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CA. Geocoin?


Bob&TheGang

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I am liking all these design posting. Let's keep them coming until the Sept. 25th deadline.

 

I have been in contact with Ground Speak about permission to use their logo. The Logo side of the coin must be exactly as is (including the words - see the Oregon & USA coins - their logo side is exactly the same). This madnated logo rule is relatively new (that is why older coins such a Texas & Canada Geocaching have unquie symbols). So what we want on the coin will have to appear on just one side (the other side cannot not be altered in anyway).

 

I am working on relatively simple idea design that will incorporate past posting ideas, but will also include a graphic that will set make this coin look different from other coins made. I hope to have this posted in by Tuesday, Sept 23rd.

 

Hey Dillon Gang, have we heard from the person who owns the cache near the center of the state?

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Dillon Gang that looks cool. Few things I could play with:

If there are words above and below the outline of the state, the state will be very small (looking at the Oregon goecoin right now where our state is more flat). You could frost the outline of the state, make it larger and then raise and frost the words. Or spin the words so they are at the sides where there is more space.

 

The bear is cool, but he'll be tiny so probably have to be a solid form. Again can be raised and frosted over the frosted form of the state.

 

The coords and the flag is cool, but I would probably lose the "Geographic Center" as the lettering will had to be larger than what it is on your pic.

 

Nice and clean design though.

 

---Real men cache in shorts.

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Erine,

 

I do like your design, but I am partial to just the state with wording (California, etc.).

 

The reason taht I say this is because when you shrink this down to the size of a GeoCoin it's going to look cluttered and the details are going to be lost.

 

I certainly appreciate all your work and efforts, but I think they will be lost on the final minting.

 

Try to resize the image and see what I mean. Sorry.

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I would like to thank the all the people who have contributed their 2 cents (particularly Modesto and the Dillon Gang) to this design project.

 

Let's try to get a few more design posts, so we have a little more of variety to choose from. The deadline for designs will be Sept. 30th.

 

Here is a link to the Five Finalists for the California State Quarter Design - it may give us some ideas: http://134.186.46.107/

 

I pushed the deadline back a few days because I am having someone help me with my design idea - that really incorporates the best of Modesto's & the Dillon Gang's designs). My design will hopefully will be in a ready to mint JPEG format - that will cut down on some of the tooling cost of getting the coin made.

 

In response to Kealia concern about the coin being to crowed with graphics, we have to be concerned with that. However, look at the state quarter designs, these quarters will be only 1 inch in diameter and they have a lot of detail. The CA. Geocoin will be 1 - 1/2 inches in diameter. If we have have certain graphics frosted & raised on the coin, all the detail should come through.

 

I am not sure how we can actually choose the final design - Everyone will never agree on a design.

 

I have pretty much decided on using the company www.pressedmetal.net to mint the coin (they minted the USA & Oregon Geocoins). The cost per coin will depend on how many coins we order. If we order 250 coins (which is the required minimum) each coin will be $1.57 plus with an approximate tooling/minting cost of $300 plus the cost of shipping the coin order to one person and then that person sending the coins to individual people, the total cost per coin will be approximately $3 to $4 each - the more coins we order the less the cost. NOTE: The cost of the coin will be only be what is costs to get in made, Groundspeak or myself will NOT be making any profit from this coin.

 

We will need a person to take the forefront with the coin order. (Like Nurse Dave did with the Oregon Geocoin), one person will need to foot the cost of getting the coins made, people who want the coin will send that person money, once the order is received, that person will send the coins out to the individual people.

 

I am not so sure if I want to take on that role, however for now I will do it. We need to start getting an email list of people who will want this coin (I know that is a little hard until their is a final design).

 

If want want to order a coin, email me, DON'T reply to this thread, at BobKat92@AOL.Com. Just include the following in the email:

 

Subject: Ordering CA. Geocoin

Full Name

Full Address:

How Many Geocoins wanted:

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I'll vote for the Dillon Gang design, but if I had my druthers I'd go for the Yosemite Valley design on the State Quarter finalist (my home away from home). Nurse Dave probably knows alot more about this than I do, but the detail they can produce at the US Mint is probably alot more than what pressedmetal.net is willing to put time and expense into, thus making a highly detailed coin like ErnieMedosto's (as nice as it is) or the Yosemite Valley more of a challenge to stamp.

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quote:
Originally posted by Bobkat92 & the 3 Bears:

Whatever design that is decided on, the Geographical Center coordinates of California with definitely be on the geocoin.


 

Doesn't do anything for me, I'd rather not have them. Just my opinion of course.

 

Oh, and don't forget to leave room for numbering the coins.

 

<a href="http://www.scgeocachers.org/" TARGET=_blank><img src="http://www.scgeocachers.org/avatar/sigavatar.gif"> </a>

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Looking at the picture of the monument, it appears to be: degrees, minutes and seconds (then decimal seconds). As to converting . . . the geocaching site is hddd (degrees) then mm.mmm (minutes and decimal minutes) - I was confused about this also for a while since mapquest is not the same as the geocaching site.

icon_confused.gif

I took the co-ordinates off on my last designs on purpose. To an outsider it means nothing. To spell it out adds too much text. BTW, after looking at the pressedmetal site, it looks like great detail IS highly possible. When is the new deadline? How do we (as a representative body - since we keep this thread going) vote? I sent in my order for whatever final design is chosen (my last one, of course -hee,hee!)

icon_wink.gificon_biggrin.gif

 

ErnieModesto

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I would like the deadline for design ideas to be Sept. 30th. Like I said in my other post, I am working on a design that will incorporate the best of other designs. Why is my design taking so long, you ask? Well, it is being designed in such a way that it will be virtually mint ready (which will cut down on the production cost).

 

A few people in is thread have said "Keep it simple". I do agree with that, but at the same time I want this coin be very very unique (i.e., look very different from other state geocoins such as Rhode Island & Texas). The Oregon Geocoin is simple, but also a very unique design with a flag of the very first cache site. Not trying to start a state or country war here, but the Rhode Island, Texas & Canadian goecoins are rather plain. This geocoin needs to be more then just an outline of the state. I do like the term "Eureka", but I have lived in California for 13 years, it was only about a year ago that I learned the significant of Eureka, so I am not sure if we want that term to be a major cornerstone of the design. Remember, this coin is likely to travel out of state.

**Though the design I cam working on does still keep "Eureka" on it.

 

**The final design will have tracking numbers. Is anyone willing to set up a web page to do that (I have 0 knowledge in that area)? A while back, I had heard that someone from the SoCal. Geocaching was willing to put it on their page, but I have not heard anything more about it.

 

As for choosing the final design, here are my thoughts about that. The key is to pick a design that people will want to have. I am inclined to give more weight to the people who have actively participated in this thread from near the beginning and even more weight to those people who actually submitted a design. Also, whoever lays out the initial $ to get this coin minted (which could be about $1000) and/or offered to help in getting this coin distributed should have a significant say in choosing the final design (I have already ready received two offers from people who are willing to do that).

 

[This message was edited by Bobkat92 & the 3 Bears on September 24, 2003 at 06:45 PM.]

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Here are a couple examples of some local coins...

 

Vacman coins

 

Conejo cachers coin

 

*Tracking: Yes, someone at SoCal Geocachers is creating a tracking program. It will be able to track almost any object. I have suggested that once it is up and running that we should get a seperate IP like 'CAgeotrack.com' or something similar.

 

I may be lost but I know exactly where I am.

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v_25.jpg

 

The darker rectangle on the upper right could be used for the numbers. A friend suggested turning "Geocaching" this way. Whatever . . . I couldn't get the curve right but, you get the idea. I actually prefer it upside down. Lastly, the Texas geocoin has an edge with raised dots on both sides. That looks cool!

 

ErnieModesto

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quote:
Originally posted by ErnieModesto:

A friend suggested turning "Geocaching" this way. Whatever . . . I couldn't get the curve right but, you get the idea. I actually prefer it upside down.


I was going to suggest turning it right side up as well. I definitely prefer it over the upside down version.

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

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I only have one comment, since the deadline is about over. But it's one I've been thinking for some time. And it's this: ErnieModesto's designs are fine, but the font has to be changed. Coins need serif fonts, if posible; casual fonts like the one Ernie is using may look OK on the design, but they always look really bad on the actual coin. Choose a very simple, classic font for any text.

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I too like GeoRocks! coin. The incorporation of the Poppy (I assume that's what it is) is a nice touch. Please do include his design when the final choices are posted.

 

Also, we may want to think about including the poll on other threads. After all, I know I plan on leaving these when I am out of state, and a few votes from thsoe who may find them could be enlightening.

 

Bobkat, I'll be emailing an updated order to you soon!

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Personally I like the poppy (tweaked a bit on the version below), but for those that may like a compass rose:

68432_1400.png68432_1500.png

Although obvious, Eureka is the state motto and the poppy is the state flower. Other than the double meaning of Eureka (Greek for ''I found it!''), and the triple meaning of the discovery of gold in California, my design intentionally leaves off mention of the activity of geocaching to the other, more standardized side of the coin.

 

[This message was edited by GeoROCKS! on September 29, 2003 at 02:18 PM.]

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Some logistics questions: once a design is chosen, how is fulfillment to be done? Someone pre-orders 1000 and ships them one by one? Is this a for-profit enterprise? If so, who gets the profits? Should we create a separate domain for advertising/selling these? Can we get these to track on the gc site, or do they charge a fee for that? What's the licensing arrangement with gc? Just so you understand my questioning, I might be willing to bankroll part of this. I could provide some of the intial capital, get a domain, host it on my servers and supply all the tracking programming, but I'd like to share in the proceeds to help cover my expenses, etc. (hey, I've been out of work for 15 months, so I'll try anything!)

 

There are probably a hundred more questions I could ask...

 

[This message was edited by GeoROCKS! on September 29, 2003 at 03:15 PM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by GeoROCKS!:

Some logistics questions: once a design is chosen, how is fulfillment to be done? Someone pre-orders 1000 and ships them one by one? Is this a for-profit enterprise? If so, who gets the profits? Should we create a separate domain for advertising/selling these? Can we get these to track on the gc site, or do they charge a fee for that? What's the licensing arrangement with gc? Just so you understand my questioning, I might be willing to bankroll part of this. I could provide some of the intial capital, get a domain, host it on my servers and supply all the tracking programming, but I'd like to share in the proceeds to help cover my expenses, etc. (hey, I've been out of work for 15 months, so I'll try anything!)


 

GeoROCKS:

 

I think Nurse Dave (in Oregon) would be the perfect person to answer this question because I believe he participated in most of this process for their geocoins up there. He's at work right now but I'm sure he'll jump on this thread later...

 

-------------------------------------

Becky Davis

Geocaching blog

San Jose, CA

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I love the compass Rose variation. The poppy looks good but, as with mine; after a while, I deliberately decided no bear, gray whale, quail or state "whatever". I agree, geocaching is redundant since it is on the opposite side. My only suggestion is both "California" and "Eureka!" be a bit larger. And as suggested by another, maybe a plain type/font. Whoever puts in the the initial order - I want at least ten. I suggest a minimum order of five. One by one would be a major pain. And if you make a small profit on the proceeds since you would be doing a major contribution on several fronts - hey, why not? I'm in!

 

ErnieModesto

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The upper one! Query? Why is the Eureka! up where it is - design issues? Geographically it should be near Sacramento for the discovery of gold. Forget the town of Eureka as part of the triple meaning. Take off the asterix? The raised area for the numbers is, I think, easier for numbering purposes than the numbers on the new version. (www.pressedmetal.com uses Corel Draw {.eps}I sent a PhotoShop 7 .eps as a test and it didn't work.)

 

ErnieModesto

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quote:
Why is the Eureka! up where it is - design issues? Geographically it should be near Sacramento. Take off the asterix?

The asterisk shows where the city of Eureka is. I'll go for a vote as to whether to mark Eureka on the town with the same name or mark just outside Placerville at Sutter's Mill...

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I really like the latest designs, though I think the asterisks are confusing. It's not clear what they represent. I don't think the town of Eureka is that significant to geocaching, and I'm not sure what the second asterisk marks; the geographical center again? It doesn't look like the center, but I've been wrong before. Really, I'd prefer the coin simply represent the whole state and not mark a particular point on it.

 

Very nice looking, though. The new fonts and textures are pretty sharp.

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GeoRocks! you definitely rock. love the design. had a couple of suggestions/questions:

 

could you put a 49er or a bear in the compass rose?

 

change the web addres to the state slogan(?): The Golden State?

 

what program did you use to do this?

 

who is cageocoins.com?

 

i also liked the california in cursive? looked more stylish.

 

once again....great job on the coin!!!

 

Take only pictures, leave only footprints.

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Yes, I'm at work [icon_smile.gif]. They can wait for the morphine can't they?

 

Yes I could anwer all those questions, but I don't want to step on any toes if Bobkat92 is planning something. I'll let him say what he wants about the ordering and the money stuff, or I'll tell you all how we did it if Bobkat92 says it's cool.

 

---Real men cache in shorts.

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quote:
Originally posted by Nurse Dave:

Yes, I'm at work [icon_smile.gif]. They can wait for the morphine can't they?

 

Yes I could anwer all those questions, but I don't want to step on any toes if Bobkat92 is planning something. I'll let him say what he wants about the ordering and the money stuff, or I'll tell you all how we did it if Bobkat92 says it's cool.

 

---Real men cache in shorts.


 

bobkat92 is working on that as we speak. just talked with him about 20min ago. should be posting info soon

 

Take only pictures, leave only footprints.

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Hey GeoROCKS, I really like your latest Geocoin post (the one with compass rose).

 

This Center Coordinate idea is definitely the most debated topic of this whole design thread. It seems the posts are roughly 50/50 for & against the center coordinates idea. I really think the coordinates should be on it. In looking at the other state & country Geocoins, all of them look pretty much the same except for the Oregon Geocoin. Putting the site of the first cache was a great idea and clearly sets the Oregon Geocoin apart from other Geocoins. GeoRocks’s design is really great, but it is missing something unique that would set this Geocoin apart from any other Geocoin.

 

GeoROCKS, can you post another version with the these coordinates on it? I know you are against the idea. I just want to see what it looks like. If it ruins the look of the Geocoin, then I might be OK with doing without the coordinates. Also, could you change the * into some type of way point flag and move it down to the more center of the state?

 

N 37 09.970

W 119 26.970

 

Why are you so hung up on this coordinate idea, you ask? Well these coordinates are are the exact geographical center of the state. There is monument marking this spot.

www.north-fork-chamber.com/historical.html#CENTER.

If you look at the picture of the monument, you will notice the coordinates are a little different from what we use at Geocaching.com. With the help of Touchstone, Hemlock, & MountainMan the above coordinates are have been converted to a format that works with Geocaching.com. My idea is to make a cache site out of it (with a multi-cache theme). As it turned out there already is a cache placed very near this monument (“El Centro” cache by Scorky4). The idea would be give the coordinates to the actual monument. The cache page and/or cageocoins.com page would use the actual numbers on the monument to convert a relatively simple algebraic math problem that would give coordinates to the an actual cache (about 100 to 200 feet away from the monument). I have already been in contact with Scorky4. They are totally willing to make any modifications to that cache as needed (we might to change “El Centro” to something else - when I hear El Centro, I think the city in Imperial Country - nothing person to anyone who lives there). If we go with this idea, then this cache would make the California Geocoin some really unique. Any California Geocacher would want this cache on their caches found list.

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As for GeoRocks’s question asking if this is Geocoin is a for profit venture, the answer is NO. Groundspeak or myself will NOT be making any profit off the sale of this Geocoin. Groundspeak is sending me a contact to sign that will state that no one is going to make a profit. The total cost per coin will be to cover the cost to get the coin minted & shipped. If someone does want to make this a for profit venture (like they did with the Texas, Canadian, & U.S.A. Geocoins), then Groundspeak will want a cut of the profits.

 

As for distributing the coin, yes that will be a bit of a challenge. Nurse Dave has already given me some advice on that. The basic plan would be for one person to front the cost. The coins would be sent to that person. People would send their money to that one person. That person would in turn mail out the coins to the individual people who ordered them. That is basically what Nurse Dave did. He also set up a cache site (for the people who lived relatively close) where he camped out for 3 hours and handed out the Geocoins and then he made it a permanent cache site. I think that is the way to go. Including GeoRocks, I have had 3 people email me saying they are willing to front the cost & help with the distribution. One person was even willing to set up a PayPal account.

 

** Nurse Dave, please feel free to post any other information from your experience on the ordering of Oregon Geocoin (you won't be steping on my toes).

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So much activity on this thread today, that is why is taking me 3 different posts to respond to it all.

 

Thank you GeoRocks for willing to post a web site. Do you know how to set up a tracking number feature?

 

Look at the Central Oregon Geocaching site for their Geocoin (www.cogeo.org). They are also working on a tracking map. I think the California Geocoin site should look something like that.

 

I did ask Groundspeak if we could track the California Geocoin on their site (just like Travel Bugs & the U.S.A. Geocoin). They said they "Will consider it" and will "get back to me in a few days". Nothing against Groundspeak, but I like having our own tracking web site domain better.

 

As for choosing the final design, we will never make everyone happy. I plan to send 3 or 4 of the submitted designs to www.pressedmetal.net to get price quote on the tooling cost. Once we have that information, it might help us better choose a final design.

 

Well, I hoped I covered all the questions in the posts. Major thanks to Modesto, The Dillon Gang, GeoRocks, & Nurse Dave for their contribution to this project.

 

If all goes well, I will be submitting a design of my own on Tuesday night (9/30). My design will be significantly different from the other designs posted so far.

 

Picking a final design will be tough. Does anyone want to have two California Geocoins?

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Another go (second image more real sized, at least on MY monitor!)

68432_1900.gif68432_2000.gif

 

Yes, I already take PayPal; yes, I could write the software to track the coins; no, one design is enough for now. I was thinking that if I ended up taking up a large part of this project that we might end up with a new design each year (with a similar forum discussion first before each release, of course). Thoughts on that? Not reflected in my designs yet, but I like the small dots around the outer edge of the design seen on other geocoins. Even though the second image is a bit difficult to read, I think it'd show up fine on the actual coins.

 

I'm still trying to come up with a better flag/cache image -- or something at least a wee bit different. But, hey, now it's actually starting to look like a real medallion!! Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[This message was edited by GeoROCKS! on September 29, 2003 at 10:41 PM.]

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