if you want to use a geocoin or another trackables in the geocaching game – that is: circulate them or having them travel from cache to cache – you have to “activate” the concerning item first.
activating means: the trackable item will be assinged to your geocaching.com account, so you become – similar to a geocachine listing – the owner of the item.
trackable items usually are purchased as “unactivated” (fresh, mint, never-before circulated) when bought in a web store (or from any vendor), that means noone has every circulated them in the geocaching game.
only upon activation, a trackable is clearly “yours”, i.e. if you look up the item via the six-digit alphanumeric tracking number, the listing of the trackable object will show this item belongs to you (indicating your geocaching player name).
activation is not mandatory, if you just keep your trackable geocoins or travel tags at home in boxes or albums. however, if you want to use it in the geocaching game, you have to activate your items.
since 2010 you can retrieve activation codes directly here: geocaching.com/activation
you just enter the six-digit tracking number and the activation code. if you don’t have an activation code, you can retrieve it from there.
if it really doesn’t work there, you can contact us (please allow about two days for the answer).
you do not need to “activate” or “register” every coin on our site before you do on groundspeak (geocaching.com). some few other geocoin brands/designers require(d) you to do this – we don’t, never have and never will.
note: following letters will never appear in the second part of tracking code (last four digits): I, L, O, and U. the numbers 1 and 0 can be easily confused with the letters I and O, hence I and O are not used. in the so called prefix (the first two digits), however, any letter can appear.