The Codes: Book Cipher Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

Dr_B: With very sporadic seekers of this series, I'm taking it off-line. Cache was still in place.

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Hidden : 5/12/2008
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

This cache is one of a series designed to introduce cachers to the use of encryption codes. CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES, but is within a mile.

Book Cipher


A book cipher is a relatively simple cipher that utilizes a book as its key. The sender and receiver agree on a book, chapter, article, ... to use as the key. The encoding process is as follows:

1. Number the words in the key text sequentially.
2. Write out your message.
3. For each letter in your message, replace it with a number that corresponds to a word with the same first letter.
4. Send the sequence of numbers.

As you might expect, the decoding process is the reverse. To complicate matters more and make their message safer, the sender and receiver can choose to use the last letter of each word or an offset (for example the 3rd letter of each word). These ciphers tend to be difficult to intercept and decode since someone either needs the key or a very large amount of code.

Probably the most famous book cipher is the second of the Beale ciphers. The second Beale cipher uses the Declaration of Independence. I recommend reading the story at the link above. It is quite amusing - plus there could be $30 million in it for you if you can decipher the other two. All I ask is you give me a mere 5% referral fee. :-)

One rule for this cache: because the purpose of this series is educational, the FTF must be made by a cacher who has solved this cache on his/her own.

This cache uses first letters of words. The key is a chapter from a book and can be found online if you look in the right place. Some hints to find the key:
- The book is the best selling in history (counting all languages and editions).
- The edition I am using was published in full in 1978 by Zondervan.
- I used a chapter that has somewhere in it a name beginning with an X.

The coded message is:

119 62 79 74 84 124 11 17 67 32 53 49 25 52 60 53 112 49
79 118 51 115 15 48 7 118 48 118 49 79 1 49 39 79 118 124
62 106 8 40 131 72 11

The actual cache should be pretty easy to find once you have the coordinates. Have fun!

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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