Geocoins - what is the deal with them?

[+MiLiDaLeJe]

Hi All fellow geocachers (/geocoiners :-))

 

We have been geocaching for a few months now ( i now see it's actually only one month ), and we find it very interesting to do. In the caches we found, we also found some trackable dog tags and trackable geocoins.

 

The coins we log the correct way, and leave them in the next cache so it can continue it's travel.

 

But, now i do have some questions:

- the original owner of the geocoin will buy the coin (normally arround $20) and just put it in a cache? Or are there other ways of getting a geocoin?

- i see a lot of people also collect coins, can this only be done by buying them? or can one also 'collect' a coin found in a cache? How should we known if a coin is collectible? (so i fact you are receiving a $20 gift then?)

- what if a coin has reached it's goal? Eg. travel to the netherlands and it's there... what then?

 

Thanks for reading (and hopefully answering)

Edited August 26, 2015 by MiLiDaLeJe

[+Droo]

No.... traveling geooins belong to someone, someone who bought or traded for or even designed and minted it and released it for others to enjoy. To collect a traveling geocoin that belongs to someone else is to steal it and to earn you the label of geocoin thief... or the lowest of the low.

[+Beach_hut]

Answering point-by-point:

 

Hi All fellow geocachers (/geocoiners :-))

- the original owner of the geocoin will buy the coin (normally arround $20) and just put it in a cache? Or are there other ways of getting a geocoin?

- i see a lot of people also collect coins, can this only be done by buying them? or can one also 'collect' a coin found in a cache? How should we known if a coin is collectible? (so i fact you are receiving a $20 gift then?)

- what if a coin has reached it's goal? Eg. travel to the netherlands and it's there... what then?

 

-sometimes the owner will buy a coin and not put it in a cache, and instead just take it to events to show other cachers. Also, sometimes cachers will gift each other coins, through all kinds of ways, but not as a rule putting them in a cache.

-you can collect coins you've bought or been gifted. If you find a coin in a cache, you should always presume the coin owner wants for it to move on, and to be dropped in another cache. It's not yours or anyone else's to take.

-that depends on the coin owner. Sometimes they give it a new mission, sometimes they just let it go to wherever cachers will take it

[+irisisleuk]

- the original owner of the geocoin will buy the coin (normally arround $20) and just put it in a cache? Or are there other ways of getting a geocoin?

 

Next to buying there are a few other ways to get a coin. You can ask family members/friends to buy them as a present for your birthday on any other achievement. You can get one by completing some geotours (check out the Garden of Amsterdam GeoTour) . They are sometimes given as a prize at lotteries at (mega) geocache events. And sometimes they are given by other cachers as a present. For instance we raffle a coin with every 30 cacchers who visit a certain cache of ours and post a photo with their log.

 

- i see a lot of people also collect coins, can this only be done by buying them? or can one also 'collect' a coin found in a cache? How should we known if a coin is collectible? (so i fact you are receiving a $20 gift then?)

 

Chances of finding a coin in a cache you can keep are very small. The ones in caches are 99,99 percent meant for traveling, so take good care of them by writing a nice log, try to fulfill its goal (we often have a lot of fun doing this) and placing it in a safe cache. The 00,01 percent that is not meant for traveling is meant as a gift, sometimes as a present for a FTF, or as we did for instance a present for 100th cacher who found our cache. These coins are not activated yet (assigned to a cacher and have a coin page), so you will have to activate it yourself.

 

- what if a coin has reached it's goal? Eg. travel to the netherlands and it's there... what then?

 

Then you can ask the owner what the new goal is, by either posting a message on the coin page or by sending him an e-mail. Sometimes you get a reply, sometimes they change the coin page and sometimes they aren't active geocachers anymore so there won't be any reply and the coin won't have any specific goal anymore but to travel from cache to cache.

 

A lot of cachers don't send out trackables anymore because other cacher aren't taking good care of coins and TBs and some even steal them. We think it is great that people send out their coins so we can enjoy them instead of keeping them in a collection at home, so we do our best to make the owners happy by posting photos and sharing our adventure stories on the coin page.

 

If you have any other questions about geocoins please come to the MEE-event in Eindhoven (5/6 September, GC5EAQ3) and meet us there, we can tell you lots of stories about the trackable mission adventures we had.

[+MiLiDaLeJe]

Hey All,

 

thanks for the answers!

 

@irisisleuk, i was indeed planning to go to the MEE-event, since i'm living in Eindhoven. I am also going to the geocoinfest at the end of next month (don't know the exact date).

 

ANd now i am sure we are treating the geocoins as we should :-) happy caching everyone and thanks again.

 

Mike and Linda