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How far can my coin go?

track your money for fun
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A coin in your pocket today could be with someone else tomorrow and with a new person day after.

A GPS technology inside the coin lets you know how far this coin has travelled. May be it would have visited several cities and countries from the time the coin is minted.

Swipe the coin across a scanner and it displays the distance and route travelled so far by that coin.

what's the use? - it's just for fun!

feels good to know those clink clanking metal pieces in your pocket has reached you after a long journey :)

ravi kris334, Jul 26 2013

Halfbakery: Smart Money Smart Money
A take on a similar idea. [zen_tom, Jul 26 2013]

We're terribly sorry eh... http://www.cbc.ca/n...0/rfid-defence.html
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 26 2013]

baked with US dollar bill http://www.wheresgeorge.com/
[xandram, Jul 26 2013]

Geocoins http://shop.geocach...able-items/geocoins
[Klaatu, Jul 26 2013]

[link]






       Great for burglars looking for your stash. Bad for dragons. - Bilbo
popbottle, Jul 26 2013
  

       But… how? Or is this just WIBNI?
ytk, Jul 26 2013
  

       Where's George? (dot com)
swimswim, Jul 26 2013
  

       /Great for burglars looking for your stash/   

       The data stored inside will be something like air miles, which means it's kind of high level info only. The coin should not store exact locations which is not the purpose of the concept
ravi kris334, Jul 26 2013
  

       // But… how? // [link]   

       linky not work [2fries] BUT There was a movement for tracking dollar bills. I think it was called *where's Gerorge*...I'll look for a link.
xandram, Jul 26 2013
  

       By looking for large numbers of bills that are no longer tracked after reaching a certain place it's possible to find an approximate location of a hoard of money.
Voice, Jul 26 2013
  

       oh that's easy: Beijing.
FlyingToaster, Jul 26 2013
  

       GPS tech in the coin would probably make it overly expensive to produce, compared to its face value.   

       Where'sGeorge.com seems to rely on human effort: people take the time to visit the web site to record a sighting of a marked bill, but this model could easily be automated by etching scannable, unique marks into the coins' surface. Perhaps a tiny QR code on one face or a simple bar code around a milled edge.   

       Machines that presently take coins, such as vending machines, parking meters, etc., could include readers and report to a central data store each time a marked coin is detected.   

       Special machines could accept a marked coin and, as well as reporting its most recent location up to the central data store, could get details of its journey for display.   

       Monetising the scheme is as simple as keeping the scanned coin, or if you're less mercenary, returning another (of lower denomination) along with a cheery message...   

       "Your pound coin travelled 2578 miles since being minted in Llantrisant in 1997. It was sighted in John O' Groats 2 years and 3 months ago. Here's a 50p that's been around since 2003 but only travelled 239 miles. Have fun with it!"
Tulaine, Jul 26 2013
  

       [link] fixed. Thanks xan.   

       Wonders if there's a market for hafnium coins, ideal for the haf(nium) bakery currency.?
not_morrison_rm, Jul 27 2013
  
      
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