The Art & Conflict of Geocoins

When I first started geocaching, I was fortunate enough that on the very first day I went out, I was introduced to travel bugs. The first bug I ever found was (TB1F65Q) and it was in a stump not too far from Salisbury, NB. It wasn’t long after that when I learned about geocoins and started to see them pop up from cache to cache.

As time has progressed, I’ve seen my share of geocoins out in the wild. I’ve also managed to collect my own fair share of them. I haven’t collected anywhere near as many as some have but between the coins given out for challenges, unique event coins, and other coins I have wanted to pick up, I’ve probably collected 20-30 so far. A small collection indeed but still something I would not have had otherwise had I not been into geocaching.

Geocoins come in many a different size and shape. The most common shape for a coin is the typical round type coin we have all seen. But outside of that, I’ve seen coins shaped like guitars, sharks, triangles, and a slough of other forms that inspire the imagination to wonder what made the designer come up with such a unique idea for a coin.

Some coins are better than others. Some coins are just downright butt ugly while others can almost take your breath away at how incredibly detailed they can be. I’ve seen some coins that incorporate three dimensional shapes and are quite large and upon looking at them, you’re not sure if it’s a coin, or some sort of archaic steam-punk key that powers a time machine made by HG Wells.

Whatever you may think, geocaching may have brought us to the outdoors, but it’s also brought out a bit of a collector in some of us. Many folks amass a huge collection of geocoins and that becomes their biggest focus. If they can’t have the coin themselves, they “discover” coins at events or out in the wild. Writing down trackable codes, snapping photos, or getting pages of coin codes so they can discover them and have them added to their list of coins they’ve seen. There are entire events that are purely about geocoins and sharing them, talking about them, trading, and even selling them. It’s almost an entire sub-hobby spun out of the geocaching genre.

Then we have the long debated topic of whether or not geocoins should be released into the wild. Much like endangered species in a zoo, many folks fear launching their coins out into actual caches for fears that the coin may go missing. Unfortunately, between coin thieves, and new cachers who don’t know what a trackable is and mistake it for swag, geocoins have been known to disappear once they enter a cache. They hop around for awhile but for many folks, they see their coins “stuck” in a cache only to find out that the coin really isn’t there at all because someone has taken it. This has lead to an entire business around proxy coins which allow the coin to be sent into the wild without the owner losing it.

For me, I continue to pick up event coins, and regional challenge coins from time to time. If I happen to see one I think is really cool, I might pick it up and add it to my collection. I don’t bother releasing them because for me, I want to keep the coin so I can enjoy the artwork and the unique aspect that is geocoins.

How about you? What kinds of cool coins have you seen? Do you have your own collection? Should coins stay put or move in the wild? What’s your opinion?