Washington State

July 27, 2004

Wow! You guys have done a great job designing this coin! Please put me down for 5.

July 27, 2004

We'd definately be interested in ordering some of these coins - they're beautiful! Great job.

July 27, 2004

NavDog you rule!!! Great coins! Rev. 10-2 looks great!

Are we up to the 500 conis now?

When can we place the order?? I would like to order 5 coins. :rolleyes:

July 27, 2004

The design does look great. I hope it transfers well to the coin. You can put me down for 5 of them.

July 27, 2004

Count me in for 10.

July 27, 2004

For everyone placing pre-orders, you might want to read what Pepper said:

In any case, I'll take 10 -- perhaps more if needed. Pepper, are you keeping a tally of pre-orders?

NBJPoppa we have not got to that point as of yet, as soon as the tracking details are finalized a new thread we be posted just to get a rough estimate on the amount of coins wanted. Hopefully the first mint will meet the 500 mark.

The ordering and money part is a whole different ball game.

Pepper

Have we finalized the tracking details? We're going to have a coin stamping party to manually mark each coin randomly so that we can meet the random ID requirements so they can be tracked on Geocaching.com, right?

9.5k · July 27, 2004

I'd jump in on that party.

1.8k · July 27, 2004

Have we finalized the tracking details? We're going to have a coin stamping party to manually mark each coin randomly so that we can meet the random ID requirements so they can be tracked on Geocaching.com, right?

Well I hope like heck I'm not speaking out of line here but from my understanding they will be tracked on geocaching.com. Those details have NOT been worked out yet and my take a little while longer.

There will be a price for tracking on the site (but well worth it) and there is the matter of coming up with 500 random 4-digit numbers.

I beleive that to be the requirements set by Jeremy.

Now you all need to know I am not the person that spoke with Jeremy about all of this I only got an email filling me in on the short order of the details.

The MAIN man M10B will pipe in as soon as he gets a chance he is very busy with some personal stuff.

Pepper

Edited July 27, 2004 by Team SuperGenius

July 27, 2004

Have we finalized the tracking details? We're going to have a coin stamping party to manually mark each coin randomly so that we can meet the random ID requirements so they can be tracked on Geocaching.com, right?

travelertags.com was used for the Alabama coins. They are sequentually numbered but all start with ALA. It might be a good idea to look into this as an option.

IMHO Coins make poor travelers because people want to keep them... so I think it is a waste of money and resources to have them tracked. They make better trade items for those rare caches with nice swag.

1.8k · July 27, 2004

Have we finalized the tracking details? We're going to have a coin stamping party to manually mark each coin randomly so that we can meet the random ID requirements so they can be tracked on Geocaching.com, right?

travelertags.com was used for the Alabama coins. They are sequentually numbered but all start with ALA. It might be a good idea to look into this as an option.

IMHO Coins make poor travelers because people want to keep them... so I think it is a waste of money and resources to have them tracked. They make better trade items for those rare caches with nice swag.

blazerfan you make a valid point and none of this is set in stone!

It is up to the peoples of the state to deside what will happen in the end.

Me personally I'm just rolling with the punches, I LOVE the coins as is and for me I don't care if they are tracked or not either way I will be buying many coins.

Pepper

Edited July 27, 2004 by Team SuperGenius

July 27, 2004

Have we finalized the tracking details? We're going to have a coin stamping party to manually mark each coin randomly so that we can meet the random ID requirements so they can be tracked on Geocaching.com, right?

travelertags.com was used for the Alabama coins. They are sequentually numbered but all start with ALA. It might be a good idea to look into this as an option.

IMHO Coins make poor travelers because people want to keep them... so I think it is a waste of money and resources to have them tracked. They make better trade items for those rare caches with nice swag.

Ya. I think the cost of tracking was brought up, but it was going to be a pretty small cost per coin to have them tracked through Geocaching.com which would then include all kinds of features:

Icons on cache search page to indicate a coin is in there,
Tracking history from cache to cache automatically, and
Watchlists to be notified as a coin travels around.

If we are stamping the coins by hand, that is going to be basically free. We would need to determine what is the cost to get Jeremy to sign us up and then figure out what the per coin cost that would be. Then we'd get to decide if we want the feature or not.

Pepper: I think we've got a few things set in stone:

Navdog is the greatest!
Team SuperGenius is a genius for getting this ball rolling!
Moun10Bike is the coolest if he can hook up the tracking!
I like making bulleted lists!

:rolleyes:

July 28, 2004

Me personally I'm just rolling with the punches, I LOVE the coins as is and for me I don't care if they are tracked or not either way I will be buying many coins.

I love Geocoins too! :rolleyes:

And tracking or not I'll still buy some. One of them will hold a place of honor in my collection of geocoins.

Since I'm not from WA I'll stay out of any debates. So far I am very impressed by the design and can't wait to see it finnished.

July 28, 2004

I think M10B must be busy having a baby with Mrs. M10B.

Based on some discussion that took place on Saturday with Jeremy, I think it's safe to say that the coins can be numbered and tracked on geocaching.com without too much hassle or expense. Unless a lot of people have very violent objections to trackable numbering, I think that route will be an easy one to take. The numbering will most likely be in this format: WA++++, with the ++++ being a combination of numbers and letters.

My plan is to buy several, keep one or two for myself, track some, and put others out there just as FTF prizes or whatever.

Groovy? :laughing:

9.5k · July 28, 2004

Sounds like a good plan to me.

2.7k · July 28, 2004

I'm definitely in for some of htose coins when the ordering takes place!

July 28, 2004

I have done a non scientific count of the coins people have said they want and it come to 317 coins. This doesn't include those asking for a few, several or a couple. :laughing:

Shoknaw

July 28, 2004

Well put me down for a couple. It's okay if an out of stater buys some right? I figure it'll be the only way I'll run across one :laughing: Unless I'm realllllyyy lucky on my next trip out there (which btw is the 1st week of October, would be cool to meet some of the locals if I get the chance)

1.4k · July 28, 2004

I have done a non scientific count of the coins people have said they want and it come to 317 coins. This doesn't include those asking for a few, several or a couple.

Shoknaw

Just to keep accurate count, I'll take a few. No, wait. I think I want several.

9.5k · July 28, 2004

Well put me down for a couple. It's okay if an out of stater buys some right? I figure it'll be the only way I'll run across one Unless I'm realllllyyy lucky on my next trip out there (which btw is the 1st week of October, would be cool to meet some of the locals if I get the chance)

Keep us advised of your intended trip here.

I'll be glad to meet up with you upon your visit!

July 28, 2004

Sorry I didn't get into this earlier, but I wanted to complain about the design. I think that Eastern Washington was unfairly represented here. Since that is obviously Salmo Peak in the background, and the Spokane River running through the center, with the hiker standing atop Steptoe Butte, I think showing the trees from the Kaniksu National Forest is going too far! Sure, I suppose that occasionally one of the eagles from over here gets a little disoriented and wanders off in a westerly direction, but I think that there ought to be something on the coin that shows that we at least considered the less desirable parts of the state, not highlighting just the east side.

Other than that, I like it! :laughing:

1.1k · July 29, 2004

... that is obviously Salmo Peak in the background, and the Spokane River running through the center, with the hiker standing atop Steptoe Butte, I think showing the trees from the Kaniksu National Forest is going too far! Sure, I suppose that occasionally one of the eagles from over here gets a little disoriented and wanders off in a westerly direction, but I think that there ought to be something on the coin that shows that we at least considered the less desirable parts of the state, not highlighting just the east side...

Yeah how come Western Washington isn't represented? Rivers? Where are the oceans?

Seriously though the current design will need room for one more digit.

P.S. I was in on the tracking discusion. After talking about an option for non-trackable coins a preliminary figure was put forth for the tracking pages. Even I, the penny pincher, agreed that it was well worth the cost. Even if most coins never travel far.

Whatever, the final tracking price turns out to be TPTB do not want it published.

July 29, 2004

I live in Oregon but would love to have several of these coins to move around the state. How does one go about ordering some coins? Are the coins available for ordering yet? Oregon had both numbered and unnumbered coins for a while, one served as a souvenir and the other like a travel bug. I like the idea of having both types.

July 30, 2004

I was born in Spokane so I'll commit for five. Great job to all for the design of this coin.

Croaker

5.6k · July 31, 2004

Come on! Come on! Faster! We have the design, where are the coins? I'm droolling here...

4.2k · July 31, 2004

....tick.......tick......tick.......tick..........

1.8k · July 31, 2004

We are waiting on Jeremy!

He is a busy guy ya know.

I understand I am ready to get this thing moving myself, track or no track that is the question.

Pepper

July 31, 2004

Pepper - I'm in for five please whenever the order happens, track or no track, numbered or not numbered. Now to figure out how to get one put in Lucite or the like as a paperweight for the desk.

July 31, 2004

We'll take 10

August 1, 2004

We are waiting on Jeremy!

He is a busy guy ya know.

I understand I am ready to get this thing moving myself, track or no track that is the question.

Pepper

Sorry if my last post was ambiguous. Jeremy has said that tracking will be available to the WA geocoins. He could not give us an exact cost during our hike on the trail, but it will be a reasonable amount. It's safe to proceed if tracking was the only question mark. Again, the numbering should start wit WA (so we can include that in the design) and the remainder needs to be alpha-numeric. This numbering can be done by hand after the coins are minted.

Seth!

August 2, 2004

Based on what I heard M10B and Jeremy discussing, we can have the GeoCoins tracked for a price that Jeremy was unable to quote on the trip and he isn't wanting the price of tracking to be quoted. We do have to handstamp four random alpha-numeric characters (some exceptions exist) in addition to the WA which can be part of the mint. The new papa M10B agreed to come up with an excel spreadsheet of the numbers to provide Jeremy.

Steps that still need to be taken are:

1.Make sure the designed blank for the hand stamped characters is of adequate size. Mr. TIAG is a good source since he has a small set of stamps like we need to buy or borrow.

2. Wait for M10B and Pepper to set a rolled up cost per coin (including delivery to users?)

3. Take orders.

4. Establish who/how monies will be managed. No individual should be at risk!

5. Order coins.

6. Determine alpha-numeric exceptions

7. Hand stamp coins

8. Develop Spreadsheet

9.Distribute coins

10.?????

runhills returning to lurking mode.

1.8k · August 2, 2004

I'm wondering if M10B is going to be able to find the time to write the program.

I know for a fact there are other Dev's/Programer's out there!

Hea NavDog can you stretch the the number bar?

Pepper

August 2, 2004

M10B has lots of time if he desires to do the random numbers. It is not needed until we are ready to hand stamp the coins. In any case even I can/will generate the random list once I understand the exceptions.

August 2, 2004

Coins look great guys! I don't live in Wa, but only a few miles on the other side of the Columbia in Portland. I'll definately be taking 5 or 10 of these babies. I may have to give some money to one of the local PDX cachers to make an order for me since I'm about ready to leave on a geocaching roadtrip for the next 2 months and may not have much computer access to keep abreast of what's going on here.

Edited August 2, 2004 by Team Maximus

1.3k · August 2, 2004

I'm wondering if M10B is going to be able to find the time to write the program.

Assuming Mr. Gates offers at least as good of a paternity leave program as my company (which should be a safe assumption), M10B is probably staring at least 3 more paid weeks off in the face.

What else does he have to do?

August 2, 2004

Hea NavDog can you stretch the the number bar?

I would suggest using a 3/32" steel stamp for the numbers. This is a little smaller than what Pepper did on her coins and will fit a bit larger number field on the current design. 1/8" numbers will be too large. I'll make a larger number space on the final design as well finalize a color scheme as soon as we here from TPTB about the go ahead on the coins. In talking with Rick at D&R, it sounds like we are allowed 4-5 colors per side. There needs to be definitive breaks in the elements to lay down each color, so there might be some back and forth in tweaking the front design of the coin.

Here is a link to the brand of stamps I have.

Young Bros.

August 2, 2004

As a gift to myself, put me down for 25! They look awesome.

August 2, 2004

I would suggest using a 3/32" steel stamp for the numbers.

Has anyone ever tried this? I would be afraid that stamping these kind of coins by hand might crack the enamel especially on the oposite side.

7.4k · August 2, 2004

The main thing that we are waiting on right now is working out the final tracking details with Groundspeak. After our hike to Valhalla, when Jeremy gave us the thumbs-up for tracking on Geocaching.com, he met with the other Groundspeak members and some concerns popped up. The biggest is the chance that a Pandora's Box is opened and they get slammed with multiple requests for tracking coins and signature items on the site.

To help avoid this, Groundspeak has decided that only the coins/items produced by recognized geocaching associations will be tracked. That gives us a couple of options:

1) Adjust the design so that it is a WSGA geocoin. We would probably want to include the WSGA logo, or at least include the name of the organization on the coin. We would also need to include a small Travel Bug logo in the coin design.

2) Allow Groundspeak to handle the coin distribution. This would essentially make the coin a Groundspeak coin, and orders would be placed through Sunrise as they are for most of the other Groundspeak items. The design could stand mostly as-is, and we may even be able to get additional discounts on the coins if Groundspeak works with the coin manufacturer to produce other coins for the other states. However, this would require Sunrise to take a share of the sales, likely meaning an increased cost per coin.

Opinions?

August 2, 2004

Nice to see Washington is laying the groundwork for other like minded associations from other states (like mine, Minnesota) to be able to get their own trackable coins in the future.

Good luck, I hope this works out (Hey does that mean I might get yet another icon on my profile if I nab or get one of these?)

1.5k · August 2, 2004

The main thing that we are waiting on right now is working out the final tracking details with Groundspeak. After our hike to Valhalla, when Jeremy gave us the thumbs-up for tracking on Geocaching.com, he met with the other Groundspeak members and some concerns popped up. The biggest is the chance that a Pandora's Box is opened and they get slammed with multiple requests for tracking coins and signature items on the site.

To help avoid this, Groundspeak has decided that only the coins/items produced by recognized geocaching associations will be tracked. That gives us a couple of options:

1) Adjust the design so that it is a WSGA geocoin. We would probably want to include the WSGA logo, or at least include the name of the organization on the coin. We would also need to include a small Travel Bug logo in the coin design.

2) Allow Groundspeak to handle the coin distribution. This would essentially make the coin a Groundspeak coin, and orders would be placed through Sunrise as they are for most of the other Groundspeak items. The design could stand mostly as-is, and we may even be able to get additional discounts on the coins if Groundspeak works with the coin manufacturer to produce other coins for the other states. However, this would require Sunrise to take a share of the sales, likely meaning an increased cost per coin.

Opinions?

I don't like the idea of handing it over to Groundspeak to do.

I like the WSGA option. Thats one of the reasons the organization was created. Some people have scoffed at having it involved with these coins, but remember what is the WSGA?

IT"S YOU!

Some have asked, what has the WSGA done for me lately, well I ask back, what have you asked it to do? Here is a perfect opportunity.

The infrastructure... ok a Paypal account and a treasurer... is already setup to collect the money.

August 2, 2004

I am a little naive here. If we made it a Groundspeak coin, doesn't that somewhat defeat the purpose of a state coin and limited editions. Couldn't it then be attained by anyone just by ordeing it through Groundspeak. It seems to me that might take some of the uniqueness away. Correct me if I am on the wrong track here. I have nothing against the WSGA being put on the coin if it can be done in a non-compromising manor of what we already have set up as a beautiful coin. At this point I vote to retain our individualism unless there is a better argument otherwise.

Edit: spelling

Edited August 2, 2004 by Patudles

August 2, 2004

Just my .02 cents, but I would prefer that the current design not be altered to include a reference to the WSGA. There seem to be quite a few folks interested in purchasing Washington state coins that are not members of the WSGA, whether they live in Washington or elsewhere. A non-WSGA labeled coin may be more appealing to a wider audience. That being said, I have no issue with the WSGA managing the financial end of the coin ordering, purchase and distribution as part of their charter to promote geocaching within the state. :blink:

7.4k · August 2, 2004

If we made it a Groundspeak coin, doesn't that somewhat defeat the purpose of a state coin and limited editions. Couldn't it then be attained by anyone just by ordeing it through Groundspeak.

No, the design that we have so far would be unique and any other state or organization coins would have to be designed separately by those organizations. The only thing common to the coins would be that they would all be distributed by Groundspeak and probably would have one or more common elements (like Geocaching.com logo size, positioning and label) to identify them as related.

I guess that based on Patudles' and Willapa's comments, there is a third option that we should consider:

3) Keep the current design as it is and plan on not tracking the coins, or tracking them elsewhere besides Geocaching.com.

Please keep the opinions coming!

August 2, 2004

Has somebody offered to track the coins somewhere? I sure think tracking of some sort is desired!

7.4k · August 2, 2004

Has somebody offered to track the coins somewhere? I sure think tracking of some sort is desired!

Nope, no offers. I heard back from MrG about setting up a tracking site, but it was quite expensive and would require someone on our side with PHPMyAdmin knowledge to maintain it.

August 2, 2004

Sort of a big hole in that option! Durn

Off topic, all is well with Tyke and family?

9.5k · August 2, 2004

I don't have a problem with WSGA being on the coin. As for out-of-staters purchasing the coin and not wanting it on there... Why? It is, afterall, a WSGA inspired discussion. Not to slight out-of-state purchasers, but the decision to put the logo on the coin should be up to the in-state folks to gain the desired tracking if this is the way we decide to go. I vote yea to the WSGA logo.

1.3k · August 2, 2004

The biggest is the chance that a Pandora's Box is opened and they get slammed with multiple requests for tracking coins and signature items on the site.

Hasn't that pandora's box been opened already? Doesn't someone <clear throat> already have their sig items tracked on the site?

Anyway, I say we just alter the coin to put the WSGA logo and keep Sunshine out of the loop.

Could the outline of Washington that is already on the coin just be transformed to the WSGA logo?

1.5k · August 2, 2004

The biggest is the chance that a Pandora's Box is opened and they get slammed with multiple requests for tracking coins and signature items on the site.

Hasn't that pandora's box been opened already? Doesn't someone <clear throat> already have their sig items tracked on the site?

Anyway, I say we just alter the coin to put the WSGA logo and keep Sunshine out of the loop.

Could the outline of Washington that is already on the coin just be transformed to the WSGA logo?

I'm not even sure that the WSGA logo needs to be there as long as the coin is officially "Authorized" by the WSGA. All this should take is an affimative head nod from a majority of the Board Members

7.4k · August 2, 2004

Hasn't that pandora's box been opened already? Doesn't someone <clear throat> already have their sig items tracked on the site?

In a sense, yes, and Jeremy has been kicking himself for that decision ever since. We had no idea that the geocoin idea would become as big as it has, and the site was a lot smaller back then. I don't blame him for wanting to try to keep things in check now and leave my coins as a one-time-only exception that is very regrettable. :blink:

My vote would to make some subtle changes to the coin design that would leave it as great as it is now but make it clear that it is a WSGA effort. Swapping out the state outline with the logo might be one option. I really would like to work to make the coins trackable on Geocaching.com, as I see that only making them more desireable and unique.

OT: Moun10Tyke and family are doing great! Shauna is feeling some pretty bad pain from the C-section and epidural effects, but is improving.

Washington State

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