GeoCoins

I know you're thinking that GeoWoodstock IX is old news by now.  But I've just realized that I didn't really share the spoils of my trip.  So I'd like to take the opportunity to do so now. 

Trackables are a special part of geocaching.  There are many types of them as well-geocoins, path tags, and Travel Bugs to name a few.  What makes these items special is that they each come with their own serial number used for tracking the item's location.  You can choose to pick up and move along one of these trackables or you can just "discover" it, meaning you log that you saw it instead of removing it from the geocache. 

I've always wanted me own geocoins, ever since peaceout showed me hers last September.  I had a great opportunity to shop around in Pennsylvania and I came home with five, including the one Brad picked out.

When registering for GeoWoodstock, there were many options for packages.  Folks attending could come for free or you could choose from one of many paid packages.  The one I chose came with this GeoWoodstock coin.  The arrow is pointing to where the tracking number would be.  I blurred it out on this and the others so it couldn't be logged by someone eager for a freebie ;) 

This coin celebrates the fact that I made it to my first Mega event.  An event can only be considered Mega if it has over 500 people in attendance.  GeoWoodstock had over 5,000.  Events this size usually last a day or more and have smaller events that coincide with it. 

Back of the Mega coin

This coin has no special meaning behind it.  I chose it because I like the design and colors.

This is the coin Brad chose.  Not only did they have an EMT coin, but they also had one for firefighters and all branches of the military.  They also had one shaped like a miniature space shuttle.  The hatch opens up to show the tracking number.   


This last coin I chose because of the colors.  I love green.  I also thought it was unique in the way that the coin actually opens and closes on a hinge inside the body of the dragonfly. 

I initially thought that these coins would never see a cache.  I'm worried that they'll disappear much like my two Travel Bugs have.  I've seen two options for my situation.  One is to make a color photo copy onto some thick paper and laminate it.  I recently picked up a "coin" like this and thought it was a great idea.  My other option is to purchase a Proxy coin.   These folks had a booth set up at GeoWoodstock and they sell proxies so you don't have to put your actual coin in the cache.  Instead, you send out the duplicate which has the same tracking number as your original.  These copies are only a few dollars and wouldn't be as tremendous a loss as if the real coin went missing.

Other than coins, I also picked up a dozen or so new Path Tags which I'm eager to share.  Just not today...