Bugs will start journey in Iraq
When I first started geocaching, travel bugs and geocoins were super cool to me. They were a nice change from the McDonald’s toys I usually found in caches. Unfortunately, some people like to “collect” coins and travel bugs that do not belong to them or are not very efficient at moving them along quickly so they tend to get stuck here or there. Because of this, it’s rare to find a geocoin these days because people don’t want to spend the money on them for the coins to go missing.
A while ago, I bought an Ohio geocoin that cost me $9, and that can quickly add up if you have multiple geocoins. A lot of people like to keep their coins and take them to events for discovery or will laminate a copy of the coin to send out to the wild.
I think that’s reasonable considering the amount of cash involved. However, I won a Worldcaching Ocean geocoin at the CA_CA’s Second Winter Event back in Feb. 2008. The deal was I could take it if I promised to set it out. At the time, I had every intention of taking it to London and Paris with me because I planned to do some geocaching. But in the hassle of packing for my first overseas trip, all of my geocaching things were forgotten – including the coin.
Prior to that, I acquired a McDonald’s Ty Beanie Baby called Spangle that was red, white and blue (in the picture). I wanted to give it some sort of patriotic goal and needed an ideal time to set it out. There was a patriotic cache in the Conneaut, Ohio area that I’m pretty sure has been archived that I wanted to find and start it in there. Thing is, life gets in the way sometimes and that just didn’t happen.
So, when I got the opportunity to send geocaching stuff to Rob, a deployed geocacher, I was really excited. It was the perfect opportunity to set out my geocoin and travel bug. Particularly Spangle 
What better opportunity for a patriotic travel bug than to start out with a deployed geocacher? Anyway, they’re officially in Iraq and starting their journey at the MAGC event Rob is hosting there. He’s got them logged and said he’s going to take pictures, and I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing those. Plus, I’m interested to see where the trackables go from Iraq. Good luck to you both and send me some stories!
Photo: Picture of Spangle, my travel bug that started his journey in Iraq.
that’ll be so cool to see where they go from iraq.
here is why i came to your blog…SMALL WORLD ALERT!! the travel bug i got in hartville came straight from that wholly grail cache you were last at. freaky!!
http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=4a090ed0-bf94-49cd-a253-427b81a05c71
Maybe my sister will find your TB! She’s off to Iraq in July :-/
yay for Spangle!
Coins DO get expensive and the thought of ppl not moving them on from cache to cache when they’re trackable is not right, that’s why we buy coins to put out as FTF prizes! no worries with it travelling there. wink.
@Christy It IS a small world. Cool!
@Erika (Maybe dumb question, maybe not) Why is your sister off to Iraq? I hope she stays safe.
@Demara I like the idea of coins as FTF prizes. Good deal!
I have a few coins that I keep with me, and allow people at events to discover. I have several coins and travel bugs out in the wild, and a few of them have gone MIA. I think that most of the time it's forgetfulness or accidental loss, rather than deliberate theft.
When one of my bugs hasn't moved from a cache in a while, I'll check the logs for clues – some people will write "took tb" in the log, but never get around to logging the actual tb. Sometimes, I'll find out that the cache was muggled with my tb in it, and I put the tb in a "virtual tb graveyard."
When the tb appears to be in someone's possession but hasn't moved in a while, I'll write to ask them about it. That usually prompts the person holding it to get it moving again.
Good post.
I have many coins that I've purchased, won or been given. I activate them and keep them and then allow people to discover them at events etc. Those things are WAY too expensive to release.
As for TBs, I release them and enjoy watching them travel. I have several that have disappeared and it's annoying as can be. I e-mail and get no responses. It's pretty frustrating because it's usually the newer cachers that take them and then stop caching. This is a good reminder to e-mail all of them again!
@geonarcissa I hate when people don't log the travel bugs right. OR when I drop a bug and someone grabs it from me too quick instead of letting me log it into the cache first. Drives me nuts! I want those bugs to get the correct mileage!
@P.J. It's unfortunate that newer cachers do that. I wish they'd learn the game first and be courteous enough to pass them along before they "retire." Plus, I think events are a great place to discover coins
The second coin I ever got was released and subsequently stolen within two weeks. It hasn't been seen since. After that, I chose not to release my coins and instead take my collection to events.
I prefer to release tb's, but have had a few go missing. One was taken as a souvenior by a brand new cacher (and none of the e-mails I've sent have gotten responses). Some people are good about it, some people aren't. It's unfortunate, but it happens.