PATHTAG/GEOCOIN SIGNATURE ITEM

[mountainborn]

Betty and I have been looking for a owner endorsement item that we can pass out at rallys, WalMart Parking lots or anywhere we have a chance to show off our Ollie. Since we geocache and coins such as this are often in geocaches and are a highly sought after trade item, this design came to mind. We contacted a coin designer and have worked our way to this point of the coin's design:

The mountains, Jeep & contact information seem right to us. We are now working with the designer to get the trailer to have that classic Oliver silhouette that is so easily recognized.

The coin it's self will be about the size of a quarter. It will be in shiney Black nickle plating, with a serial number that can be logged in as a find or discovery on the internet, and traded with other collectors.

We see similar coins on special collector rings being traded at geocaching events. Traders wear them clipped on their belt loop to let others know they collect and trade.

They are flashy and make a silvery jingling sound when the trader walks around the various booths at an event.

This is a high quality coin that we believe will be a real hit with geocachers and collectors, as well as something that can be carried away to remember our Oliver by. The web addresses will direct people to both web sites that have Oliver photos and information on them.

When the design is finalized the coin will be ready to send to the mint to be struck.

Please help with your thoughts on this design.

Is it too "busy" ?

Not enough Info there ?

Too many colors ?

Wrong look ?

Cast your critical eye on the coin and let us know what you think. Is it something you wouldn't mind having in your pocket ?

[tumbleweed]

Looks cool to me!!! I'd sure be proud to have one!!!!

Chuck

[SeaDawg]

Nifty idea. There was an article in our local newspaper this week about the return of the Victorian "calling card"... the non-business, personal version of the business card. An easy way to exchange information and stay in touch, no pen and pad required. I think your coin is sure to be a hit!

 

Sherry

[earthdancer]

WOW! Leave it to the hillbilly from Arkansas to come up with such a great idea!

I love it! Now if, as you said, the designer can come up with the great egg shape of the Oliver........ looks like you got a winner Mountainborn! Thanks for thinking of it! Oh and hey... we got our metal dectector yesterday! Geri

[mountainborn]

It was a rainy part of the day, at RVER II, ( River Valley Egg Rally ) in VanBuren Arkansas. The rain wasn't blowing, and the barbeque grills were a' smokin' under the awnings. Some had started a domino game of chicken train in the meeting hall, some were involved in needle work and chatting. Some were just napping.

I had other plans, however. Before leaving for the rally, I had loaded several nearby geocaches into our Magellan GPS. Though we had been very near to one of the geocaches while eating a meal at Rick's Ribs barbeque place, we had not had a chance to look for the cache. I was going to look for the cache in the rain. Everyone seemed to be busy and I had just checked email on the laptop, the time seemed right.

Sitting at the small dinette in our Oliver travel trailer, I turned on the GPS.

When the GPS had "found it's self", it indicated that we were within a foutrh of a mile of the geocache.

Though it was raining, it was a gentle rain and wasn't too chilly. I grabbed the Jeep keys and pocketed the GPS. Dressed lightly wasn't a problem, I didn't even take a rain jacket.

Placing the GPS on the dashboard so I could monitor it, I noted that I was within one eighth of a mile of the cache when crossing the Fayetteville Highway.

Navigating in towards the geocache, I turned in by the barbeque place. The name of the cache was pass the barbeque. And I did. Soon I was as close as the Jeep could get me to the cache. I waited for a bit of a heavy shower to pass. The GPS began averageing over and over, becoming more and more accurate about the location of the cache. Stepping out of the Jeep with the GPS in hand as the shower let up, I noted that the 100 foot proximity alarm went off. Getting close now !

The geocache was a .30 calliber ammunition can and it was full of geoswag. The log book was in a ziplock baggie and was clean and dry. Geocachers from all over the United States had visited the cache. The log book was a good read by it's self. Spreading the swag out inside the jeep so I could sign the log in the dry, I found a rare thing. A PATHTAG, loose in the wild. At first I couldn't believe my eyes ! But there it was. Pathtags are highly sought after trading coins that usually are not found loose in the wild !

Though we had only time for one geocache at VanBuren, it was a sure nuff' deuzzie' !

The PathTag belonged to a Retired Army Airborne Ranger that was Artic trained. The PathTag wasn't logged in the log book. It had just simply been dropped in the cache amongst the geoswag. Later I talked to a couple of the cachers that had been there just before me. Somehow they had overlooked the articabn pathtag.

[mountainborn]

Owner endorsement coin design update. Progress has been a bit slow. We exchanged emails extensively before beginning the project. And for the most part, the first version of the coin was really good, except for the look of the Oliver. We want it to be readily identifiable because of it's unique sihlouette. Getting that look has been a bit of a challenge. We are now on version #3, and it is getting there slowly. Here is a look at all three versions and you can see the trailer beginning to change. Suggestions appreciated. We really want it to look like an Oliver !

[SeaDawg]

We're getting closer.... Although I liked the KingDome on the 2nd Oliver, and the general shape of the trailer on the third.... I like the jazzy, stylized appearance of the coin... I don't think it's necessary totally realistic. I think I'd still recognize your rig from #2 or #3.

Awesome idea!

 

Sherry

[mountainborn]

The finished coin will be a little more "coarse" in detail. So I thought styleized might work ok. Being the size of a quarter makes perfect detail a bit of a moot issue ?

[bugeyedriver]

Looking good Mountainborn! I'd go with #2 and just barely change it up by "slightly" rounding the very top of the driver's side corner but still maintaining a straight line down towards the bottom. I fear the dome on #3 might fall off!

 

Very cool idea . . . (now, if you could also incorporate a boat, some jugs, and a HUGE catfish)

[mountainborn]

Bugeyedriver said:

Very cool idea . . . (now, if you could also incorporate a boat, some jugs, and a HUGE catfish)

>

Great idea for our next coin Pete !

>

Here is the final version of the coin. It has been sent to the mint to be struck. Should be in our hands soon we hope.

Because the coin is small and only a limited amount of detail can be placed in such a tiny area, about the size of a quarter, we chose a somewhat styleized version. The web addresses will give complete details when they go there.

[SeaDawg]

Mountainborn,

Love the final version of the coin. Do we have to learn how to geocache to find one?

 

Sherry

[mountainborn]

Our path tags hadn't arrived yet. But we had found another tagger's coin in one of our geocaches as we were doing maintenance. The tag was from a FEMA worker that was passing through our area and found one of our geocaches, dropping one of their tags. Here is what their tag looks like:

A few days later we found another tag in a geocache in ElDorado Arkansas. When we got back home from ElDorado our own tags had arrived. Here is a look at some of our pathtags we have collected.

[mountainborn]

Found : GEOGOOBERS Pathtag !

It was later in the day and we were slowing down somewhat. I drove past the road to the cemetary and had to back up. GPS signal weak because of heavy cloud cover and drizzling rain. The cache container was a lock and lock of a medium size, hidden in a clever place. Upon examining the cache contents I found a shiney pathtag. When I let out a loud WOOHOO ! The wimps that had stayed in the Jeep where it was dry, came out in the rain to see what I had found. Thanks GEOGOOBERS for releasing your pathtag into the wild at the "BURY ME IN BLISS' Cache ! Sadly I had already dropped all of the mountainborn pathtags that I had with me.

 

A pathtag in the wild ! It's a very cool thing ! Click to enlarge photo.

[mountainborn]

The first of the Arkansas Geocachers Association pathtags arrived in the mail today ! Here is a look:

 

We will be dropping some of these along with our own pathtag, a Oliver owners endorsement coin, in Colorado this Summer as we cache our way around the state.