on may 25, 2006, i found my first geocache. since then i am hooked to this hobby that combines the outdoors (nature), tech, challenging puzzles, tourism, … a bit of everything – and of everywhere!
now, 20 years later, i can more or less proudly say: 10,000 found logs. i kind of fogot that 1/4 of those are rather cheap lab caches and 1/3 are boring micro containers. but there are many highlights next to those. memories for life: cool night caches that took several nights, mega and giga events – like that first european geocoin festival in cologne/germany when geocoins where in their heydays and collectors from all over the place went nuts in order get get some new and rare pieces.
i started with geocoins in late 2006 (i will celebrate that separately). since then i published about 100 geocoins and other trackables. most of them under the ernies geocoins.biz brand. some were made as assignments for other cachers (where i discretely stayed in the background) around the world.
so, now, finally, my first (and only) personal coin is out. it was in the making for more than 10 years! originally, i intended publishing it in 2016. in the meantime, it underwent several revisions.
the set contains 10 different editions with different coloring and plating, each of them limited to 20 pieces. that is a rather small run of only 200 coins. and they come with made-up nonsense names that are not used in world history (yet):
aopeksis | a | antique copper
blutubeni | b | nickel
caflossic | c | matte nickel
daolutzend | d | antique silver
efmerolda | e | matte gold
floksinoksi | f | gold*
gnopgorrha | g | black nickel*+
hallavamar | h | matte silver
ikhalidai | i | antique gold
jeljawej | j | chrome*+
* three coins have glow-in-the-dark elements
+ two coins come with two-tone plating
each coin is numbered next to the tracking number, e.g. j15/20 = jeljawej edition (chrome plating), #15 of 20 made
size: 51 x 51 mm (= 2 x 2 inch), 4 mm thick
mass: 60 g = 2.1 oz
below is a detail image of the antique copper edition (aka aopeksis edition). this version is “plain”, as it does not have any color fills. the front side features the topics of heart and mind (brain), nature and technology (that is how i summarize geocaching).
the back (there are actually two front sides, imho) features three geometric shapes: circle, square, and triangle. they don’t have a special meaning. but who has followed my coins over the past 20 years knows that i have a preference for geometric patterns (rather than cute animals or mascot figures with faces). this reflects also in this geocoin.
i am using this coin series in different ways:
- one set will go on circulation (with all risks assumed)
- one set will stay unactivated in my collection (together with samples)
- one set will be activated and up for discovery
- one set went to participants of my “10k 20y” event in zurich as prizes
- some complete sets will go collectors and long-time regular clients (thank you for your support over those many years!)
- some coins i will present to cachers as a gift
- some coins i will trade for other coins (hopefully i will get a moun10bike coin)
- and finally, some coins are available as complete sets or (later) as single pieces in the store – while stocks last.
