Can a missing TB tracking ID be reused?

[+wordnerd]

I have dropped a good handful of my own trackables over the past couple of years. Some have moved along and quite a few are lying dormant in a cache somewhere. One TB in particular was officially declared missing when the cache in which I left it was vandalized. It never got to travel anywhere. So I was wondering if there's any rule against using the TB ID number on a different item, like a coin or a toy or something, and then revive the trackable and set it off again. I have heard of some geocachers who purchase a TB, and instead of sending the actual trackable item, they keep the physical TB and apply the number to something else. (This way the cool trackable is kept as a collectible item and doesn't get lost.)

 

Can I do this to a trackable that was already released? If so, is there someone I need to contact to revive it or would I just mark it as "retrieved"? Or -- wishful thinking but -- does the Geocaching.com store offer replacements? I can accept that it's just bad luck and lost. I have others out there. But I thought I'd ask in case all hope is not lost.

[RuideAlmeida]

Their are your proprerty... more or less. In a case of a geocoin, with his own design, using the respective tracking number on a totally different thing wouldn't make any sense.

But, with a Travel Bug, no problem... and you even get a pair of tabs when you buy a TB, so you can change from a plush to a keyring, or you can make a sticker for a car... or a tattoo, by instance.

[fendmar]

You can reuse the number. The main concern is multiple travelers with the same number.

[+niraD]

43 minutes ago, RuideAlmeida said:

In a case of a geocoin, with his own design, using the respective tracking number on a totally different thing wouldn't make any sense.

I've seen some nice proxies for geocoins that have gone missing. My favorite was a plastic coin capsule with a washer the same diameter as the coin inside, and with photos of the front and back of the coin on either side of the washer. It had a nice heft and a good appearance, and I was happy to keep it moving.

[+kunarion]

2 hours ago, wordnerd said:

I have dropped a good handful of my own trackables over the past couple of years. Some have moved along and quite a few are lying dormant in a cache somewhere. One TB in particular was officially declared missing when the cache in which I left it was vandalized. It never got to travel anywhere. So I was wondering if there's any rule against using the TB ID number on a different item, like a coin or a toy or something, and then revive the trackable and set it off again. I have heard of some geocachers who purchase a TB, and instead of sending the actual trackable item, they keep the physical TB and apply the number to something else. (This way the cool trackable is kept as a collectible item and doesn't get lost.)

 

Can I do this to a trackable that was already released? If so, is there someone I need to contact to revive it or would I just mark it as "retrieved"? Or -- wishful thinking but -- does the Geocaching.com store offer replacements? I can accept that it's just bad luck and lost. I have others out there. But I thought I'd ask in case all hope is not lost.

 

That's a shame.  One of my new Geocoins vanished from my own cache without ever moving, when "nobody was at that cache". 

 

Has it been at least 18 months since your TB was likely still in the game?  Some of mine have turned up by then.  And then they disappeared again.  It will be a lot of work to make a viable "revived TB", just to watch it vanish again.  Good luck!  

 

 

Here's a thread about where did my TB go:  

 

Here's a thread about a process to revive a TB, including what I do long before I even consider making a new version, which may get the original back into play:

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2022 by kunarion

[+wordnerd]

Thanks for all the info -- and for the links and ideas. I know when I release a trackable that there's a risk of it disappearing. I actually wouldn't mind if a geocacher just grabbed it and decided to keep it, because they are pretty cool collectibles. But to not know at all what happened to it, it's a human thing, not having closure.

 

My TB was one of the Wonders of the World bugs. Some of your responses made me realize that if I revived it, I'd have to do so with something associated with that geographical location.

 

Thanks everyone so much for clarifying!

[+Exit8Jake]

Thanks for this thread. I had the same question since one of my TBs have gone missing and I checked the cache myself out of curiosity.

It was gone so I messaged a few people who went to the cache after I left it, with either no response or they didn't see it.