Jump to content

Design and produce custom geocoins?


PhillyRiver

Recommended Posts

I just ran across this picture of a beautiful geocoin by the Denver Public Library. They are giving out 200 of them as prizes for those who complete their geaocache trail. Can't tell if they have tracking numbers, but they wouldn't be geocoins without them, right? How does one go about producing such a customized coin for an organization and giving it out or selling it? Can only geocaching.com sell them and assign numbers? Thanks for any info.

Link to comment
Can't tell if they have tracking numbers, but they wouldn't be geocoins without them, right?
That depends on how you define "geocoin".

 

I have a number of geocoins in my collection that are not trackable on the geocaching.com site. Some have no numbers of any kind. Some have unique serial numbers, but they aren't trackable on the site. (A couple of those used to be trackable on a third-party site, but that site no longer works, so they are no longer trackable.)

 

But if you define "geocoin" as something that is trackable on the geocaching.com site, then no, they aren't geocoins.

Link to comment

How are you supposed to track them? Do you activate it and then something happens? Very confusing indeed.

Often an unactivated Tour prize coin is handed to you upon completion.

Not much of a "prize" if it's not yours.

You decide if you want to activate it, or keep it as a souvenir, in your collection.

Link to comment

Read the help page about trackable geocoins. I'm sort of confused about the tracking number and activation code. I have a coin and it has a number on it that can be a tracking number. How do I activate it? There needs to be a number for that too. Do I just come up with it or is it assigned and how do I get it assigned?

 

Thanks

Link to comment

Read the help page about trackable geocoins. I'm sort of confused about the tracking number and activation code. I have a coin and it has a number on it that can be a tracking number. How do I activate it? There needs to be a number for that too. Do I just come up with it or is it assigned and how do I get it assigned?

 

Thanks

The Tracking Number is assigned by Groundspeak, where you purchase a unique six-digits of letters and numbers from Groundspeak's database, and that's what gets imprinted on the coin (and the coin's design must be approved in advance). You can't use just any number as an Official Groundspeak Tracking Number, and you can't even choose the number from their list. But you can get a custom prefix when ordering 1000 custom coins:

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=332

 

If your coin has six digits inscribed (typically laser-engraved), and certainly if the coin says something about "Track at (Groundspeak.com or geocaching.com)", you can track it here: https://www.geocaching.com/track/

Submit the number, and the page may give more info about the item, even if it is not activated.

 

The "Activation Code" comes with a Geocoin's packaging when you buy it. If you wish to activate it and don't have the Activation Code, try this: https://www.geocaching.com/track/activate.aspx

 

If you think you've found an actual Geocoin and can't figure out the Tracking Number, contact Geocaching.com:

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=request

It's no good to post the numbers in the Forum, since a Tracking Number is supposed to be kept secret.

 

If you have a coin that you wish to travel, but it is not a Geocoin, one inexpensive option is to buy and use the number from a Travel Bug Dogtag, or better yet, attach the tag somehow. But if the coin already has other numbers, prepare for mass confusion. :anicute:

 

If you don't need "Official Tracking", you can place most any item in a cache, with info and a request that people contact you when they find it, and see how it goes.

Edited by kunarion
Link to comment

Read the help page about trackable geocoins. I'm sort of confused about the tracking number and activation code. I have a coin and it has a number on it that can be a tracking number. How do I activate it? There needs to be a number for that too. Do I just come up with it or is it assigned and how do I get it assigned?

 

Thanks

 

This is a home made coin with a serial number. I just want to know how to get a activation number for it so it can be tracked.

Link to comment

Read the help page about trackable geocoins. I'm sort of confused about the tracking number and activation code. I have a coin and it has a number on it that can be a tracking number. How do I activate it? There needs to be a number for that too. Do I just come up with it or is it assigned and how do I get it assigned?

 

Thanks

The Tracking Number is assigned by Groundspeak, where you purchase a unique six-digits of letters and numbers from Groundspeak's database, and that's what gets imprinted on the coin (and the coin's design must be approved in advance). You can't use just any number as an Official Groundspeak Tracking Number, and you can't even choose the number from their list. But you can get a custom prefix when ordering 1000 custom coins:

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=332

 

If your coin has six digits inscribed (typically laser-engraved), and certainly if the coin says something about "Track at (Groundspeak.com or geocaching.com)", you can track it here: https://www.geocaching.com/track/

Submit the number, and the page may give more info about the item, even if it is not activated.

 

The "Activation Code" comes with a Geocoin's packaging when you buy it. If you wish to activate it and don't have the Activation Code, try this: https://www.geocaching.com/track/activate.aspx

 

If you think you've found an actual Geocoin and can't figure out the Tracking Number, contact Geocaching.com:

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=request

It's no good to post the numbers in the Forum, since a Tracking Number is supposed to be kept secret.

 

If you have a coin that you wish to travel, but it is not a Geocoin, one inexpensive option is to buy and use the number from a Travel Bug Dogtag, or better yet, attach the tag somehow. But if the coin already has other numbers, prepare for mass confusion. :anicute:

 

If you don't need "Official Tracking", you can place most any item in a cache, with info and a request that people contact you when they find it, and see how it goes.

 

I apologize. I read the FAQ on the topic. Thought I said that. Sorry. So basically what I am reading in your reply is that one must buy a trackable before it can be activated and tracked. Am I correct? In the FAQ one of the vendors was a military challenge coin website. I have one with a serial number on it already. I'm just looking to activate it and have it tracked. I am asking how to activate it. Where does the activation number come from? Those questions were not answered in the FAQ

Link to comment

I apologize. I read the FAQ on the topic. Thought I said that. Sorry. So basically what I am reading in your reply is that one must buy a trackable before it can be activated and tracked. Am I correct? In the FAQ one of the vendors was a military challenge coin website. I have one with a serial number on it already. I'm just looking to activate it and have it tracked. I am asking how to activate it. Where does the activation number come from? Those questions were not answered in the FAQ

Try going to that "Activate" link: https://www.geocaching.com/track/activate.aspx

Enter the tracking number

Click on "Retrieve your activation code"

 

If the "serial number" is just that - not a tracking number - then you cannot make it trackable (you cannot activate it and have it tracked) unless you engrave a valid tracking number onto it. You'd get one of those by buying a TB (the dog tags are the cheapest) and using the activation code and trackable number off of that.

Link to comment

I apologize. I read the FAQ on the topic. Thought I said that. Sorry. So basically what I am reading in your reply is that one must buy a trackable before it can be activated and tracked. Am I correct? In the FAQ one of the vendors was a military challenge coin website. I have one with a serial number on it already. I'm just looking to activate it and have it tracked. I am asking how to activate it. Where does the activation number come from? Those questions were not answered in the FAQ

Try going to that "Activate" link: https://www.geocaching.com/track/activate.aspx

Enter the tracking number

Click on "Retrieve your activation code"

 

If the "serial number" is just that - not a tracking number - then you cannot make it trackable (you cannot activate it and have it tracked) unless you engrave a valid tracking number onto it. You'd get one of those by buying a TB (the dog tags are the cheapest) and using the activation code and trackable number off of that.

 

One of the vendors for trackables is coinsandpins.com ... I have a coin from there. this link has info on codes but it says bulk of 50 or purchase their stuff. https://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=332

 

I'm just looking to get one code and I don't see info on how to request it.

Link to comment

I apologize. I read the FAQ on the topic. Thought I said that. Sorry. So basically what I am reading in your reply is that one must buy a trackable before it can be activated and tracked. Am I correct? In the FAQ one of the vendors was a military challenge coin website. I have one with a serial number on it already. I'm just looking to activate it and have it tracked. I am asking how to activate it. Where does the activation number come from? Those questions were not answered in the FAQ

Try going to that "Activate" link: https://www.geocaching.com/track/activate.aspx

Enter the tracking number

Click on "Retrieve your activation code"

 

If the "serial number" is just that - not a tracking number - then you cannot make it trackable (you cannot activate it and have it tracked) unless you engrave a valid tracking number onto it. You'd get one of those by buying a TB (the dog tags are the cheapest) and using the activation code and trackable number off of that.

 

One of the vendors for trackables is coinsandpins.com ... I have a coin from there. this link has info on codes but it says bulk of 50 or purchase their stuff. https://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=332

 

I'm just looking to get one code and I don't see info on how to request it.

 

So I went to the coin vendor website and the codes come from them if you buy outside of the goecache shop. Found it by accident.

Link to comment

 

So I went to the coin vendor website and the codes come from them if you buy outside of the goecache shop. Found it by accident.

 

For future reference, TriciaG gave the answer that will work for a single coin that you get as a prize or purchase. Go to the Trackables section of the geocaching.com site, enter the tracking code in the "Activate my trackable" box, and go. It will either give you the code or take you to the manufacturer's site, which will have a place to enter the tracking number and will give you the code. Sometimes an older coin will return no results, but every time that's happened to me, I've emailed the manufacturer and they've sent me the activation code. However, the easiest thing to do is to look at the coin packaging, if it came in a sleeve. Often there's a single cardstock square with the activation code written on it.

 

The wording of the title made it sound like you wanted to design your own coin and have many copies of it made, which I think led to the confusion in the replies. That is a different process, of course, than activating a coin someone else made.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...