The same tracking code for several coins?

[+fruit baby]

Someone has released 100 (onehundred) different wooden coins  -- all with the identical tracking code stamped on the back.

Is that OK? Am I missing something?

I thought each code has to be bought from Groundspeak and is special to one particular TB!

https://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=0f5f3f7d-cd10-4e7e-bf3d-eb106d05c84f 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by fruit baby

[Darwin473]

Yes and no.

 

There is a competing company that produces a similar product to GeoCoins but they all have the same code. The idea is that they are more like a business card rather than an individually tracked item. These normally come in batches of 100 and are metal. They don't get logged or tracked on GC as they are a seperate product, but many cachers like making and releasing them.

 

If someone buys a TB, they can put the code on something else, creating a proxy. I've seen people use a TB code to make a stamp or to create stickers, and they put them into logbooks for others to log. This (and producing 100 wooden "geocoins") is allowed - on the condition that the TB is set to "discover only". This means that when someone sees it, when they try to log it the only options they get are Discover or Write Note.

 

If the TB is not set up that way, and people can Drop and Grab the TB's, or log them into cache visits, then I believe those TB's get locked by GC because it gets flagged as "false logs" due to being Grabbed / Dropped in and out of caches in different places at the same time and creates confusion.

 

So yes, someone can do that, assuming certain criteria are met.

[+cerberus1]

5 hours ago, fruit baby said:

Someone has released 100 (onehundred) different wooden coins  -- all with the identical tracking code stamped on the back.

Is that OK? Am I missing something?

 

IIRC, Groundspeak won't be in a hurry to get involved unless there's an issue. 

If a bunch of people complain to HQ, or multiple people with forum posts saying, "a dozen people logged this with pics the same day!" kinda thing, that tracking code could be locked.

Edited December 13, 2021 by cerberus1

[+dprovan]

In my opinion, it's wrong, but -- from my point of view -- it's one of those wrong things I'd tend to just ignore rather than object to since it doesn't really affect me. If I saw one of the coins, I'd likely just pocket it since I wouldn't want to get involved and I know the copy I found won't be missed.

 

I don't know what the official position is, but several years ago I ran into a slip of paper that was one of many duplicate "TBs". I don't remember how many. My memory says "thousands" except that seems too many to get into circulation.

 

When I found it, I thought it was an interesting thing to try, but when I went to log it, it was locked. What I heard was that it wasn't just that GS took a dim view of the idea: apparently something about it really clogged up the system. I suspect that cerberus1 is correct about GS not bothering with it unless it's an issue, but I also know of one example where it was an issue and they did step in.

 

So my reaction to the coins you're talking about is that it's been tried, and it's not really as interesting as it seems.

[+kunarion]

8 hours ago, fruit baby said:

Someone has released 100 (onehundred) different wooden coins  -- all with the identical tracking code stamped on the back.

Is that OK? Am I missing something?

I thought each code has to be bought from Groundspeak and is special to one particular TB!

https://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=0f5f3f7d-cd10-4e7e-bf3d-eb106d05c84f 

 

 

 

It's been a thing for a long time.  When I started Geocaching years ago, I was handed a trackable pen at an event.  All the pens had the same tracking code.  I never logged it.

 

I buy Mega-Event themed custom vanity cache cards every year.  This year I bought 200 to give out or leave in caches (and some people buy variety packs until they have a complete set).  For a few years, these have been printed with a tracking code, all the same for each design.  I've made mine "Discover Only", and this year everyone was walked through the process.  Maybe a set of coins is a different situation, but the complete deck of cache cards is "Discovered" in bulk as if nobody even looked at the individual cards.  Maybe they mention where they saw the set.  And I get those robotic logs all the time.  If it's a cacher finding a single card in a cache, sometimes the log shows that they looked at my card (more than just looking at the code).  Otherwise, it's not that interesting to me when a card is "Discovered".  Not complaining.  It's just something to consider before sending out things with all the same Tracking Code.  And if you know there are a hundred identical "coins" out there, maybe resist piling onto the "Discover" logs unless you have a very cool reason to do so.  In which case, make it a uniquely cool log.

 

But yeah, as for a bunch of items with all the same code, there's no law against it.

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by kunarion

[+KRON family]

It is not quite right, but it is common in the case of wooden coins. For example, when the first CWG was invented in the Czech Republic in 2005, each person who had their own wooden coins made also received one trackable wooden coin with the same code, which they could log in as Discovered as a thanks for supporting the idea of the CWG. In this case, the code from the officially produced item (Travel Lizard Tag) was used, which the author of CWG bought, activated, but never released. In this case, I do not see a problem, because the use of the code was created on the part of the final owner and all items with this code are for collecting purposes.

Or a few weeks back, one movie at GIFF was trackable. I also don't see a problem, because the code is really on some geocoin that the code owner has.

Unfortunately, the wooden coin mentioned in the first post is not for collecting purposes.

 

I see it as a problem as:

1, The owner never owned the original item. He just guessed the code, activated it and used it for his subject. At the same time, the original geocoin with this code still lies in the warehouse of some geocaching shop. For example all trackables on this fake account.

2, When tracking codes are offered by the producer one by one. This means that the original item never existed. This is wrong because any producer can buy a block of tracking codes and use them only for an item approved for that block, or transfer unused codes to produce additional geocoins, but never sell them separately. In this case, however, I see a problem on the part of the seller. The customer seldom knows that there is something wrong with such a sale.

3, When the manufacturer applies the new codes to something other. I think of this case, where the manufacturer first claimed that everything was in accordance with the rules and a week later withdrew it from the offer because he got a message from Geocaching HQ.

4, When multiple items with the same code are intended to be in geocaches. I think that's the reason for locking the listing. (a similar case)

 

So - if only one item with the same code was released, released by owner (not a producer), I don't take it as a problem.