How to tell the age of geocoin

[+J&J Team Yukon]

I was gifted a geocoin. Is there anyway to find out the age of it? I activated it thinking that would work but that didn’t tell me anything.

[+GeoCharmer81]

Unless it is on the geocoin, it is not always easy to know. The really old ones have less alpha-numeric characters in the code. If you post the name of the coin and/or a photo (without showing the code) it's possible someone here would know the history of the coin.

[+cerberus1]

Agree with GeoCharmer81, a photo or at least a name might help some.

 - Most coins we've bought, swapped for, or been gifted had the manufacturer's name along with the activation code in that sleeve card.

If you have that, I'd start there.

 

[+MtnGoat50]

I'm only guessing but I suspect the is the coin he's asking about: https://coord.info/TBQ5F2

 

I don't know of a way to tell the exact age of a geocoin but if you look at the list on your (or anyone's) profile the trackables are listed by age, oldest first.  Travel Bug Dog tags came first, then Moun10Bkie coins, then (I think) USA Geocoins, etc...  This coin shows up on the list right after the 2005 Lackey Coin but is older than a 2006 Mississippi Geocoin so I'd guess it's from late 2005 or early 2006. 

 

Also the trackable reference numbers (not the secret tracking code) are sequential like cache GC#s so it's possible to tell which of any two trackables is older or newer. 

[+GeoCharmer81]

If the OK coin is the one J&J Team is asking about, by  MtnGoat's formula the OK coin should be from 2005 or 2006. I have one also and here is part of my trackables list...

[+cerberus1]

The other 2/3rds Discovered an OK coin in June 2007, and it was released February 2006.

I didn't, so she must have gone solo that day...   

[+Mausebiber]

Perhaps the most famous absolute dating technique is radiocarbon dating and relies on chemistry to determine the ages of objects like geocoins.

Used on organic matter, the technique measures the amount of radioactive carbon decay to determine an object's age.

 

[+Hack1of2]

On 7/26/2022 at 9:05 AM, J&J Team Yukon said:

I was gifted a geocoin. Is there anyway to find out the age of it? I activated it thinking that would work but that didn’t tell me anything.

J&J, if the coin you're referring to is the Oklahoma/Tulsa Area Geocachers coin (shown as recently activated on your profile), it is icon #172 (every geocoin has an icon, and all geocoins with that icon have the same icon number).  It is from February 2006, minted in antique silver, with 1,000 different tracking codes allocated to that coin issue.

The front states "Geocaching in the Sooner State."  The back is modeled after the seal of Oklahoma, which consists of a five-pointed star within a circle of 45 stars on a blue background.

Surrounding this central representation are the sigils of the Five Civilized Nations (counterclockwise) in the five points of the central star:

1. Chickasaw symbol: armed warrior
2. Cherokee symbol: seven-pointed star in a wreath of oak leaves
3. Symbol of the creek: wheat and plow
4. Seminole symbol: Indians in a canoe
5. Symbol of the Choctaw: bow and arrow

Size: 40.2 mm / thickness: 4.3 mm / weight: 35.5 g