RSS 2.0 FeedThe Godfather of Geocoinfest
The first Geocoinfest was held in 2007 in Temecula, California and there has been a Geocoinfest every year since then. This year marks the first year that there will be an official International Geocoinfest, which will be in Cologne, Germany. Here is a list of all of the previous and current Geocoinfests, along with the URL to the Event page on geocaching.com:
Geocoinfest 2007 – Temecula, California: http://coord.info/GCZ5V8
Geocoinfest 2008 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: http://coord.info/GC17H2A
Geocoinfest 2009 – Salt Lake City, Utah: http://coord.info/GC1JZ1X
Geocoinfest 2010 – Minneapolis \ St Paul: http://coord.info/GC20TB6
Geocoinfest 2011 – Cologne, Germany: http://coord.info/GC2GPHN
Geocoinfest 2011 – Rock Hill, South Carolina: http://coord.info/GC2G6QR
Last week we had the pleasure of interviewing one of the organizers for this years US Geocoinfest. They were very helpful in providing information and insight on what one can expect from this years Geocoinfest in South Carolina. This interview sparked my curiosity about the history of geocoinfest, as well as what occurs behind the scenes that ensure this annual event continues. I reached out to the organizer of the very first Geocoinfest, Mark Clemens (Geocaching as "Avroair"), and he was kind enough to agree to do an interview with me. Following is the transcript of that interview.
wherethecacheis: How did Geocoinfest get started?
Mark: I posted in the (geocaching.com) forums: "Is there a National Geocoin Mega Event?"
A couple of people then ran with the idea and tried to put it in Las Vegas. Which didn't work due to cost and trying to make it a Geowoodstock.
wherethecacheis: Do you happen to know how many people have attended each Geocoinfest?
Mark: Temecula 425, Pittsburgh 591, Salt Lake City 611, Minnesota 539
wherethecacheis: How involved are you in the planning of each Geocoinfest?
Mark: I try to make myself available for questions, ideas and concerns. I have a lot of experience running events (having run 48 geocaching events myself), so I provide each new team with a cheat sheet so to speak about issues that they need to work on. I like each committee to be independent and creative, but not have to reinvent the wheel each time.
wherethecacheis: Who decides where each Geocoinfest will be held?
Mark: The process is quite involved. All previous GCF hosts are invited onto the GCF commitee. Each one gets a vote. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each bid and ask for more information (or find it ourselves) when we find an area of concern. One year a commitee member called a local airport and spoke with the superviser for 45 minutes trying to figure out if the airport would finish repairs by the time GCF rolled by! There are currently 9 active commitee members. Due to the lack of quality leadership teams and bids we have considered running the event in-house with previous committee members to keep the event rolling.
wherethecacheis: How does a group or location apply to be considered to host a Geocoinfest?
Mark: A general post is put out in the forums. Vendors are not allowed to be part of a bid due to a conflict of interest.
wherethecacheis: How much has geocoinfest changes over the years? What are the major changes that have occurred?
Mark: The first GCF was held in a church hall. It was the first event to offer a geocoin poker tournament. The event format has stayed fairly similar, but there are now 3-4 tie in events surrounding the main event.
wherethecacheis: When will the next one be announced?
Mark: The future GCF location is announced at the current GCF
wherethecacheis: What should a first timer do to prepare for a Geocoinfest?
Mark: Save money! I arrived at GCF Salt Lake City with $400 and spent it all in the first 20 minutes! Many vendors debut coins at GCF or produce a special edition for the event. The event is like a trade show with vendor booths. A first time geocoin collector should bring a box of traders, a fistfull of cash and do some research beforehand (read the forums) to figure out what coins they might like there.
wherethecacheis: This year, the first International Geocoinfest will be held in Cologne, Germany. How did this come about?
Mark: An international geocoin collector was lamenting the fact that they are a great distance and commitment to travel all the way to the US to meet other like minded geocoin collectors. GCF has attracted a number of international collectors, but the majority can't afford the trip. Having seen more and more successful events in Europe, I posed the question about running a GCF European event and recieved bids from both Germany and Portugal. There are currently over 1600 will attends and will probably reach 3,000 people!
wherethecacheis: How did you first become involved in Geocoins?
Mark: In February 2004 I was looking for a signature item to put into geocaches and came across moun10bikes challenge coin idea. Being in the design industry, I designed and minted my first Avroair personal coin in May of 2004. The vendor asked me what the diameter should be and I misread the question and thought he meant radius, so I told him 1" When I got the 1" diameter coins I thought they looked like subway tokens! (it's the first micro geocoin!), I learned quickly to like them since they fit in 35 mm canisters and other smaller caches. I enjoy trading them.
wherethecacheis: Do you have any advice about Geocoins that you can offer to someone that is thinking about collecting them?
Mark: I get asked this a lot and I have come up with three pieces of advice:
1) figure out what kind or type of coins you like and stick to collecting those
2) if you are not sure about buying a coin, go ahead and do it, because you will regret it later and they always hold their trade or selling value
3) buy extras of coins 2-3. It saves on shipping per coin and gives you traders to barter with when you miss out on a later coin sale. Trading is the best part of geocoins especially with other artists.
wherethecacheis: Are there any other Geocoin events that you host? If so, what can you tell us about them?
Mark: I organize the multi events that are sometimes seen in the forums. A multi event is a number of different locations and hosts that share the same geocoin design and theme. Each event coin location has exclusive colors and metals.
One of these multi events is the annual X X X date events, staring with 07-07-07, we are planning for November 11th, 2011. A Czech geocacher has all the multi event coins and displays them here:
All my events have themes and geocoins since they are an excellent way to pay for the costs associated with the event.
wherethecacheis: Is there anything that you would like to add?
Mark: In any community, I strongly feel that to be a leader you have to serve, you have to be able to get outside your comfort zone and try and do new things, Geocoinfest is one way I try and give back to the community.
Geocoins are the most unique collectibles around. They are truly little pieces of art. They are so varied and so different. The hobby is a democratic community where anyone can make a geocoin. We are not limited by a monopoly dictating supply and demand. That's what make geocoins fun, interesting and great!
Until next time - Happy Trails and Happy Caching!