dhania

yes geocaching is such a great hobby. usually you find a coin and leave it somewhere else, for this we left the red fishie coin (and I cannot post a link it gets spamblocked argh - 23 why do you flag 23 links as spam?)

Thomas: No I haven't read Marcel Mauss, will check him at the library.

Yes you can have your own coins imprinted but it is rather pricey, and to make them trackable at geocaching.com they need a tracking no. and approval (quality-wise and featuring the logo) from groundspeak.com

Most coins I've seen, if not commercial, are special event coins, many manufacturers will make only (minimum) 50 or more, because the printing model ist quite expensive.

What bugs me about coins is that there are too many collectors who will keep them...

Marcel Mauss wrote about societies in which, each individual had the obligation to give, receive and repay (or return, or reciprocate). In societies based on "gift economies", those who break the chain may suffer god's penalties and social exclusion. Moreover, one should always give more than the received for social recognition. In these societies, the greatest value is not the accumulation principle, collecting coins would shameful…