AMTG Virtual Brawny Bear Clan LE 2006 GC

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Mid size coin with heft.  1.75 inches by 1.5 inches 4 mm 31.4 grams thick antique silver.  99 coins minted. Unusual shape.  The coin has a layer of clear epoxy over it.  The medallion has the shape of a bear done in black enamel.  The 3-D is restricted to line and edge work.  The rim has raised script that reads "Brawny Bear Clan" and "geocaching since 2002".  The lip of the edge is raised.  The reverse of the coin has bear tracks done in black enamel.  There is the logo of SLAGA and the arch in green and red eneamel and "Proud members of St Louis area geocachers association".  The rim is raised and has script that reads "Brawny Bear-Bwat-Brawny cub-Jpop-Gil".  This coin "009LE" in a limited coin run. The background metal texture is brushed.  Nice coin. 

Info on the coin: Brawny Bear created this personal geocoin in early 2006. The first 99 were minted in antique silver, and 400 were minted in antique bronze. When he came out with this geocoin, Brawny Bear stated this would be the only personal geocoin he would make.

St. Charles, Missouri, near St. Louis is the home zone of Brawny Bear aka Mike Griffin. The cacher has been active continuously since November 2002, especially in the first ten years.

He writes about his hobby on his profile page: Caching is a great way for me to explore nature. I like to seek out caches in remote places and often skip the easy ones. I started the MOGA event in 2004. (MOGA 2004 (MIGC) - Hawn State Park, MOGA stands for the 'Midwest Open Geocaching Adventure' event - a combination of competition and casual cache search.) In the meantime, it has grown into a huge mega-event. Now it's back to the roots. I was also one of the hosts for Geowoodstock XII in St. Charles, Missouri. 

Brawny Bear, president of the St. Louis Area Geocachers Association (SLAGA) from fall 2003 to fall 2005. He designed his personal Geocoin at the beginning of 2006 and it was released on March 24 in an edition of 500 coins via CoinsAndPins in the two editions Antique Bronze (424 pieces) and LE 75 Antique Silver, all with an individual counting number on the back. In addition, he had 1 coin in shiny gold coins for himself personally. 

The front of the irregularly shaped personal coin shows a black bear in a clean, simple design, following the contours of the bear the name "BRAWNY BEAR CLAN" and at its feet in small letters the indication of the start of his cache career. The surfaces are filled with epoxy resin. 

The reverse of the 45 x 36 x 4 mm geocoin is defined by the logo of SLAGA, complemented by the line "Proud Members of" and black bear tracks running diagonally across the coin. At the top, the names of the clan are written in small letters: Brawny Bear - BWAT (aka Bridget Griffin) - BrawnyCub - JPoP - Gil, the nicks of the three children. 

So many of my trackables have been muggled that I only release new GCs as virtuals.  If you do not approve, please leave it in the cache for a cacher who understands.  Thanks.  LR