Claddagh Geocoin
Red Claddagh Geocoin
This is the Claddagh Geocoin. It was designed by CinemaBoxer and was sold through their geocoin design website. The initial run consisted of 350 coins and was as follows
100 Antique Gold with Green Translucent Enamel
100 Antique Nickel with Amethyst Translucent Enamel
85 Rhodium with Sapphire Blue Translucent Enamel
65 Two Tone with Ruby Red Translucent Enamel
They went on sale on April 21st 2008 and went for $10 (USD). An additional 400 coins were minted. Only a few of the original green ones were added and new colors were introduced. There was an antique silver with translucent black, an antique copper without enamel and a limited edition two tone black nickel with rhodium in teal enamel. That is the one I want to see.
So what exactly is Claddagh? Usually the Claddagh comes in the form of a ring and is called a claddagh ring. Traditionally it is either Irish or Scottish and is given in friendship or is worn as a wedding ring. The ring was first produced in the 17th century during the reign of Queen Mary II although some of the design elements are much older. There are several legends as to the origin. The design is made up of 3 features. Two hands clasping a heart with a crown. The heart symbolizes love, the hands symbolize friendship, and the crown stands for loyalty. I've been fond of this design myself for quite some time. Once upon a time, before I had children, I sold jewelry. One of the very first things I purchased for myself was a gold claddagh ring. So I was pretty stoked to get this coin. I think traditionally you are supposed to be given it as a gift, so I may have jumped the gun on that one. But its okay, because this one was given to me as a gift.
You can look for the Claddagh and other Celtic Geocoins here.
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Digital Hell Geocoin
Digital Hell Geocoin
This was an interesting coin to learn about. When I start searching I always just enter the name of the coin in to google and see what comes up. The Digital Hell Geocoin was a custom order for Xibalba01. I found the coin on Mygeocoin.de. I also found some of them on eBay. I found some inconsistencies though.
Xibalba01 about his idea:
"The name of this coin is derived from my GC-Nickname Xibalbá, which means Entrance to Underworld, especially the ?-level underworld of the Maya culture. The artwork should show fire as a symbol for hell as well as an item of our modern age ... or rather digital age."
I think that is very creative and it is a pretty cool coin to boot.
Originally at the German site it said that this was a personal custom order. A total of 250 pieces were minted. There were three finishes. (note I said originally)
Red Hell Edition: 195 pieces. Polished silver nickel with a transparent red flame on the front and a tranparent green board on the back.
Black hell: 50 pieces with a max of 1 per customer. 2 tone. Raised metal is black nickel while the recessed metal is silver nickel.
Blue Flame: 5 pieces minted, not for sale. Polished silver nickel with a transparent blue flame.
50mm wide, 3mm thick, trackable with its own icon. So what is the problem?
Ours is gold.
I found an interesting thread on Groundspeak about the Digital Hell geocoins. It appears that after the coins sold out in Germany Castle Coins said that they were going to have some of the coins. They were going to get 50 Gold/red, 50 Nickel/Purple and 50 limited Copper Green edition. 50 more gold and nickel would follow. Here is the funny bit, they said that the copper was limited to those 50 and no more would be made. Another 100 were reminted of the original red for the store in Germany. So now instead of the 250 coins that were originally made, there are now 600. That probably explains why they are so easy to find on eBay. I went to Castle Coins and I saw no reference at all to the Digital Hell geocoins. So I am basing that they did sell them on what I read on Groundspeak.
In the opening advertisement for the coins on groundspeak it said that 250 would be available. They were advertised to international customers as being able to buy tax-free from the German Site. The coin was 8 Euros. I'm not sure how much the shipping was. BUT, I think Id be pretty irritated if I ordered coins internationally and found out after the fact that I could have gotten one here. Also, I bet those 5 blue coins are pretty well sought after, as there aren't very many of them. I'm sure if one ever went on Ebay, that it would go for a pretty penny but only because there are so few. If more were minted later, the value of the coin would drop. Anyone who bought one would be pretty pissed. While the original red ones weren't as valuable to begin with as there were almost 200 of them, when they re-minted the extra 100, that is exactly what they did. They sold 195 of the coins, which is a high number to begin with, then devalued the coin by dumping another 100 of them in to the market. In a collectable market where cost is driven by supply and demand, it is a pretty shitty thing to do. It reminds me of when Ty declared in 1999 that they would no longer be making Beanie babies and then reintroduced a new line in 2000.
This is a 2008 coin. There are now 6 versions of the coin total.
The 3 from Germany:
red flame/nickel metal
red flame/black nickel metal
Blue Flame/nickel metal
The 3 from the US
Red flame/goldmetal
Purple flame/nickel metal
Green/flame copper metal (personally I want one of these)
In hind site I remember SupremeMe telling me about the brouhaha when he got it. Who would have thought that there would be so much drama with geocoins.
Look for the Digital Hell Geocoin Here
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Categories: 2008, blue, Gold, Green, nickel, purple, Red, Silver Tags: black, blue, Copper, digital hell, GeoCoins, Gold, Green, nickel, purple, Red
Celtic Peacock Geocoin
Celtic Peacock Geocoin: front and back
I like peacocks. They are so colorful it is unreal. When it comes to "survival of the fittest", I never understood how they have managed to make it this long. They don't seem like they would be able to evade predators very quickly, and the males are hard to miss. Perhaps they have just always found sanctuary in the confines of palace grounds.
As soon as I saw this coin I knew that I wanted it. I was so happy when it came in the mail. It is gorgeous. The colors are brilliant, and the details are intricate. If you look closely at the feathers you will really appreciate the effort that went in to this design.
The peacock geocoin is 1.75" across and is 3.5mm thick. It features semi raised feathers under translucence. The celtic Peacock Geocoin was available in Antiqued gold for $9.47. The Limited Edition Antiqued Silver Peacock coin went for $9.97. An Antiqued Copper LE coin was also minted, but I do not know how much it went for. The coins were available for purchase through the geoswag site. This is a 2008 coin.
Look for the Celtic Peacock Geocoin here.
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