A Virtual Geocoin is not actually a coin, but a representation of a physical Geocoin. In many cases, people have taken pictures of their coin and dropped this copy into a cache to watch it travel. Since the actual Geocoin is still in their possession, the copy takes the travels that the original metal coin would take. This is done to discourage people from keeping a coin that the owner wants to watch travel. Unfortunately, this gives the false impression that the coin is actually located in the Geocache, and leads to disappointment when Geocachers find they are only retrieving a photocopy of a real coin.