Bitcoin Forum

I assume Meta is the proper place for this, so here I go.

I'd like to bring up a request for a new subforum to be created surrounding physical incarnations of Bitcoins and other Altcoins.  I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this idea, but I did do a search and didn't really see anything related to this in the cursory look I gave it. 

Right now most things related to physical coins and rounds for Bitcoin and other Alts are in the "Goods" subforum in the Marketplace.  This is fine for the threads that revolve around the sale of them.

However, I personally think there is way much more to the area of physical coins than just the sales.  There's really no good place for any discussion of the collecting of them, no centralized info on how to grade them for newbies or discussion on grades for particular coins or series, no showplace for your own pieces, etc.  There's no real good place for vendors to discuss upcoming plans or designs, except to announce a pre-order in the goods section.  There's no place to have threads to keep track of what's out there, though the threads do exist but they're hard to locate at times (yeah, I know such thing as a search button exists).  There's no real good collection of the history of physical bitcoins.

Finally, the threads of coins and rounds for sale make up a good majority of the Goods subforum, so I think there's both a good argument for being able to keep them in one place, as well as an argument that it's hard to sell things that aren't coins because those threads get bumped down so frequently.

As far as structure and where to put it, I think a main subforum should go under "Economics" I guess.  This top level should contain at least 3 sub-forums - "Vendor announcements and Discussions", "For Sale / Trade" (which could possibly be broken up into 2, one for vendors only, and one for private sales), and "Collecting Discussions".  Obviously Trust should extend into this section as the Marketplace currently has.

I realize creating and maintaining yet another subforum takes work so I'm not suggesting this on a whim, I really do believe there would be enough mass to make it worthwhile.  I'm willing to offer my time to help with anything related to this effort, including offering to be a moderator for this section.

Thank you for your time.

I'm sure some staffs/admins said that they won't make a new sub board if there's going to be only a few topics inside. so you probably won't get (more than) one. 4 subsection are a lot for a single subject.

I would agree. In terms of BTC transacted, physical coins probably makes up a good amount of the trades in the marketplace sections, and probably would be an overwhelming majority of the trades if the currency exchange section was excluded.

I think there is a lot of interest in physical coins from collectors, traders, and people who neither collect nor trade physical coins.

Mining has it's own set of subs and I don't see any reason why there couldn't be a set of subs for physical coins

Indeed .
OP Please open a poll so we can vote and staff members & administration can take their decision based on the vote results . I'am personally with the idea

I can see their point, but I think there's enough interest just in the for sale posts alone to fill 2-3 sections.  I've run forums before and creating the actual sub-boards is the easy part.  It's the moderation and maintenance part that is very time consuming, and it grows with each additional section for sure.  Hence I'm also volunteering to put my time where my mouth is.

First hurdle is agreeing that there's enough interest for at least one tho... :)

Added as requested.  Good idea, thank you.

Been a few threads requesting it already:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1075673.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=342321.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=141568.0

I'm on the fence. Not sure there's enough threads to warrant their own section really.

Thanks, I was curious and honestly I didn't spend a ton of time searching.

Well, for argument's sake I could also say that counting existing threads isn't the total picture.  How many threads aren't started because there's really no good place to put them in, and also how many threads go unseen or with very little views because they're in odd places and keep getting bumped down.  Sections like Bitcoin Discussion and even general Economics have so much activity, I could argue threads lose traction there because of getting pushed down.  Meanwhile if they were on their own, they'd get more eyes and activity.

That aside, at the moment slightly more than 1/3 the threads just on the first page in the Marketplace -> Goods section are coin-related sales threads (13 out of 37 by my quick count).  To me, that seems like a high enough number to at the very least warrant a separate section for them under there, just like computer hardware has.

I could see maybe 2 sections - "General Coin Discussion" and "For Sale" which I think would sustain enough use to justify them.  My opinion tho... :)

I voted no...physical coins are stupid.



Just kidding!

I think maybe just a sub section under market place named "physical cryptos" or something like that. The physical market is pretty big and has a lot of very involved traders/enthusiasts.

While we are at it...how about a domains section also?

Marketplace -> Goods ->

-digital goods
-computer hardware
-physical cryptos
-domains

Let's bring this back up and see if we can get some more interest.  Bueller?

It makes sense   Currently there is no place to discuss physicals   The only option is to derail another thread   I think, and I am just a humble cow, there are a lot of us interested in discussing physical coins  

Edit to  add:  not just Cas coins but others as well.

I totally agree with TheAnalogKid and everyone else, physical Bitcoin sales (Casascius and many others) make up a huge sum of money and are without a doubt the greatest percentage of items sold in the Goods section. And I think pretty much everyone here can agree that BitcoinTalk is the greatest place to find what the general consensus is regarding price and many other factors with the Casascius market, which is a pretty big market now and should continue to grow higher in the future; in my opinion probably regardless of what Bitcoin does. I could def. picture a 1000 BTC 1 oz. Gold Casascius coin being auctioned off at Sotheby's or similar in the future.  8)  That would be sweet.


I'll copy/paste part of my post that I made in OgNasty's thread just to have it here, and this seems to be a more targeted thread than Og's which was working towards a few different points (though good points):

Agree, if there was a section for more than just sale then the goods section can turn back into a sale section.  Often times im looking to discuss further on a topic but dont want to derail the OP.  Im sure that there are many new faces with questions as well with no centralized place to ask and get answered.  Im all for it

I'd like to support this notion as well.

Physical Bitcoin section on a Bitcoin forum is a no brainer...

I agree with this.  I see a lot of interest in physical coins in the goods section.

If you don't create a special subforum then I will be forced to show off my pictures of my shiny silver coins ;)

There is so much discussion possible about physical cryptos, and most of it takes place on sales thread, which is technically off topic

Come on Theymos and BadBear hook us up!

Haven't really thought about it much, and not sure it's needed, but a more general PM (precious metals) board would make more sense, and would likely gain more support. Lot of overlap there.

I would support a precious metals coins sub. The discussion would be centered around physical crypto coins, however we would probably see the occasional gold or silver buff trying to discuss Pandas, or Lunar coins.

There should defiantly be something where physical crypto coins in general can be specifically discussed as a nod to casascius and other similar coins.

Anything would be nice to have...thanks!

This would be great and there is definitely overlap.  I have traded with users on the silverbugs and pmsforsale subreddits who also trade here.

I would even volunteer to help moderate such a sub since I am fairly active. Not sure what qualification is required, but I am somewhat knowledgeable about this subject.

I'm a little unsure whether it could be considered a conflict of interest that you yourself are frequently selling / buying coins.
Then again, I'd trust you, so that's probably a good idea.

I was thinking that section was discussion only, but if it did have sales that could be an issue I suppose.

Agreed.  I had offered to moderate as well, but this brings up a good point.  Discussions are one thing, but wouldn't want to be in a situation where there could be accusations of tampering.  Then again, trust already earned should alleviate most concerns.

Name it "Bitcoin and Bullion" ?  :D

I echo the overlap, but I also think it's certainly a larger area than just Precious Metals, although that is what most of the coins' content makeup is.

Even if there's no sales in the sub, you might be tempted to moderate value estimations for specific coins that you intend to buy or sell. Just to make sure, I'd personally trust you, but I definitely see a potential conflict of interest.

Well I would much rather be trading them than moderating them then :P

A sub like that probably wouldn't require its own mod as it would likely require very little moderation inside it but there would be posts that needed to be moved there from elsewhere in the marketplace. And if people want to become mods report a lot of posts and you might get asked eventually.

Yes!!! Marketplace -> Goods -> Physical Cryptos / Coins (I'm not sure the word "Cryptos" is clear enough for newbies.)

Regards,
Me

I'm not sure I like the Precious Metals idea as much as Physical Cryptos / Coins. Sure, most coins are made of precious metals, but many aren't, including the latest Genesis Coin. I'd hate to exclude that one. It's fun.

Regards,
Me

To second that, not all cryptos are coins...they can be bars, cards, paper wallets, etc.. made of various materials

I second this thought as well, though I would be happy to see a PM forum, I would be happier to see a physical crypto section. I have a wallet made from wood by the people who made WoodWallets and I consider that to be a physical crypto item.

I much prefer the physical crypto, but anything is better than nothing.

How about something like "crypto coin collectibles"? That might include things like the orange BTC (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1100196.0) ;)

+1 to "Physical Crypto".  Covers everything in the spectrum from printed to pressed, laser carved or hand etched.  :D

I am already starting to regret selling it... :-\

That sounds like a reasonable name. Anyway, I support this request.

Great idea. The threads that actually contain solid info (like Chainsaw's sale thread) are invisible to new users.

I'd hate to see a "Precious Metals" board with Casascius etc lumped in with them, because it'd get taken over by run-of-the-mill bullion stackers.

One subforum with maybe a couple useful sticky threads (moderated ones, even) at the top should be more than enough.

I have to agree with this...I work with paper , wood and metals....

It looks like there is now a collectables (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=217.0) sub under "goods"

Nice work Theymos and crew...much needed and appreciated!

Really great idea.   I guess it covers more then coins this way.   But love having a collectible area.

I had to go read meta after looking at goods thread that is a lot of moved collectibles.

Great news !!!!

Thank you for the new subforum "Goods > Collectibles"

Much appreciated :D

Surprised. Wasn't it going to be a Physical coins/precious metals sub? Collectables seems a bit vague. Maybe calling it Physical Coins and Precious Metals might be better.