Geocoin

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A Geocoin is a token used in geocaching. They can be used for one of several purposes.

They can be a signature item used by geocachers, left in geocaches to be found by others and kept as trophies or traded. Geocoins are often minted with the name of their state or country of origin, or with a given geocacher's name or handle. They can also be imprinted with unique codes and used in a similar way as Travel Bugs, where they can be left in geocaches to be moved to other geocaches and then tracked via a geocaching website. Many coins also have a unique icon shown on the geocaching website beside a cache the coin is in. Some geocoins may stay with their owners and travel with them from cache to cache. Due to the fact that many geocoins have unique icons, many people bring such geocoins to geocaching events so that others may see the coins and then collect the icons as part of their stats.

In recent years, the geocoin craze has taken off dramatically, and there are hundreds, if not thousands of different geocoins out there today. The geocoin section of the Groundspeak Forums [1] is one of the most active on the site.

[edit] History

• September 30, 2001 The first trackable Geocoin released was the Moun10Bike Version 1 Geocoin. The Moun10Bike Version 1 Geocoins are the most sought after geocoins in existence and are the most valuable with coins: going for over $2000 on eBay. However the Geocaching user who created the coin does not allow sales of this coin on eBay. When he finds a sale of this coin on eBay he will have the coin locked to where it is no longer trackable. [2]

• 2004 The first USAGeocoin is put up for sale, making it one of the first Geocoins that one can buy, release, and track on their own.

• 2005 The Geocoin Craze takes off in full swing with many new trackable designs released as Geocaching.com lets any Geocaching Users design, make, trade, and sell their own versions. Most coins that are put up for sale were generally sold out within minutes of release.

• Aug 2005 The first monthly Geocoin Club goes live, where subscribers can get a new coin sent to them each month.

• Mar 2006 The Geoswag Geocoin and Pin goes live. Each month, a subscriber receives a Geocoin and Pin. This allows users to more easily show off copies of Geocoins in their collection.

• Spring 2006 The Geocoin Craze slows down some, where geocoins are not selling as fast as they used to. However many good designs (usually the coins that have meaning to the Geocaching hobby) still will sell out in less than a day.

• Summer / Fall 2006 The geocoin craze becomes more cyclical. Groundspeak reduces the minimum number of coins required to do a unique icon, the total cost of creating a trackable geocoin is reduced.