What the Heck is a Geocoin? (Photo Essay)

A lot of non-geocaching folks are always asking me what a Geocoin is. I thought I'd write  and try to explain a little about this collectible and give you a brief introduction in my own words. You can also check out Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocoin

In a former article I posted here on Gather called geocaching and why I spend my time doing it (http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977121882&nav=Namespace), I mentioned a subset of the game known as travel bugs and geocoins. Another term for them among the geocaching community is trackables. There are of course non-trackable geocoins too (see further below).

(Above: BlazerFan personal geocoin. This one is not trackable and is considered a signature item. This is one of the earlier coins made. Below is JeeptoysRus 2005 personal geocoin. This one is also non-trackable and was one of many coins that marked the "boom" year in mid-2005 when coins first gained popularity)

These items basically are either imprinted with or have a tag that bares a 6-digit alpha-numeric code. By entering a trackable item's unique code on the geocaching.com website, you can pick them up from and drop them into geocaches. These items collect miles as they travel around from cache to cache.

If they are trackable, geocoins are always etched with the tracking code. Some cachers purchase the coins to set free for travel like I mentioned above, and some cachers purchase or trade for them with other geocachers to keep as a collectible. There are even cachers that do both.

(Above: 2007 Maine official state geocoin. This one is trackable and gives those who log it a unique icon in their geocaching stats. Below is the official 2007 South Carolina limited edition version, which is also trackable with an icon)

The first geocoins were mainly personal signature tokens, like the BlazerFan coin earlier in this article, and did not have the ability to be tracked. It's from this area that geocoins became a collectible. See, many geocachers collect personal "trademark" items that another cacher leaves as his/her calling card in a cache, and at first, that's what coins were - a signature item.

(Above: Vienna 2007 in black nickel finish. Below is the 2007 Australia regular edition geocoin. Both are trackable with icon.)

Aside from personal signature items, there are geocoins for all types of things like states, countries, events and general themes. Throughout the rest of this essay, I provide you with a few samples of the different types of geocoins available in the marketplace today.

(Above: Sunburst. This coin features see-thru transparent enamel, giving it a stained glass effect when held up to a light)

(Above: Rainforest Jewel. This geocoin has 13 gemstones inserted into its design)

(Above: Tranquility "Dark" Edition in Gold)

(Above: Airborne Event in Nickel, official geocaching event coin)

(Above: Walpurgis Night Caching Event Limited Edition. The green ink on this one glows in the dark.)

Once the tracking ability for geocoins was opened up to any cacher who wanted to pay for the service, the market for these metal coins exploded and it hasn't slowed down much since.

I jokingly call them the "beanie babies" of geocaching because that's kind of what the subculture is like with these things. They also follow a similar desirability pattern, including a secondary selling market - just like it was Beanie Babies.

(Above: Dorkfish 2006 personal geocoin. This coin features glittered ink for the water and on the backside, the purple fish wears a glow in the dark inked sign that reads "kick me," lol)

(Above: RoboKnight personal geocoin in silver nickel. This cacher likes puzzle caches. In geocaching the puzzle caches are marked with a questionmark icon.)

(Above: KangaCacher 2007 personal geocoin in Antique Silver. His coin carries a message with it)

Yep, I have made my own too. The three shown above are are select versions of my cache coins for 2005, 2006 and 2007. None of these are trackable - since I do leave them in caches as trade swag and these things are not cheap to produce. My average cost per coin is $3.50 each. That's a pricey cache item. So I am particular about where I leave them.

Typically personal coins reflect something about the person who created them. My running theme is Pennsylvania and Georgia (the two states I have lived in). All my personal cache coins to date include both states in some way.

To date there are probably 3500+ different geocoins available.

Hope you enjoyed this introduction.