The Herd

The first personal geocoin issue from The Herd, a geocaching family from Angola, Indiana. A cute elephant and the bandaid on the butt is a very nice touch. These geocoins sold out within a couple of hours of their release, so I am very pleased to have been able to trade for one.

Size: 39 x 44 mm | Weight: 37.3 g

I received an email in June 2008, which I have reprinted with permission:

I am Amber, a geocacher with the handle "The Herd". There is actually a little story to the geocoin that you might not know...

Obviously, I have a deep love for elephants. When I first started caching in 2005, my children all went with me, and we enjoyed it as a family. "The Herd" is a collection of elephants that I have collected for many years, and it seemed fitting for a geocaching name, as there were 6 of us -- a small herd. Time went on, and the kids have since become teenagers with other agendas, but the name stays. We also no longer live in Angola, Indiana, we are now in Chesterton, IN.

The geocoin was only produced in a lot of 90 gray, 10 pink. I have a very close geocaching friend whose son suffers from Cerebral Palsy. He is the bravest person I have ever met. At the time the geocoins were being minted, he was 10 years old, and had opted to have an elective surgery to cut the tendons in his legs, straightening them out, being in a body cast from the waist down for up to 6 months, all in the hope that he may someday walk.

At that time, the geocoins were still all going to be gray. We struggled with what to put on the rear end of the geocoin, because the butt looked too bare to me. With his upcoming surgery, and my eternal ability to hurt myself, I thought the band aid would be perfect! Out of this came the idea to make the 10 pink ones, because we joked that when he was sedated, he would see pink elephants!

One of the geocoins was given to him, for being so brave, the rest were given to important people to him, and one as a fund raiser. That geocoin raised over $300 in 2 days, for charity. It is the ONLY pink geocoin that will ever be sold or released the the public. The gray geocoins sold out in less than an hour. So, the geocoin you have is pretty important to us, and I'm glad it's in the hands of someone who appreciates it.

Jeremiah had his surgery, and was a trooper through the whole thing. Whenever someone asked him about his casts, he always had a fast response of "I was attacked by a shark" or "my mom threw me down the stairs". He always got the strangest looks.

Just last month I attended an event that Jeremiah was at. As I approached the shelter, I looked to the side to see Jeremiah WALKING across the field to me. It moved me to tears. So, seeing your geocoin posted brought back all those years of being so proud of such a brave young man. Thanks for posting it.

Happy Caching,
Amber (Momma of "the herd")