I asked this question in another thread, put everyone ran right past it, so I'll start a NEW thread here to see if I get some input from someone. :confused:
While caching in Wells Maine I ran across a rather unusual Goocoin. This Geocoin has traveled over 10,428 miles without going missing because someone wanted it for their own collection. Why has this coin lasted so long without going missing? Because the owner took a picture of it and laminated into a 3 inch by 4 inch card with the tracking number on it. The owner stated on the Geocoin home page that they have the original and everyone should move the copy. You can view this coins home page on Geocaching.com, Trackable Items, # TBRHHB. I would like to get everyone’s (anyones?) opinion on this practice. Do you think it’s a good idea? Is it OK to do?Can you see something wrong with it? I think I can see one problem with doing this. What if a copy does go missing and the owner starts a NEW copy and sends it out and the OLD copy shows up down the road. Would that mess up Geocaching.com trying to keep track of 2 different coins with the same number? Would it be OK to do if you ONLY sent out ONE copy and if it goes missing, just keep the original for a souvenir and log it as Missing in action? What do YOU think! (Please type your answer here, I'm not good at reading minds!) :D

I think it is fine to do, but I am not a TB/coin purist like some are. Some people drill holes in their coins to render them worthless, or worth less at minimal. I say do whatever you feel is necessary to protect your property while maintaining enough fun for finders to make it worth their while.

Evil Homer mentioned he does this. Kev and I think , if we had a coin that we didnt want to loose, we would do this too.

What we do tho is if we want to send a coin out we find one that we like but wouldnt break our heart if we lost it...ie a cheap one.

We have at least one that we wont send out because we got it simply to start a collection. And will probably get others that have "special" meaning to us that we wont send out. But for those that we want to keep but see if it will go ...i think it is a good idea...however i would treat the coin copy just as you would the coin itself...if it is lost. I wouldnt send out another copy just in case the other one showed up one day. Thats my 2 cents worth!

We love to move coins and I have to say that I don't like proxies. We saw one in a cache once and even though it was a nice copy, it just wasn't the same. You don't get to feel the correct weight of the coin, you don't see the same color of the enamels, and you don't see the shine or wear of the metal. IMHO - You shouldn't put anything in a cache you're not prepared to lose.

I move a lot of trackables around also. I have picked up several of these copy's. They just aren't the same. I have a bunch of coins and trackables out and I forget about them as soon as they leave my hands for the most part. I do like it when I get a notice that they have been discovered and I look up the location to see where they have been. Several times I have bought two or three coins at a time. After a while I start thinking about the caches I have visited without anything trackable in them and think, why am I keeping these things. They are meant to be out and being discovered by cachers, so off they go or I give them away. Collections are OK, but it would drive me crazy bringing a collection to an event and worrying that the coins might get lost or go missing.

For me a collection is a waste of money and too much trouble.

I would not and have not drilled or made copies of anything to send out. It just isn't the same.

I've had so-so luck with coins and TB's...most disappear pretty quickly, but occasionally they resurface...check out this coin...I released two for my kids to follow back in 2004...we might meet up with this one at geowoodstock...Mad's Geocoin. (http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=97350)
once you release them, you never know what is going to happen...

We love to move coins and I have to say that I don't like proxies. We saw one in a cache once and even though it was a nice copy, it just wasn't the same. You don't get to feel the correct weight of the coin, you don't see the same color of the enamels, and you don't see the shine or wear of the metal. IMHO - You shouldn't put anything in a cache you're not prepared to lose.

I've been trying to think of a name for these things for a while. "Proxies". I like it. I'm my world I would use a proxy for nice coins. I attach TB tags to actual items. I'll never forget the time that I found two of EvilHomers coins in the Bangor area. They were beautiful and I placed them in two caches near China Lake. They were never seen again and I felt really guilty about it. Things that TB tags are attached to are generally less expensive. Coins get really unique. I never send them out anymore.

I asked this question in another thread, put everyone ran right past it, so I'll start a NEW thread here to see if I get some input from someone. :confused:
While caching in Wells Maine I ran across a rather unusual Goocoin. This Geocoin has traveled over 10,428 miles without going missing because someone wanted it for their own collection. Why has this coin lasted so long without going missing? Because the owner took a picture of it and laminated into a 3 inch by 4 inch card with the tracking number on it. The owner stated on the Geocoin home page that they have the original and everyone should move the copy. You can view this coins home page on Geocaching.com, Trackable Items, # TBRHHB. I would like to get everyone’s (anyones?) opinion on this practice. Do you think it’s a good idea? Is it OK to do?Can you see something wrong with it? I think I can see one problem with doing this. What if a copy does go missing and the owner starts a NEW copy and sends it out and the OLD copy shows up down the road. Would that mess up Geocaching.com trying to keep track of 2 different coins with the same number? Would it be OK to do if you ONLY sent out ONE copy and if it goes missing, just keep the original for a souvenir and log it as Missing in action? What do YOU think! (Please type your answer here, I'm not good at reading minds!) :D


This is exactly what I am doing with all of mine now. I am NOT losing anymore coins. I dont care if two end up out there, that doesnt bother me.

Sending a piece of paper as a coin is very cheap. If you don't want to send a coin then don't send anything. What's the point of sending a piece of paper? What is it good for you and what is it good for another cachers?

This is exactly what I am doing with all of mine now. I am NOT losing anymore coins. I dont care if two end up out there, that doesnt bother me.

Have you had 2 coins with the same number out there at the same time? I'm wondering if that causes a problem with geocaching.com trying to track 2 coins with the same number on that coins home page.

Having multiple copies of coins of TBs can rack up the miles - especially when the different copies are in different parts of the world - which does upset some of the TB purists.

To me, miles on a TB is like an individual cacher's numbers. They should not be compared to every others numbers but used as your own reference to enjoy. Most of the time when comparing these numbers you are comparing apples to oranges. If you want your group to compare miles for a TB race, set up rules for that group and let other groups play the way they want in regards to numbers.

I see nothing wrong with it. We've moved copies of Geocoins before and enjoy them just as much as we enjoy the real ones. I have seen some really nicely made copies (offhand I can think of a EvilHomer's Celtic Arrow, but I know we have seen more) and had fun passing them on to other caches.

Sending a piece of paper as a coin is very cheap. If you don't want to send a coin then don't send anything. What's the point of sending a piece of paper? What is it good for you and what is it good for another cachers?

I agree! Why send paper?:eek:
I seem to "Loose" about 75% of the coins I put out. I'm not sure why, but if a coin I put out makes it out of the State of Maine it seems to continue on. If it stays in Maine, to long, it disappears!:mad:
I have coins that are special to me and I keep them. When I get coins that I don't care that much about (I'm in a coin-a-month club) I let them go. When I say "let them go" I mean it. While I don't want them to disappear, I don't get overly upset if they go missing. I figure someone else is getting joy or some needed money for them. Whatever. ;)
I have collected quite a few unregistered coins and may use a few as swag or FTF prizes in any new caches I placed. :)

I agree! Why send paper?:eek:
I seem to "Loose" about 75% of the coins I put out. I'm not sure why, but if a coin I put out makes it out of the State of Maine it seems to continue on. If it stays in Maine, to long, it disappears!:mad:
I have coins that are special to me and I keep them. When I get coins that I don't care that much about (I'm in a coin-a-month club) I let them go. When I say "let them go" I mean it. While I don't want them to disappear, I don't get overly upset if they go missing. I figure someone else is getting joy or some needed money for them. Whatever. ;)
I have collected quite a few unregistered coins and may use a few as swag or FTF prizes in any new caches I placed. :)

Well it's like this Mapachi . . . it takes me awhile, but after awhile of collecting enough coins I can bring 'em to One Steel Metal Recycling and get enough money to pay for a tank of cache for another caching trip . . . apparently folks out of the state of Maine aren't collecting scrap metal like we do here in Maine. ;):D

And just in case anyone happens to think I'm serious . . . I don't even bother moving or collecting coins.

Have you had 2 coins with the same number out there at the same time? I'm wondering if that causes a problem with geocaching.com trying to track 2 coins with the same number on that coins home page.

No I have not had two out at the same time. The AVATAR would have to be missing for some time before I decided to actually make a new one.