind, a relation to the sport.

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I'm not willing to sell a coin for $5 when it cost me $10 five years ago.

 

I guess you would call that depreciation... just like if you sold a car 5 years later you wouldn't expect to get the sticker price. When selling in bulk I would never expect to get my initial investment. If I were buying coins as an investment then see point 2 below for buying habits.

 

Five points:

1. there are less coiners than 7 years ago but the number have been stable for the past 4-5 years

2. people are more selective and the market drives that --- quality over quantity, and tags have taken the place as trackable travelers

3. there has been a glut of coin on ebay for 3-4 years now

4. non-trackable doesn't mean anything anymore because the sentimental or nostalgic ways we traded or were given them as gifts has been lost

5. I think there is just a sheer number of coins out there is overwhelming, and people are on a budget these days. The price has tripled since I started collecting. So vendors can either charge more or maintain costs and put out a crappier product...

6. With some of the secondary prices being so low. It's a great time to buy coins and put them into the wild!

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Welllllllll.... seems to ME that if it weren't for collectors coins wouldn't BE stolen. WHO's keeping the stolen coins? OR... who is the thief selling them to??? I have 4 coins. I've released all of them. I have almost NO hope that any of them will make it. I know ONE has already gone awol. I've only been caching for 2 months. My feelings are that they were MADE to travel... LET them travel.

 

Sorry you are wrong. I can understand why you are hurt by people stealing your coins, it has happened to most of us. But people who buy coins for their own collection aren't the ones who steal from caches.

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4. non-trackable doesn't mean anything anymore because the sentimental or nostalgic ways we traded or were given them as gifts has been lost

 

We agree, but every now and then we see it surface....such as mystery coins. We have been fortunate to have been gifted some non-trackables over the years, some of these very early coins will always hold the highest value in our collection!

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I started collecting coins not too long after I started caching. Back in the old days (pre-icon), I had 5-10 trades underway in any given month. Most of the people I traded with have, like me, bailed.

 

I pretty much have gotten out of coins these days. The last one I made was for GW8. I'll still buy one now and then, and sometimes do a trade, usually fade-to-face. My last 2 mail trades were offers made to me, and then they (my partners) didn't bother to follow up when I agreed. At least I didn't send the coins they wanted. And they were both long-time trading partners.

 

I got out because:

 

1) Personals had started to disappear.

 

2) More and more coins had nothing to do with geocaching. Their only connection to the game was the "trackable on geocaching.com" that had to be on them

 

3) It became more important for a coin to have an icon than anything else.

 

4) A feeling started to infiltrate this forum that if a coin wasn't trackable, it wasn't worthy of being called a geocoin.

 

5) Every coin seems to have at least 5 versions these days. I suppose in order to increase sales.

 

6) Honesty has left the coin realm, IMO. Back when, if a design stunk, we would say so. Now, being honest just gets you flamed. Every coin is wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous, ad nausem. It doesn't seem to matter if they stink or not. It's a new icon!!

 

So, has interest waned? For a lot of the old-timers, yes. We traded because we enjoyed each others' designs, and liked each other personally. Now, it's a business.

 

It's no fun, any longer, and I miss it.

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Oh a fun thread! Kinda like the "old time" threads :)

 

Here's my take.

 

As a collector my interests have lessened. The novelty wore off and I try to be smarter. I used to buy 1 of each version and at least 2 traders. These days I do trade but am much more selective, I have way more coins than I need or even want for that matter but for purposes of helping people get what they want in their collections, I continue to trade as necessary.

 

A couple of reasons I quit buying as much: dishonesty from a couple of vendors and more than I care to get into as far as discussions. Certain designers/vendors pumping out coins once or twice a month (I can't keep up with that). I also have the ability to trade versus having to buy. My tastes have also changed as far as what designs I like.

 

Someone mentioned the threads here and strict policies, I agree. I feel like our hands are tied to a certain degree and it just became less fun to post here. Most vendors have FB pages now and you can follow whoever you are interested in and they are free to post what they want. Besides too many whiners here :anitongue:

 

I still check in here but it's only once every 2 weeks or so. If you were to judge by the forums, it does appear that interest has subsided but I'm not sure how true that really is.

 

My other perspective is as a vendor. I still find people are very interested in coins but 99% are collectors/resale. I totally get why, who wants to release a coin into the wild only to have it come up missing?

 

I have found I still have roughly the same amount of buyers as I kind of always had. The changes I see are people coming and going due to interest level, economy or whatever. I try to pay attention to the patterns just because I find it interesting. Many people who have been with me since the beginning never post to the forums.

 

Let me also say as a vendor my interest in designing has gone down, shoot in 2011 I did almost nothing in designs. It happened to be a crazy year for me and I was burned out so I just didn't have the desire to come home and draw and do all the work this coin stuff takes. It was a good break for me though. It gave me time to think about my role in the geocoin world, if I wanted to continue and some time to let my imagination and creativity get its spark back.

 

I'm definitely still interested but I'm stream-lining myself. I believe this will be my last US Geocoinfest as a vendor this year unless it's some place I really want to go. Too much work and $$$ to do all of it. Might try it in Europe at least once.

 

I hope that there will always be interest in geocoins, there are many designs that I think are awesome and creative, I also think there is alot of junk but it's all subjective.

 

I've enjoyed what geocoins have brought into my life. I've made some good buddies and received some inspiring letters along the way.

 

In the end I think it's cyclical and with more avenues to speak about coins or more options, Groundspeak isn't the place of "where it's at" anymore in regards to coins/trackables and unmentionables ;)

 

Ok, those are my random thoughts. Collect what speaks to you and don't get over your head.

 

tsun

Edited by tsunrisebey
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o' ancient ones...please be aware that there are still a few of us having trade only geocoins made, although, not many.

 

as mentioned earlier, mystery coins continue to surprise and delight, cointests here on the geocoin forum remain a sign of people's kindness and willingness to share, along with random sightings of the gifted coin from out of the blue. i hope that these are the types of things that will keep this group posting, and trading.

 

continuing poor economics, a flood of new coins and higher costs to have coins made, have certainly taken a toll in the sale of coins, but i would hope, the "interest" remains.

 

ILYK
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these are exactly the opinions I am looking for. some very interesting perspectives by many of the 'old schoolers', I'm glad I'm not alone with the way I think about geocoins for the most part. I see for the most part the general concensous is that when geocoins became more commercial and less personal, interest started to wain and take a different direction on what folks sought to add to their collections.

It's easy to blame it all on the economic crisis we have all been in. But I feel that is an easy cop out for many. I agree it has had an impact on the sheer number of coins being produced, and it has changed some spending habits( ie, not buying every coin one sees) but for the average collector, finding $12 for that one 'must have' coin, is no different today than it was before the recession.

 

I agree with Six little Spookies, it seems to be the same coins over and over again( mainly the commercial coins), and that was part of my point, they have no resale value and nobody is bidding on them, so why do they keep getting listed? I was amazed at one vendor that was buying from another vendor, a coin for $10 and selling it for $35. I'm not sure how often this goes on and I only payed attention to it because it was a coin design I helped with. I could almost understand if it were the LE coin that you can only get through me(shameless plug), but not one that was for commercial purposes. As far as I know it was relisted 6-8 times at the same high end price and it never sold from what I could tell( had it on my watch list several times)

 

while I agree personals have started to disappear, like drneal stated, they are still out there, but not as advertised as they were in the past. I know of several that are for face2face trades only and not through the mail. And those are the coins that have a special meaning and story for me and will probably be the only coins I have around one day...

while I'm on the subject of personals, I have to disagree with the way some think about coins taking a different design direction and not having anything to do with caching. IMHO, caching is not a neverending subject, and doesn't have enough subject matter to be expressed on every design. If every coin had to have a GPS and a compass rose on them, then the novelty of geocoins would have been expired in the first year. I mean hell, what does a FSM really have to do with caching? nothing, but it was a popular coin back when and it's one that still sells today.

some folks prefer to stay within the caching theme, but to say that is a cause for loss of interest is far fetched at best. everyone has different interests, and prefer different subject matter (I can think of at least one that likes a dog theme :anibad: )

 

basically I have figured out there are more commercial coins than the market demands (hence the reason coins aren't selling the way they used to at the eplace) and because of this interests have shifted to what appeals to the individual cacher. Also there is some decline in geocoin interest among the old timers...

 

....hhhmmm...

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I still collect...but am VERY selective about what I collect now...opposed to back in the day when I bought anything and everything, either because I liked it or hoped I could trade it for something better. When I lost some interest was when folks started make 20 different versions of the same design.

 

I miss the old days in the forums when there were lots of design discussions...lots of trading...lots of personal coins (non-trackable or trackable...it did not matter)...back when geocoins were more of a personal momento or a souvenir from an event....when there was chatter about mystery coins being found in caches instead of mailboxes...back when I had more disposable income (LOL).

 

Over time, I have most enjoyed the people that geocoins have brought into my life, rather than the actual coins themselves, and the memories. I imagine myself sitting in a rocking chair telling my grandchildren about the time I hiked 20 miles, uphill both ways to find a cache with a particular geocoin...LOL.

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Like everyone else, I've definitely gotten more selective. I think a lot of people go oberboard at the beginning of their coin collecting career, and then realize that maybe they need to be more selective. Also, cachers come and go, people get caught up in caching and then things change in their lives and they move on, and then so does their interest in coins. I haven't been around these forums too long, but it does sound like there's been a general change in the atmosphere. I plan to make another personal coin later this year, and it won't be really caching related, but to me coins don't have to be caching related, because as one person said, I think you'd quickly run out of original ideas. So I'm happy to see any coin that just supports or represents something I care about.

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I started buying in the webshops, then on ebay, and then trading/buying in this forum, and sometimes in person.

 

Then I wanted to have my own designs come true, not to do business, but to share ideas, and geocoins.

 

Recently are for sale many coins of the early years, when they were not yet trackables, or were in sites other than geocaching, before 2006.

 

So I was interested about their history, understanding its origin and meaning, appreciating more and more the former coins, because they were really the original geocoins, the personal ones and related geocaching themes. So I'm adding to my collection some of these whenever I can. I like seeing their history in front of me, understand and enjoy their evolution.

 

Would be great that someone who has been collecting from the beginning wants write about the history and evolution of geocoins, exhaustively if possible.

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looking at the number of people logged in at the bottom of the page, it becomes clear that the number of people keeping tabs on the geocoin forum is diminishing...a sign of less interest in coins, or people simply not posting here anymore? used to be at least 5 or 6 people were always logged in (does this comment also make me one of the ancient ones?) it appears i've been collecting for almost 4 years now !

 

ILYK
Edited by drneal
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Welllllllll.... seems to ME that if it weren't for collectors coins wouldn't BE stolen. WHO's keeping the stolen coins? OR... who is the thief selling them to??? I have 4 coins. I've released all of them. I have almost NO hope that any of them will make it. I know ONE has already gone awol. I've only been caching for 2 months. My feelings are that they were MADE to travel... LET them travel.

 

I think this is an insult to the many honest collecters I know.

 

My interest in coins is not less then before, although I'm more selective. I'm also one of those people on eBay who is willing to bid a lot for a coin I really want to add to my collection. Just place a Delft Blue "Windmolen" or a "Gele Bussie" on eBay, and you'll see ;). But I also think there are a lot designs comming out, so much choise to pick from. My budget has it's limmits, so I can't buy all the coins I like. I'm happy I don't collect cars , they take a lot more money and space :lol:

 

 

I agree with the above I am much more selective than I used to be when I first started collecting coins 4-5 years ago. A coin has really got to apeal to me to grab my interest. There are one or two so called collectors who frequently sell coins that have recently ended their run in production and sold out for 400-500% above what they bought them for. They intentionally buy multiple coins to do so, where I used to buy a second or third of a coin purely as a trade and have never sold a coin on the e place hence the reason for having a box of a hundred or so duplicate coin that I use as trades.

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I don't buy much or rarely trade anymore than I used to but I do check in on these geocoin forums every day. And I've been in the geocoin hobby since 2005 I think, so while my interest has declined in obtaining coins, I'm still interested to see what's out there currently.

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I guess that whenever something is new, many people are able to - and have the desire to - collect one of each. "Gotta catch them all" or something like that? Once the market expands, it is no longer possible to collect them all, and people are forced to be more selective. First of all, to stay within their budgets, but since the incentive of collecting them all is gone, the number of buys might even go down. I remember in the (rather) early days of the internet, I used to save and categorize ALL photos that were posted online, related to one of my other hobbies. Now, there are too many photos to "catch them all", and I usually don't even bother saving the nicest ones. Similar phenomenon?

 

I started visiting this forum just one and a half year ago, and lately, it seems as though the number of posts has gone down. When I started, I would find at least a full page of updated topics, every morning when I logged in. (I'm in Europe, so I wake up to see all the action that you Americans have made during your evenings. :)) Now, more often than not, it's less than half a page of new posts. Not sure why... Fewer coins announced here? Fewer people bother giving feedback on new coins and ideas? Fewer cointests and games? Not sure.

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I remember typing a response to this but I ran off to work and I think abandoned it.

 

I'm not a collector of geocoins and never really have been because I like to release my trackables into the wild. For me it's prohibitively expensive to be buying $30 coins to release into the wild. I also tend to not buy from the forums. I have once but the reality is I want instant gratification so if it's not in a webshop where I can sit at 2am and buy a coin and expect it to be mailed to me sometime that week it's not going to happen. I don't ebay in my normal life so I never use that site to get coins.

 

I also like coins that have something directly to do with caching. While there are many beautiful coins out there which I'm sure make for great collector items I like to find ones that are cache related and not over $10 per coin.

 

The reason I never collected coins comes down to fads come and go. I have 2000 magic cards and a bucket of beanie babies up in my attic that at one time were all worth something more than I paid for them. I see the geocoin economy in the same way. These items will likely not have antique value and their value is based on the popularity of them at any given moment. So I'm not going to invest in them with hope that an inflated price will hold. I'll buy them retail and send them out and play with them instead. But that means I likely will be buying cheaper items.

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Having been a collector of some things for the profit, I certainly understand your take on all this.

 

I never collected coins for the future profit. They serve as souvenirs of a game that has been a load of fun.

 

TTUMS put it best...she said once that geocoins were the Geocaching community's version of the charm bracelet.

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I never actively collected coins. I have bought less than 15 that were must haves and maybe another 20 or so just for the heck of it.

 

All the rest (over 300) were given or traded to me. I never even bothered to activate my favorite one and a few others that I got at GW8.

 

The coins I have, I will never release, because each one has a special meaning. I will eventually release proxies, but as traditional TBs and not laminated paper.

 

People have been after me to create a coin for years and I would if I had the disposable income. My solution at the time when I did have some extra cash was to buy my coin press, because for $1 I could make 100 people happy in zinc. $3 would make another hundred happy in copper. $5 for 100 in nickel and so on. The cost of the machine and supplies was roughly the same as 1.5 coin runs for the coin I had in mind and had priced for production and then what? Spend it again when the coins run out? No thanks. As long as I maintain my coin press, I can crank those babies out as often as I like.

 

To answer the OP, my interest toward geocoins has waned to almost non-interest, but there are still some beautiful coins being made and I am always up for a trade. It's the interaction between cachers trading at events that makes the coins special to me. I have little interest in doing it by mail.

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I have to disagree here on the value of the coins going down like the mass produced beanie babies, pokemon cards, etc., etc. There are significant differences between mass marketed millions-of-units-sold fad products and the rather expensive to create geocoins that were made in small runs and exact numbers produced. Anything sold as "collectable" from the start is most likely NOT worth collecting. It's the normal things made in limited quantities that slowly disappear through happenstance over the years that attain real value. I don't think anyone was surprised that the coin buying bubble eventually popped, but don't let it fool you that coins are suddenly worthless. The economy tanked and people are selling for less than they're worth often out of desparation, but when things swing back the other way...

 

I honestly think that as the realm of what can be made trackable expands the rarity of the coin will increase again as the mass of options puts coins back in the niche of less attainable, more desirable and harder to get as more people start to catch on. It's like the stock market... supply, demand, economy, fad, and more all will affect it, but the hold outs for the long haul often end up very well off when all the day traders have come and gone in their race for the quick buck. There's no sure thing, but I'm betting this will be one of those threads cachers will look back on with knowing smiles when things turn around. B)

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Coins are just a small part of the fad industry of geocaching.

 

Reality is as witnessed by the forum alone not many people send out coins for their intended use but instead collect them. They are made for a tiny number of collectors. The coins hold no value to those outside of geocaching thus limiting the market to only those who geocache and participate in the sub fad of geocoin collecting. Their prices will inevitably meet an equillibrium price and as more collectors pieces emerge decline becoming less favorable as the newest fad coin comes around.

 

For me I find geocoins have little to do with geocaching anymore except for a few. And for the most part they are marketed towards collectors instead of people using them for the originally intended purpose.

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For me I find geocoins have little to do with geocaching anymore except for a few. And for the most part they are marketed towards collectors instead of people using them for the originally intended purpose.

 

Oh this paragraph alone has brought many a discussion. Just what is "geocaching related"?

 

What is the intended purpose? The first one made was non-trackable and meant as swag, so who decides what the purpose of a geocoin is for? Would it not be the person who has either left it in a cache, the buyer of the coin or the person who trades, etc.?

 

When I design a geocoin, I design with Mother Nature in mind because when I cache, I am always taking pictures of wildlife or my surroundings. I am in touch with that part because that's what I like about caching. My gallery perfectly shows my interest. I could care less about the cache itself quite honestly. So because you or someone else who doesn't cache with the same intent I do make my designs non-geocaching related? Who gets to decide. I get tired of seeing this said because it's so subjective.

 

I've read all the posts here and it makes me chuckle a little bit.

 

Ok, I'm done, didn't mean to get too side-tracked here.

 

tsun

 

edit for spelling errors.

Edited by tsunrisebey
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Coins are just a small part of the fad industry of geocaching.

 

The coins hold no value to those outside of geocaching...

 

And for the most part they are marketed towards collectors instead of people using them for the originally intended purpose.

 

These three statements are ALL really quite inaccurate.

 

First of all, caching has been a regular event since the dawn of mankind. The GPS makes it easier, but to call caching a fad is akin to calling man walking upright a fad and about as ludicrous. Geocaching does have an industry side, but it didn't start as an industry. On top of that, leaving personal mementos in caches has been around for a VERY long time (we're talking since the stoneage here) and certainly long before gps geocaching began.

 

Hate to break it to you, but "the originally intended purpose" was a reward to be left to the next finder and a way of marking your presence at a cache. On top of that, commercial coins exist primarily to allow people who can not afford to go all out to make their own personal coin a chance to use a coin for it's "originally intended purpose" or even to send out a beautiful traveler to be shared by other cachers by making them available at a price more people can actually afford.

 

I am not blind to the fact that some coins have been made in umpteen different versions, but it's not always for marketing however it might seem (although it has definitely been done). Anyone who has spent the substantial amount of money to create a coin is also aware that for the most part you usually will only get one chance to do it and so you try as many variations as you can in the hopes that at least one will be a true standout.

 

Lastly to say the coin holds no value outside of geocaching is inaccurate, insulting and ignorant. The makeup of most coins is precious metals and they are inherritanly value for that reason alone so this is inaccurate. Many very talented people spent a lot of time and effort to create many original and beautiful pieces of art in the process of making a coin so this is a horribly insulting remark to all those people as well. You make a huge assumption to say there is no interest outside of the geocaching world as well. There are millions of people around the world who collect coins for their beauty alone and some of these coins have even appeared in galleries of art for their beautiful production alone so you are clearly ignorant of the true facts here.

 

Basing reality on this one single forum on the web would be a mistake. There are many more conversations being had elsewhere on the web and in life that disagree strongly. B)

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the more i read through these posts, the more i begin to realize the lack of interest i have in collecting geocoins at this time. as such, i have decided that i am quite done with trading and collecting...the day has finally come...no more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well, maybe just one or two more...they're so shiny...but that's all

IMG_NEW-18.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of course i really wanted these too, so maybe 2 more...

IMG_0001_NEW-4.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oh, what the heck

IMG_NEW-17.jpg

IMG_0001_NEW-3.jpg

 

ILYK
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the more i read through these posts, the more i begin to realize the lack of interest i have in collecting geocoins at this time. as such, i have decided that i am quite done with trading and collecting...the day has finally come...no more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well, maybe just one or two more...they're so shiny...but that's all

IMG_NEW-18.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of course i really wanted these too, so maybe 2 more...

IMG_0001_NEW-4.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oh, what the heck

IMG_NEW-17.jpg

IMG_0001_NEW-3.jpg

 

ILYK

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

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I'll add this little nugget.

 

I've always been selective on what coins I purchase. I have to relate to them somehow. There are more coins that I don't care for then there are that I want.

 

I go on ebay every once in a while to find coins that I want. One theme I collect is firefighter coins. So I have the firefighter coin, and it's still available on Coinsandpins for $9.49. But on ebay, somebody is asking $19 for the geocoin before shipping. I clicked on the guy's "store" and all of the public service geocoins that are available for the 9.49 price are all around $19. The series of 5 military coins is being asked for $120. You can still get the five coins at $10 each.

 

That kinda turned me off a little there. I guess I'm one of the rare people who don't view geocoins as an "investment". When I see this on ebay and people in here talking about being upset that "they aren't going to get what they paid into it", it almost makes it seem like people were hoarding coins with the hopes of selling for a "profit" later on.

 

Or in the case with the person with the store, a "tax free" profit. I have to have a business license to do what I do. There's a thing called MSRP. If the guy is buying the coins at wholesale with a business license, then Coinsandplus could an would probably make that person sell them for $9.49 each. The fact that he's not leads me to believe he does not have a business license.

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lol, drneal... I'm going through my coins now and may have some that you'ld be interested in. we should get together on this soon after GW next weekend...

 

touching on the original subject again, I see and agree with much of what is being said, but I also disagree with some of it. I guess it boils down to personal opinions on the issue and that's what makes it great, we all have different views...

 

While I enjoy collecting the coins and have sat up late and gotten up early many times for the F5 frenzies. I personally don't enjoy as many coins as I once did and my collection as grown to such a massive, out-of-control pile, that it's time to downsize it to something more controllable( 2-3 hundred :laughing: )and let others enjoy them rather than them sitting around in drawers,shelves and closets. hell it took me 4 hrs to gather them all up to start sorting them!

I never started this collection for the resale factor as some have suggested. I did it for the pure passion of collecting them. Anyone that has discovered my collection knows how passionate I once was about collecting them. I'm not desperate to sell them and I'm not looking for massive profits, but I can't see selling $20k worth of them for $10k either. If I can't sell them for what I have in them, then I'll sit on them and let my kids worry about them long after I'm dead and gone! :blink:

I'm still beating several ideas through my head... I may try a little of everything... forum selling,ebay,silent auctions for the big events, hell I may even gift a few... once I finish going through them all I'll be sure and let the forum folks here know...

 

BTW, Steve (six little spookies) if you read this before I get a chance to get up with you, I found a v1 nerd you may not have and may have more... I'll be in touch...

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It's been a loooong time since I've been here, but my interest in coins remains high. There is one very important criteria for me though --- meaning.

 

The coin has to have meaning for me.

 

A rough design traded for face-to-face means more than a fancy design.

A subject I care about (geocaching, art, navigation, science, stamps, etc) means more than a gimmick or joke coin.

 

So it really comes down to meaning. I have about a thousand coins or so and I can honestly say that about 80% are very important to me. They have a sense of connection to them. They have some sort of meaning. A trade, someone I met in some way (f2f or virtually), gift, history, etc. They have no value - because they are never for sale. Yet they are very interesting to me and important. Priceless in fact.

 

That aspect has slowed down for me - mostly because I'm a very casual cacher - traditionals and earthcaches only - and most often only when I travel or go camping. (not having any interest in micros makes my cache options very limited in many cases). So while interest remains high for me, opportunity for meaningful trades and acquisitions has shrunk.

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