In reply to GW7AAV:
Shirley had some badges made in the early days of SOTA.
73
Richard
G3CWI
I have been looking into various forms of SOTA merchandise and one
that was considered was a hard enamelled badge say 20 to 25mm square.
Would this be suitable?
Yes, that sound good Barry, I’d certainly buy some. As others have stated on here, the trouble with Geocoins is that there is the very real possibility of theft if they are used for their intended purpose. To have a nice enamel one would cost in the region of £8 or more, a lot to place in a cache. Not to mention the production cost. It was just me thinking aloud on a possible SOTA item, that sprang to mind one evening!
As Adrian has said too, a badge would be a better option as it woud appeal to others and not just the Geocachers amongst us.
73
Jonathan
M6HBS
In reply to G3CWI:
Finding one in a drystone wall (demolished by searchers) and another
one with drugs in rather put me off.
Well, placing caches in drystone walls is against the rules of Geocaching, for that very reason! Usually the verifiers won’t publish a cache if they know that is it’s hiding place. As for the drugs, well again an obvious no-no, but I guess it had to happen with a cache at some point. I enjoy Geocaching and have been doing it for over 3 years now, but I’d be the first to admit that it’s past it’s best, particularly around towns/cities. In 2009 we went to Dyffryn Ardudwy for a week. Not many caches around, but what was there was placed with some thought and in interesting places. Certainly no 50 caches in a 5 mile circuit type series. Exactly the same last year at Ladram Bay, a few caches here and there with great walks to find them and interesting locations.
73
Jonathan
M6HBS
I’ve been caching for nearly a decade now. I think there were fewer than 150 caches in the whole of the UK back when I started, but there were still good and bad hides (and good and bad searchers, too). I really don’t get the “50 caches in a 5 mile circuit” series; I’d rather have a good walk with one or two carefully and considerately hidden caches along the way. I’m also no fan of the excessively concealed variety, not least because they seem to encourage the less-considerate cachers to search thoughtlessly; bad enough that some oft-visited caches end up with paths leading to them, without the added disruption of folks turning the area around an excessively concealed cache upside-down in their efforts (and frustration)…
In reply to M6LEP:
I’d rather have a good walk with one or two carefully and
considerately hidden caches along the way.
Couldn’t agree more. I did 2 on Sunday which were on Milk Hill, the Highest point in Wiltshire at 295m. 08.15 in the morning, clear skys & frosty and a pleasant walk of a few miles there & back to get the 2. Took a Handheld with me and stood near Adam’s Grave Longbarrow overlooking the Vale of Pewsey and put out a few calls on 2m. Perfect. Only downside is that it’s not eligible as a SOTA activation!
Jonathan
M6HBS
In reply to M6HBS:
Well i was out on new years day did a summit 5 points, tried a cache but too many rocks and mugglers, have you been following the north v south travel bug race, i had two coins init last year, only managed 2 caches before they disappeared, so whats everyone called in the geocaching world, you never know you might have done somebodys caches on here, or even met them at an event and never knew they where a radio ham,
Steve m0sgb
I’ve recently run out of (water-proof)log sheets, but I’ve been trying to place caches in AZs here and there (more interesting than park and grab). Generally the geocaching crowd here is honest, and I’d be interested in getting a few of these SOTA coins myself to place en cache…
The only downer with the badges is the lack of serial number (its track-ability and hosted web page). I know that 10$ price tag is a bit steep, which is why I haven’t found any with enough of a connection to me to actually buy (so I just pick up from the caches in town and move them out to the summits 
Something like this I’d get half a dozen to disperse, possibly even using them as awards for local activators as encouragement (since 3/4 of activators I’ve run into do cache).
Jason HL4/W2VLA
In reply to GM4TOE:
In reply to M6HBS:
Just a thought, but as a keen Geocacher myself (and I’m pretty certain
quite a few activators/chasers are too!) I wondered if there has ever
been a thought to having a SOTA Geocoin produced?? The Logo would look
great on one and would be a worthy addition to the line of SOTA
merchandise. Many Geocachers are coin collectors, so I’m sure it would
sell well.
I have been looking into various forms of SOTA merchandise and one
that was considered was a hard enamelled badge say 20 to 25mm square.
Would this be suitable?
Probable cost would be around £2.50 depending on quantities bought.
In reply to M0SGB:
Well done on the New Years day summit Steve, I haven’t tried an activation yet, but hope to in the Spring. Unfortunately, my part of the country (Wiltshire) isn’t blessed with Marilyns! the nearest is Cleeve Hill about 30 miles away. That’s likely to be my first one.
I remember seeing Alan (M1EYO) on a few Geocaching lists a couple of years ago and I’m sure he was the leading cacher in the UK back then. One (Chaser) I know is G4SXR (aka the WobblyClub). Most of my caching is done around this part of the country, with other areas being done whilst on holiday.
Jonathan
M6HBS
WimpyT2560