Bitcoin Forum

I am excited to announce that I am finalizing the designs and talking with a reputable tamper proof hologram company to make a physical Litecoin!!!

Security: I am using a very expensive high security tamper proof hologram to secure each private key. It will be made with a high DPI dot matrix printer with several security features that will make it nearly impossible to forge. On top of that, our hologram will be registered in a database with all the reputable high security tamper proof hologram companies that make these things, and they will refuse to make it for anyone but me.

As an added security protection, there will be a window on the back of each coin that reveals the firstbits so you can look the address up on any block explorer to ensure it hasn't been redeemed. That way you can have peace of mind when buying and selling the coins that it is actually loaded with LTCs!!

All private keys will be created on a freshly installed OS on an offline computer, then encrypted. Also, coin inserts will be printed immediately during the address generation. The private keys and public addresses will be saved after being encrypted on two USB drives, which will be stored in a safe. When each coin is made, the private key data for that coin will be destroyed, leaving the only back up of said private key hidden under the tamper proof hologram. Security is my main concern and be sure it is not taken lightly.

Coin Type:
First batch will be nickel plated. 1 OZ silver rounds to follow shortly thereafter (dependent on the success of the first batch of coins.)

Unfortunately all denominations will not be made at launch as it is too costly for me. However, I plan to get at least every denomination shown above done over the coming months. I plan on making 1000 coins for each denomination, to keep costs as low as possible and pass this down to the customers. So, in the first batch there will be 20000-4000 coins made depending on how much funds we can come up with for the project.

Ordering
No preorders at this time. Check back in the near future.

Expected Release:
Soonish  :)

What I need from you:
Your opinion on the design and what denominations you would like to be able to buy.

I'd like to thank Casascius for the inspiration to undertake this project! https://www.casascius.com/

UPDATE:
As stated earlier, I have delayed production a little bit so that I could get a better design. I have had 5 designers design something for me. I am interested in hearing your opinions on what you like and don't like about the designs. Thanks:

LikeHero:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/likehero_zps7347125c.jpg
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/likehero_zps21ca4fc5.jpg

Xqisit:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Xqisit2_zps1138491f.jpg

Zinodaur:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Zinodaur_zps7a4db262.png
http://new.tinygrab.com/817aef87dfa50e2cfcf5b7c942e0a44d95f50faddc.png

Smeagol:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Smeagol2_zps7cf56c85.png
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Smeagol_zps42c9948c.png
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/smeagol3_zps7baf0bc1.png

Beefsock:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/beefsock_zpsfd24019e.jpg

Any idea on mint cost +spot? Shipping? Looks like a helluva idea. ;)

I'm just sort of gauging interest- I'm only just now completing the designs, the pictures I posted are somewhat of a rough draft.

I'll have a better idea on costs soon and shipping would be from the US.

Love the idea. Get rid of the tiny lettering inside the design (five ltc, ten ltc,etc), make it the normal solid grey/silver litecoin logo. increase the whitespace around the outside of the coin, and put your value and lettering there.

Good stuff bud, will be watching and picking some up.

Thank you for your suggestions. I am definitely interested what you guys think of the designs, as I want everyone to like them.  :)

Cheers,

Ch

1 OZ Silver?

I was thinking of carrying both a 1 OZ silver coin and a cheaper nickel plated version.

The 1 OZ silver coins would only be available in certain denominations (at least starting out... this stuff is expensive to make.)

Also, the 1 Oz silver coins may not be ready at launch as I might not have the funding for it... nickel plated is much cheaper.

bump- looking for more constructive criticism  :)

<old design>

I like the 2nd.

You really want most if not all lettering closer to the edge, small, non-numerical and following the edge (sorry, the word to describe thus currently eludes me, but "rounded, not straight")

Also, concerning silver coins, that would be great and personally I'd pay 2-3$ more per 1oz if it was ltc, I'd buy a lot too, and I guess that price premium seems fair, so you could calculate your margin of that price. (I'll also strictly say at 4$ premium per oz, it becomes too much of a bad investment)


NFC chip in them would be so great too (obviously not the silver ones because of the smelting mess)

Thanks for the advice.  :)

Are these any better? I feel like they're getting worse and worse lol.. and no ones hardly giving me any feed back, so that makes me think that they are all really horrible! :-\

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/NewEdge_zpsd9a2a7bf.jpg

Thanks. I've been trying to add a little more to the design so it doesn't seem like I just copy and pasted the LTC logo.

I wanted to give the design my own touch. But, if everyone just wants something really simple, then that works works for me I guess.

The first ones were too clustered and made them look too cartoon-y thus giving a fisher price look. These ones are much better (the right one). Maybe don't go that descriptive (anonymous decdntrilazed p2p), maybe just decentrallized cryptocurrency?

how about these ones? i found that pic on reddit..
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3820/39261510200344439166508.jpg

obviously those look good but need slight but added branding. (Similar to last sketch)

Just put a nicely engraved LITECOIN on top,
and something nioce & clever in the bottom.

Also on the round side you can see that the coins have ones and zeross  8)

These I would pay for - the other designs need more work, and don't look "professional" enough. We just need a simple, modern clean design - as this photo above shows.

Keep revising those other designs, less is more when it comes to coins. The BTC Cass coins are very well done, and doing a similar style would be great.

side etch is very neat but extremely expensive (north american coins don't have it for that reason)

Man, it almost seems like I'm never going to come up with a design that everyone likes :\

To get these made will be thousands and thousands of dollars, so I need something most people will like so I can sell a few and don't waste a lot of money.

So you guys want something that looks.. for lack of better words.. more like a coin?

Ok, back to the drawing board...

fiat coins are well made in fact. Also, we are in a world where minimalist designs prevail.

You will get it right, you just want something sharp and plain, something that when you look at you say "oh its neat" and you were able to read it all with a split second glimpse.

A simpler design based on your recommendations, I actually like this one the best so far: ;)

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Simple_zpsba89c60f.jpg

Also, notice that because I'm not making this in a 3D modeling program, my coin probably will not look as nice as the coin you guys posted earlier as an example.

After it's in its true form on a coin it will look similar... it won't actually be as colorful as this. The people making the coins will do the 3d stuff for me, I just need to give them some guidelines of a design to work off of.

its your favorite, as it is mine :) great revise. Should update OP with this revision added for traction.

Thanks for your feedback :)

I think I was trying to do too much and simply didn't want to copy the Litecoin logo, but since it looks better plain and simple like this, might as well keep it that way.

This is where I'm at now... Thanks for your help guys, I want you to like them- so please keep giving me feedback!!

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Lineuppp_zpsddb10250.jpg

Really like those. If you want a numerical value on , perhaps a relatively small embossed number top right or left.

Great, definitely going to buy them (I'm a sucker for these physical crypto coins  ;D)

Your last design is the best, and I think it will be nice in real form, if possible also do the 1's and 0's on the side like in that 3D model.

Only the typography could be a little bit better in my opinion . I don't like the proportions of the letters, seems like they are squeezed together and the alignment isn't perfect. But I suppose because it are only guidelines the designer working on the 3d will see this too.

For the value, I think the safest is to start with a plated one with not to many coins loaded. I don't have a problem to trust you right away with a small amount. But immediately buy for example a 1oz silver one with 1000ltc loaded on it seems a little bit too much and I think most people will. So start small like casascius did, and start to think about silver ones afterwards when they are a strong and trusted brand.

...ow and don't forget to make a typo in the first batch, lol  :D

Thanks for the kind words, I'm definitely gonna tweak the design a bit more, these are only rough drafts. The guys that make the die for the coin will make sure everything's good too. :)

I am definitely not an expert photo shopper... I just liked the idea of this project.. bringing physical currency to an ALT coin. Hopefully I can get the details pegged down soon.

I like your idea of starting small.. I'm beginning to realize how expensive everything will be... yikes. Definitely gonna have to start small!  ;)

Is it better with or without the numbers? (numbers are not perfectly centered yet)
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/NewLineup_zpsc26967be.jpg

Thanks matauc12 for the feedback again!

I would prefer the number to be presented as a number and not as a string, ie  "1" and not "one". Also in the opposite part I'd like it to have the number with big font in the center, and a nice font in the background (i.e. many LTC miniature fonts diagonially). Take the 2 Euro coin for instance.

It will cost about $5000 to make a really secure tamper proof custom hologram with advanced security features, so unfortunately I cannot put different numbers on them because it would cost too much (5000*7 designs.... ouch).

Looks nice, I would be in for a few.

One exception, and no offense to your "name", but "CoinHoarder" is not something I'd want on a physical coin.  Casascius has a much more exotic ring to it, no problem with that on his coins.

I have to disagree (not that my opinion is the only good one, just don't agree). I really like the alphabetical values on the outline which is why I also suggested a numerical on the front. There is something that paradoxically give alphabetical values a minimalist look on the outline instead of simple numbers. (I guess it comes from uniformity, if there was no letters on the coin maybe all numerical would look better)

Better with the numbers, only the 100, 500 and 1000 need more whitespace.

I understand what you mean, but at the same time I think he should value his branding. Maybe a compromise on the back instead of front? I feel that no matter the name, on the back might fit better.

Coinhoarder, this is probably very trivial,  but maybe the logo a tiny tiny bit smaller? Trying to visiualize 3d metal coin and it might remove a little extra bulk that might not be apparent 2d?

+1 for Hawk. This is the first thing I noticed and rejected: no Coinhoarder. Nothing personal and I understand the need for marketing, but get a new, neutral name, that will still stand out as a brand, but not a negative one (hoarding is considered very negative).

Thinks for the feedback guys, perhaps I can come up with some sort of brand name instead.

Well in light of fincen reg you might have to create an LLC so perhaps a brand name like xxx cryptocurrency (xxx being reference to something like "physical" "solid")

Ok, I came up with a name since you guys dont like my name..  :'( :'(

I think you guys will find it more suitable... CryptoVest

Also I cleaned up the images from earlier and reduced the font size on the numbers slightly so that 100, 500, and 1000 fit in nicely.

Let me know what you think!

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/NewnewernewesterLineup_zps295e4219.jpg

Any input on the latest design?

I have already contacted a coin company that's going to make the 4 lowest denomination designs at 250 coins each, this will be the first batch.

I expect to have the coins in about 2 weeks and the holograms will take about 3 weeks, so I think in about a month and a half I can have a completed product in my hands ready to sell to you guys!

I think I will auction the first one off to a good cause and something that will work well with a physical Litecoin... an Armory Clone. 100% of the auction proceeds will go into starting a bounty for an offline wallet/cold storage and an easy to use GUI interface with a LTC private key redeem feature. The winner of the auction will receive a certificate of authentication of being our first physical Litecoin minted and it will come with a nice case. I will add more to this bounty as time goes on to make sure LTC gets such a thing!  ;)

Thanks for the help with the designs! :)

As you probably know my state on those, they look exactly as they should.

But I can't seem to get out of my head how a NFC tag in them would be useful, but I have no idea if the foundry would be able to do that and if yes at what cost. Would go superb with the cold wallet options your are talking about, even maybe make holo obsolete (let's face it, holo is definitely the best way to do with, but because of lack of alternative). Also, if they can't be inside of the actual coin, they are merely stickers, maybe even snap on cores.

Of course, I am suggesting this with absolutely no idea about cost that it would add, and my knowledge of the functionality is somewhat limited to, but just an idea you might want to maybe tinker about at least for future revisions.

Best of luck.

Perhaps a liveCD would be safer than installing the OS? Otherwise it's awesome. I want NOW! NOW!!

Preorder?

I like the design. I think you should sell mLTC too. I don't understand why mBTC isn't being sold. So how about 1, 10, 100 LTC coins. But also sell 1, 10, 100 mLTC. This way if LTC value goes up like BTC did you'll still be able to be in business selling mLTC.

I like the originals best. I think these are horrible. These look like Anoncoins or something.

See? Perfect. The best coins are really simple like that. That should be the design.

I agree although I think it should be on the back. I think on the front it should just be an L logo we are all familiar with. I think the different coins should have slightly different designs on the back so we know it's 1 LTC, 10 LTC, etc.

I think when it gets to 100 LTC it might be better to go with a larger coin, similar to how silver dollars are larger. So the sizes should not be the same so they each have a unique feel in the hand, this way a blind person knows how much it is by the weight and feel.

Don't just focus on look, it's not just look. It's how it feels in the hand, how it sounds, all of that is a factor. You gotta get a coin which is just the right size. I'd sayit should be the size of a half dollar or a quarter to start. mLTC should be a bit smaller in size and lighter in weight.

So when you start you should remember that if you want the flexibility to branch into mLTC you have to start with the heavier bigger coins and make those the most unique but then the smaller coins don't have to be as unique because no one pays much attention to those coins.

You also want people to buy the biggest most expensive coins, so make those the blinged out unique looking and make the really simple basic coins for the majority.

Get rid of the words "One Litecoin" because not everyone can read that. Just put 1 or 1 LTC.

This saves space and simplifies because we are going to be used to seeing numbers and LTC, not "Litecoin"

I like the design but yeah I think letters should be avoided when you can use numbers. What if you give the coin to someone who can't speak good english or who is an immigrant? They don't read so what good is all that? Put 1LTC and everyone will know exactly how much it is and not only that but later on you can put 1mLTC and continue making coins. If you put 1 Lite Coin well what about the mLite Coin?

Good point on numbers.  Lets assume this is an international currency, hence no English.  Numbers and the name(s) - Litecoin and CryptoVest (slightly better than CoinHoarder).

I might recommend a printing date - eg in format YYYY-MM.

I have an idea for the reverse (or maybe the obverse for a litecoin) of the coin - you should check out the original 2 pound coin - it depited the progress of mankind from the iron age to the internet. I could easily picture circuitry on a litecoin!

Personally for me it is a novelty, I would be in the market for the lower denominations only - probably only the 1 LTC.  Having a 1,000 LTC coin floating around would be a great way to lose 1,000 LTC.  For me (and my kids) at least.

Holy Molly fuck luckybit......

I would certainly buy a few ltc coins.  They looks very cool and give the feeling of old style Savings Bonds that grandma would give you when you were a kid.

Making all the denominations look the same is a bad terrible idea.

Please make the design of each denomination unique in an obvious way. All the coins look exactly the same except for some tiny writing. Imagine pulling change out of your pocket and every coin looks like a quarter. Nobody wants to read the text on a coin to figure out how much it is worth.

I like the L logo, but it could be in the background with a large number over it. Or if you want every coin to have a big L, make each background unique. Or you could use a different metal for each denomination.

The design looks good! I think you just need to make a 1 LTC coin and a 10 LTC silver coin. Count me in for some!

I agree with Luckybit - simpler is better. Less text to clutter it, looks nice. Just compare to Cas BTC coins - they are simple, have a latin word, the mint year and value. That's it. Simple and beautiful.

You are not gonna put those coins in pocket and dig through your pocket to buy a bag of chips and a redbull buddy....

I dont see how there is too much text there. Putting numerical value curved on the edge would look funky and would use too little space and look like a deserted text. I agree less is better put putting 1 ltc on the edge would be far too little.

Yeah, you totally missed the point. Making all the denominations look the same is half-assed. It's boring. It's unappealing. It's something that a noob with no creative ability would do. It's a mistake.

post that in casascius thread and call him a noob please.

Why? His coins are all different. CoinHoarder should at least do what Casascius is doing.

They are all the same size and only recently started doing different colors/metals (well, recently in the sense that they were all the same for a long time).

Oh? Have you ever seen the Casascius coins? The 1 BTC coin is bronze. The 5 BTC coin is nickel-plated. The 25 BTC coin is bigger with different design. The 10 BTC coin is a 1 oz silver coin.

Well, I just realized, I was pushing a point that isn't even the one I'm trying to make.... Sure unique coins is something to aim at, but I do not believe coinhoader has that luxury right now and would probably come later(as casascius) (as you see he also wants silver and they would obviously need to be different from the Nicole as they are similar color).

i've never liked any of the litecoin designs, except these:
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/7818/ltc1.png
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/752/ltc2u.png
they were released into the public domain by aspect, and were available at http://alpha.cryptotron.com/ltc-designs/original.html (dead site now)

i know there's an awful lot of detail on them (you might want to modify it if your mint cant realistically achieve that resolution) but IMO it's by far the best litecoin design - all the others are complete shit (atleast as far as physical coins go).

Gotta admit those are pretty nice. Wonder if it really costs more to create those.

ok these are cool and visualize a cryptocurrency pretty good, but don't know if it will scale well to a normal coin size and can be made with that amount of detail.

Maybe one thing that the coin also should have in my opinion, the year it was minted.

They were all different from the beginning  :-[
But he started with only 2, the 1 and 25, I think this is the best way to go, one small and one bigger. And when you earned enough on those, you can start with more. Better 2  or even 1 really good coins than 5 meh coins.

I like the name by the way  8)

I don't like them, remind me of a known moneyclub of some sort..

The bottom right design is just awesome with the circuit board, earth, and Litecoin. It has always been my favourite Litecoin design!

I'm down for buying these - when will they be ready!?!?

 ;D

Hi everyone,

First of all, I am sorry some of you do not like the design. This is not a final design and it may be tweaked by the time I get everything lined up with the manufacturer and the money to make them. This ended up being much more expensive than I thought... $7000+ just for the first 1000 coins (the security hologram is the expensive part.) Because it is so expensive, I will only carry one or two coins at the start, and no silver coins at all. Hopefully I can expand my selection shortly after launch, but it just depends on many uncontrollable factors.

I am not going to lie and say I am some expert photo shopper/3d guru like some of the people who have made the coins you guys are posting. But, I'm not too into copying anyone, perhaps those guys would like to actually make those coins one day... who am I to steal their design? At least the LTC logo which I have used is fair game.

Although I am not an expert in coin minting, I have an everlasting enthusiasm for the future of Litecoins, the work ethic to make this project happen, and (hopefully soon) the funds to do it. I hope that I can make these in a way that most people will like them (if not I stand to lose a lot of money.)

Thank you all for your feedback, you can be sure that I have read what you all have to say and am considering everything mentioned.

As soon as I have any updates on this project, I will let ya'll know.

Thanks,

Ch

The face value seems to me hard to choose.
If its $7000+ for 1000 coins, you can't take the value too low, because if you make a 1ltc coin and people need to pay 4ltc for it they will be less inclined to buy them than if it's a 25ltc coin they pay 28ltc for. But too high and you get the trust issues.  :-\

I understand why you don't want to take someone else his design :)

Something I made:

http://www.bitcoin.nl/graphics/litecoin.png

If you want the ai files I can send them to you.
You can use it, change it, mint it or do whatever you want with it.

Leave litecoin on the top and make it with initial upper case -> Litecoin or maybe even all caps -> LITECOIN.
Move cryptovest somewhere else
Definitely have a year minted, not sure about "***" around the year.

Cool design  :)

I had someone contact me in private about making a neat design for the coins for a percentage of the company.

If we cannot come to terms, I will definitely hit you up- it seems like you could make a good design too.

You would provide a design and I will take care of everything else (funding, manufacturing, and sales).

Thanks,

Ch

Bump- Anyone else that is interested in this offer, please PM me. I am interested in getting the best designer possible for the sake of the success of the project.

I think this would be a nice deal for someone, because after you come up with the designs you just sit back and collect money. I take care of everything else.  ;D

Also... all financial risk is taken on by me and you are out nothing if this project fails, only your time.

Let me know, thanks,

Ch

Thanks for starting this project! Is it possible to perhaps ask the person who designed the bottom right design below if you could use their design for a share of the profits? The bottom right design is a work of art, phenomenal and I really do not think it can be beaten.

even if he had authorization, it would most likely have to be heavily modified to have less details. I can't say its impossible because I don't know, but its hard to think its possible.

Also coinhoarder, don't let go too much for a design. You have a decent one right now. You can shop around, but even for a killer design, I wouldn't pay much.


Artists are gonna hate me sure, but whatever, I'm a businessman.

Good art is good business. Beautiful things sell. And make the world a bit more awesome for everyone ;)

Hi Everyone,

Sorry, I just noticed this thread.

I just put up the original designs here http://litecoindeveloper.com/ltc-designs/ (http://litecoindeveloper.com/ltc-designs/)

At the bottom of the page there is a link for original versions (design evolution, so to speak).  The main design (known as 6a) has won the majority vote of developers involved in the Litecoin project. (That was like a year ago!).

Glad to see this come back.

On the page you will find a link to a ZIP file, which contains 6a images and an Adobe Illustrator vector file.  You are free to use this as you like.

A bit about the design:
- Binary numbers represent (unixtime) date of the litecoin genesis block
- Continents - represent global access
- Computer Processor & Circuitry - represents the tools of the miners
- Hammers - represents mining (traditional mining logo)

From my personal perspective, Litecoin is the only other cryptocurrency that has a potential to become a viable alternative/supplemental currency to Bitcoin.  I view Litecoin as a cryptocurrency of miners. Miners are true pioneers of cryptocurrency, they are the people who in the early days invested their time, money and effort to protect Bitcoin. As Bitcoin mining gets monopolized by ASIC manufacturers, Litecoin provides a safe heaven where instead of getting rid of their mining equipment by selling it at a loss, they can re-target it to protect the Litecoin network. And that, on my belief will inevitably create a market for it's use.  Also, the currency is fair for newcomers, many of whom heard about cryptocurrency only in recent months due to the "Bitcoin boom". They still have a chance to participate, whereas with Bitcoin you have to pay huge amounts of money, stand in queues for months to receive something that you are not even certain about in terms of ROI as it is pretty hard to predict the rise in difficulty.

This is my personal opinion, agree or disagree, but this is why the coin designs have circuitry on the left side.  This circuitry represents YOU people.

Cheers!

P.S.  If you are a developer and have done interfacing with litecoin or bitcoin daemons in any language, please contribute to my development tutorials at http://litecoindeveloper.com (http://litecoindeveloper.com).  You can reach me on IRC in #litecoin-dev. Even small snippets of code would be appreciated!

Awesome design and explanation. +1

Put me down for a few of these, I'll buy for sure!

I can't wait! ;D

i will buy some:) w00t ltc

I want some too.  ;D

great job can't waitttt.

i am interested in buying physical litecoins.

http://anonymouse.org/cgi-bin/anon-www.cgi/http://anonymouse.org/cgi-bin/anon-www.cgi/http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3820/39261510200344439166508.jpg

this simpler one is better.

not interested in buying a physical litecoin that says "CoinHoarder" on the front.

Hello everyone,

I thought I would update you all on my status. I have not been sure if I was going to complete this project or not over the past week or so. Someone contacted me when I posted the OP that they are also working on a physical Litecoin. Due to the high cost of minting and making the holograms, I wasn't sure if I wanted to risk this much money (considering if everyone likes their physical Litecoins better, this could leave me deep in the hole and out a lot of money.) After mulling it over for a while, I have decided to continue on with the project anyways despite this.

Several designers contacted me wanting to collaborate with me on this project. I was put in an unfortunate situation where I did not really know who I should chose, as I wasn't completely sure who would do the best job on the design, provide a healthy business partnership, and what percentage of the company to give them while still make this worth my time. Also, I kind of felt like the team captain in high school dodge ball picking teams and did not want to leave anyone out. Another thing, the costs of making these coins is so large and the profit margins so small, that I am going to have to sell a lot of them just to break even. This doesn't leave me much wiggle room to give up a percentage of the company or even pay a designer. Even designing them myself it will take me selling many coins (maybe about a 1000) just to break even. It is because of these reasons that I have decided to do everything that I can possibly do myself, from design to assembly.

I came up with a simplified design that I hope most people will like using the KISS method (keep it simple stupid  :).) I think one of the resounding opinions most people said ITT are that they want a simple coin design. So, I have listened to you guys and tried to come up with a simple design that still looks good. I hope you guys like it... please note that this is just a rough draft, also it is in black and white because I just do not have 3d capabilities, so this 2d rough draft will have to suffice. The coin itself will be 3d and all shiny and pretty like the other coins you have guys have posted.  :)

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/NEW-CoinLineupCoinCompany_zps3d2b5866.jpg

I will only be making a One and Ten Litecoin model at launch. If this first phase of the project is successful, my future goals are expanding the selection of physical Litecoins in multiple denominations and also one ounce silver bullion coins. It takes about 3 weeks just to make the hologram, so a possible release date is at least a month away, I'd say 2 months is more likely.

As always, I am interested in your opinions.

Thanks,

Ch

In my opinion ok. Only thing I would change is number font.

Ah, you reminded me of another problem with the project.

I've had a hard time with posting these designs for peer review... everyone seems to think they should be made a little bit differently.

At some point (very soon if I am to ever go into production) I am just going to have to choose a design and go with it, because it is impossible to please everyone.

Please keep in mind these are just rough drafts, the spacing/layout is not centered/straight, edges are rough, etc.

Thank you for your opinion though, I want as many people as possible to like them, and represent and promote the Litecoin community well.

I got this on my watch list.  Would love to buy some when you have them completed and forsale!

Awesome   ;D

Any other opinions?  ???

I look forward to buying some physical litecoins. Perhaps it would be less risky for you to start with the 1 LTC coins and see what the demand is. Suppose the demand is for 1000 LTC worth of coins. Would you rather sell 1000 coins or 100 coins?

Wonderful! I'm waiting too!

Yes.  If it's the initial seed money to get this off the ground and into pockets that's the issue at hand, I would love to pre-order.

The problem that you might run into is the Ł as it is already used for another currency and could cause legal problems. I seen somewhere that tried to use the Ł and they got stopped from using it and trying to find the info to post on here about tit. Just giving a heads up if you do start to produce them

First of all, to make a secure enough hologram, I will need to spend about $5000-$6000 to have them made. To have them designed and set up for printing is $5000 alone, not even counting the quantity I end up ordering. After this initial $5000 expense, I can have about 10,000 printed for $600. So, judging by those numbers, each hologram will cost about 56 cents. The coins will be much more expensive per unit. I am expecting to spend about $3.50 each for 1000 coins. This includes a nice clear protective plastic case for each coin.

So.. total cost of minting each coin and adding a hologram might be about $4.06. That is not including loading it with the Litecoins. When taking into account the current price of a Litecoin ($2.50), each coin will cost me 1.624 Litecoins to make. Add the 1 LTC that needs to be loaded on the coin and we are left with a total minimum cost of 2.624 LTC just to make one physical Litecoin. I was thinking about maybe putting a 100% mark up on the coins and including free shipping. This may seem like a really high mark up, but I need to recoup the $7000-$8000 investment it will take me just to make the first batch of 1000 coins and also pay myself for the time it takes to design, create, assemble, and load each coin. This would enable me to expand my offerings to other denominations of coins and also silver bullion in the future. This would make each physical Litecoin cost about 5.248 LTC.

I almost feel like this is too expensive, but due to the costs of making these coins there may be no other option. So, I ask you guys... is this too much? Would you be willing to spend this much for a physical Litecoin? Maybe it would be better to only have higher denominations so the mark up would not have to be so high? The higher denomination sold would further decrease the markup I need to charge. What are your opinions on prices of the coins?

It is a tough situation on which denomination to sell, what price would make this very time consuming project worth my time, and what would be worth it for people to buy. I really need some opinions on this as well.

I hadn't thought about this, thanks for the heads up!

I'd suggest selling in higher denominations, unless the USD price of LTC goes up by 5x by then, which is a fair possibility.

Um, it's a letter not a denomination IRL.  And if it was "legal" issues stopping it, physical BTC wouldn't exist as it is an actual currency symbol, i.e. Thailand.



Read my post above.  No, No, No.... I'm willing to preorder a bunch of coins at almost any denomination, same as many have posted before me.  If it's the money that's not getting this off the ground then accept pre-orders.  Simple, problem solved and this gets going NOW.

I would preorder some of these. Do you plan to go "public" like cassicus to avoid accusations of "Zomg he knows my private key" ?

This is a very likely possibility that the value of LTC goes up a lot by the time they are actually made, allowing me to lower the mark up. The numbers I posted are in no way exact.  :)

But yes, I am leaning towards selling higher denominations than just a 1 LTC coin so that the mark up can be lowered and it can be made more affordable to customers.

Yes, it is the cost of making them that is somewhat holding this project back. I will consider offering pre-orders to speed up the process, but this was something I was trying to avoid.

I am going to try and be as transparent as possible, similar to casascius, in the manufacturing of the coins, generating addresses, and private keys. An exact procedure has not yet been determined, but I assure you I will do everything in my power to make this very transparent.

Although, at the end of the day I will still need the community to trust me and know that I have the best intentions for Litecoin on my mind. My ultimate goal for this project is wanting to increase the value of Litecoins by making a novelty such as a physical Litecoin, and making a worthwhile contribution to the Litecoin community.

Yes I understand why.  Trust issues for some.  Offer something special to pre-orders like a certificate saying this was the "second" ltc minted, etc, etc, according to who preorders first and down the list.  It would motivate people to get their orders in fast and I'll bet you'll have the initial seed money to get this going.

I will try to get the designs pegged down during the next week and get some solid quotes for the hologram and coin minting. Then, I will think about opening up pre orders including something along the lines of a "certificate of authenticity" or something about the coins being one of the first physical Litecoins made by us! I think this is a good idea, because the cost of minting is really the bottleneck at this point.

Cool, consider me in!

Have you talked to Casascius? He obviously is an expert on the subject and can certainly be a lot of help. His coins never cost that much to make. There must be a cheaper supplier.

No, I haven't spoken with him... I'm sure he has probably seen the thread, but has yet to comment. I'm curious how you know exactly how much it costs for him to make his coins? I think it probably costs him a similar amount to manufacture his coins as I have stated it will take me, but he can more easily mask the costs of manufacturing and the mark up, because each Bitcoin is worth about $100. Meanwhile each Litecoin is only worth $2.50, making the manufacturing costs and mark up more apparent (if you get what I'm saying.) He is charging a .25 BTC mark up per coin... this equates to $15+ profit for him assuming his costs of making them are the same. That is more than I would be charging in my example above ($10.62 profit in comparison.) But because a Bitcoin is worth much in USD than a Litecoin, it is not as apparent. So actually my coins would be cheaper than Casascius' if you do the math (maybe I should charge more  :D  :P). These numbers I posted are not final and subject to change, I am just thinking aloud.

Also, he is probably making his coins 1000s and 1000s at a time (maybe even 5000-10000+), which brings down costs quite a bit. I could ship without the clear plastic case that would take a dollar each off the cost, but I thought this would be nice to protect the coins and keep them in mint condition. No offense meant, but Casascius is what I call "Old Bitcoin" (IE. Old money)... he has a lot more resources and money than I do that bring down the cost of his product.

I don't think $4.06 manufacturing costs for each coin is really that expensive. Like I said, without the clear plastic case I could bring this down to $3.06, but this is not including the cost to load the LTC. Also the $4.06 costs per coin is not including any profit whatsoever, which is necessary to make this worth my time and for further expansion/offerings of different denominations and silver coins. This will take a lot of my time, I can't just do it for free... also, since my markup is actually lower per USD than Casascius, I think it is a reasonable price.

Another thing I wanted to mention.

Everyone wants to measure the quality of my coin to the quality of Casascius' and it is not really fair. Casascius had been making physical Bitcoins for over 2 years and has a lot of experience manufacturing and assembling them... I have never even made a single one before. There will be a learning curve and growing pains that I will work out as things progress. I hope one day I can release a super high quality product like Casascius, but this may not be possible at first due to my inexperience (I hope that is not the case.)

Litecoin is at its core written in the code different than Bitcoin. It is okay IMO if our physical Litecoins are different from Bitcoins' version. The only reason I am making them is because he seems unwilling to make physical Litecoins. Otherwise, I would step back and let the pro do it. I will try to make the prices fair, and the loading process and private key destruction as transparent as possible.

So... I ask you all to please bear with me, I am trying my best.

I don't know what his costs are, but I bought several of his coins when BTC was about $4 and they cost somewhere around 1.2 BTC each.That's only $0.80 markup and he only made about 3500 of the original run, so I assume it cost him less than $2800.

I would skip the plastic case. If people want to put the coins in a plastic case, it is simple enough the get them. Maybe you could sell the cases separately.

I have no clue how he made everything so cheap, and I actually don't believe that it's even possible to do so, no matter what quantity is ordered...

You can look for yourself, custom tamper proof holograms that are at least 800 dpi and secure enough to deter counterfeiting are easily 56 cents each, with about a $5000 minimum order investment. Plus, the cost of the coins which is more expensive per coin than the holograms.. somewhere around $2.50 a coin for about a 1000 of them, the less you order the more expensive per coin it is.

If you can find somewhere to make these this cheap, let me know. I can assure you I have/will shop around. If I charged an $0.80 mark up though, I would be out of business before I even manufactured anything.

This sounds awesome. I will be sure to buy some. The 3D renders posted earlier do look nicer, but your new simple design looks good too. Looking forward to this.

Great thanks! I think the coins will look better once minted and in a real 3d coin shape and shine.

I made the numbering on the coin a fatter as per someones recommendation, do you guys like it better or should I keep trying or change it back ???

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/NEW-CoinLineupCoinCompany_zps1cbfa508.jpg

Im interested in some. (:

Looks good!  Where do I preorder? :)

How do we pre-order and how much will they cost?

once these become available - theres no stopping litecoin! :D yeyeyeyeye!

show me the moneyz! LOL

Awesome  :)


No preorders! My investor and I are taking all risks of this project ourselves. I personally despise preorders from a customer standpoint, especially on a product that hasn't even been made yet, so I tried really hard to avoid this.

Litecoin's going to the moon regardless, but hopefully this will help push it in the right direction!  ;)


PS to everyone: Cost per coin is tied to the US dollar. When I calculated the cost of each coin shown in the images, Litecoin was worth $2.50. So, hopefully Litecoin keeps going up up up, and I can provide these to everyone cheaper (in LTC) than I had planned.

Am super interested in some! Keep us posted!

Good on u dude...

++  8)

As stated earlier, I have delayed production a little bit so that I could get a better design. I have had 5 designers design something for me. I know which one I like the best, but I am interested in hearing your opinions.

LikeHero:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/likehero_zps7347125c.jpg
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/likehero_zps21ca4fc5.jpg

Xqisit:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Xqisit2_zps1138491f.jpg

Zinodaur:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Zinodaur_zps7a4db262.png

Smeagol:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Smeagol2_zps7cf56c85.png
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Smeagol_zps42c9948c.png
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/smeagol3_zps7baf0bc1.png

Beefsock:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/beefsock_zpsfd24019e.jpg

Please speak up about which design you like, what you you would change, etc.

Thank you,

Ch

Zinodaur and LikeHero are my 2 favorites! 

Leaning more to LikeHero's design.

THank you!!! It is impossible for me to give everyone what they want if they don't speak their mind and tell me their opinions of the designs. So, thank you very much for your opinion.  :)

IMO, definitely between Zinodaur and LikeHero's, i really can't make up my mind between the two to be honest =(

Either way i want 50 of them, gimme gimme gimme!

Thank you sir  ;D

No, Thank you. =o

<insert "takemyLTCwallet.jpg" here>

I like LikeHero's design, except that maybe using "LTC" should be "Litecoins" instead.

BTW, I met Charles Lee (coblee) at the Conference. Nice guy.

I like both Zino's and Like's. Even though Like's is great, based purely on the concept depiction I am kinda leaning towards Zino's. I feel Like's has way too much going on around the L.

Whitespace is a good thing in design. Less clutter.

Thank you!  :)

Same for me, I think Zinodaur really nailed it with the symbols in the middle, and it is a really beautiful design, but it also looks playful due to the roundness of the used font and symbols. I know the minted version wont have the roundness on the outside like this design, so I took that in consideration, minted it will be less playful but still a lot more than what I would expect from a coin. Can't really decide if you can get away with it for something like a currency. On the other hand, I always thought of Litecoin as the cute little sister of Bitcoin, lol, maybe it is refreshing and new to use this one.

LikeHero his design is more of a traditional coin, the symbolics are also well thought through, maybe a little bit less as Zinodaurs coin in the middle but nevertheless very good. This is a pretty safe bet, will look amazing... but something attracts me in Zinodaur his design.    

How many will you make in the first batch? Really don't want to miss out on these   ;D

I'm making somewhere between 2,000-4,000 coins in the first batch (2 to 4 denominations, 1000 coins each.) It depends on how many funds we have available at the time the final order is placed.

I have come across extra expenses in the form of programming/design/website design that has brought down the total amount that I can make, as I was planning on making 4,000 originally with 4 denominations. I might get a pay advance from work so that I can make full set of coins in the first batch with 4 different denominations. But I am not sure yet if I will do this, as I need money to live on as well and my budget is somewhat thin. :D

Thank you for your thorough opinion.  :)

I would very seriously be interesting in pre-paying a preorder to help cover the expenses so that you wouldn't have to be so out of pocket.

I can prepay as well!  Put me on your list of people to prepay! :D

I'd also be willing to prepay if it would help you out.

Hm, others have expressed interest in pre-ordering from me in the past, but honestly I am trying to avoid this at all costs. I will think about it more.

Also, Zinodaur updated his design a little bit after hearing some of the criticsm, specifically the font. Check it out: http://grab.by/mJrG

I updated the OP with the new designs, and added more information about security procedures. As I am finalizing the design, I am thinking of starting to take preorders so that all denomination of coins can be made. I am pricing out different shipping methods and will open preorders once a design is finalized.

I actually left one designer our in my post earlier, it has been edited.. sorry to Beefsock!I would like more opinions on the new designs, be as descriptive as possible please. Examples: I like this one the best, if you changed this it would be perfect. Or, I like this one the best, but if you changed this on the other design, it would be my favorite. Etc..

(See the OP for new designs)

Thanks!

Vote: LikeHero, top left. Pre-order: yes please :D

Also, in the case where I choose to manufacture more than one design, please state which hologram you like best. I can product different coins in batch 1, but not different holograms as it's almost a 5k FIAT design/setup fee.

Thank you for you opinions.

LikeHero one's with the hologram of zinodaur  ;D

Interesting that Zino kept the actual font of the characters used - i think thats where the criticism was from a few people (bold and round letters making it look playful).

Perhaps people would prefer a less playful font of the words used in Zino's design ?

Btw CoinHoarder, make sure you announce pre-orders if you decide to go through with it, wouldn't want people missing out. Especially me =o.

I would be scared to buy any coin where someone else, at any time, knew or had access to the private key.

That said, this is a cool novelty might be fun for low denomination souvenirs

++++1

If I miss out.. OH MAN there will be hell to pay! :P

All joking aside, don't forget me for prepay! :P

This really is a tough call, but I have to go with Zino's design for originality of design. There are several things  I would tweak on it though.

1- as mentioned before, change the playful font
2- the "electricity" symbol could be less.... harry potter? lol.
3- I dislike the leafy strands on the exterior edges. too traditional. I think it should be just left blank, or have some kind of "technologic" feel to it. The coin is already pretty busy as it is.


Hope this helps!

Zino's design stands alone.

I would be happy to preorder some of these as well, let me know.

bump... see new designs in OP, what's your opinion?

I forgot to mention.  When I said LikeHero's it was the top option out of the 3.

maybe we can use escrow to pre-order. So you can get some money to mint coins into silver coins?

are you still accepting designs for this ?

Thank you for your opinions.

I updated the OP again.. Xqisit rendered his coin in regular coin form instead of black and white. I also added Zinodaur's other design with a different font.


That's a possibility, I will think about it. I am not even sure I will do pre-orders.


Possibly if you could get one to me quickly, please PM me a bid for your work. If we can come to terms, I will send you the dimensions of the coin and other
 pertinent information.

We were supposed to render the coins in black and white, not 3D metallic, so sorry about the simple design!  Just trying to follow directions.  ;)

UP  :)

Please no fighting guys. I want to receive honest feedback, that will probably not happen if you guys are in here arguing.

Thank you,

Ch

I really like LikeHero's designs. But i'll prefer see more variants :)
Let me know about preorder.

GL CoinHoarder!

could you render yours in coin form instead of black and white? I would be curious to see it.  Its hard to judge with differences like this.  Apples to Oranges one might say!

Bump. See OP for new designs. I need more opinions.

Anyone?

I am ready to enter production, I just need advice on the design please!!

I like the design by Zinodaur. Put me down for a roll. :)

http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fry-money.jpg

Yes, YES, A THOUSAND TIMES YES!!!!!

this.

Ill take some.

Whatever you do, don't use the symbol for the British Pound or anything like it.

Those look wonderful.  I would love to hold and spend these.

Thank you all for your opinions, please keep them coming.

Obviously not everyone is going to agree on which design is best, and even some people will not like any of the designs I had made. There's not much I can do about this, as I don't want to simply copy another design found off the internet, I would like these to be original. Also, everyone kind of has a different opinion on what looks good and what doesn't. I'm sure there are people that have not bought certain Casascius coins because they don't like the designs either.. to each their own as the saying goes.

I am just trying to figure out a consensus opinion from people's responses about the designs, so that I can make something that most people would like. Thank you for those that have responded, I really appreciate it.

i personally like simply(not too simple) design, silver would be nice. not big fan of hologram 

Wow, just wow. Socks blown off by this project and the first three design proposals. I would buy any of them. Perhaps preferring LikeHero's slightly, as I like the crisp ornaments when compared to the more bulky ones.

Last week I was gauging possibilities for production of physical bitcoin in silver. Talk about ideas floating about in the ether and being grasped by the sensitives. Good.

I will buy so many of these it's not even funny!!

wothless unless its  a silvercoin:)  lead.zink steel what ever  you make it wont be of any value:)
counterfiting wil  be greater than if one  forks up silver

Unfortunately, I don't have the budget for silver coins.

But I disagree with you on the counterfeiting, I am spending a sizable amount on getting a very secure custom hologram. The hologram also gets registered in a database that all quality tamper proof label makers use and it will be attached to my identity. They will only make this certain hologram design for me. The coins might be easily counterfeited, but not the holograms.

I have to agree! These are the best design I've seen for Litecoin!

can you at least make few "special edition" of silver Litecoin?

@ thecryptokeeper

That is amazing. Just absolutely amazing. I was tossing up between Zino's and Likehero's however that design takes the cake by a long shot and would have my vote as well if it were possible to actually print it. I have a feeling it wouldnt be possible though =(

I'm sure it can be made. Look at the detail of other coins.
https://www.google.com/search?q=coins&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=7EudUeqPHeHtigLOuoDIAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1115 (https://www.google.com/search?q=coins&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=7EudUeqPHeHtigLOuoDIAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1115)

well, remember its not a real currency. you dont want to pick the fight with govt yet

Unfortunately there is no way to make a small order of them, it has to be a minimum order of 500.

I plan on making some in the future when I can save up enough to make them.

You might be right actually, perhaps CoinHoarder can let us know if its possible to put that coin in for the running? I have a feeling it would be overly popular.

mhh
thats about 90k for 500 50ltc coins
dont think everyne can afford that

It is easy to get around this by selling the coin only, and letting everyone load it themselves. However, the thing that makes it expensive for Silver coins is paying spot price+premium and minting costs. 500 one ounce silver coins comes to like $13,000 before minting costs, IF I could get them at spot price... which I can't. I also have many other expenses in the form of hologram manufacturing, paper for coin inserts, nice printer, programming for address/private key generating/printing, coin designs, web design/development, etc.

I want to avoid preorders and I simply cant afford to make silver coins in the first batch. As long as the first batch is successful, I will be willing to make a silver edition.

bump-

See the OP for new designs, what's your opinion on them? Which coin is your favorite and which hologram is your favorite?

First coin, second hologram.

Maybe putting up a vote would make it simple?

Any other opinions? See the OP for new designs, which coin design do you like best, and which hologram as well?

I am going to finalize the design this weekend and move into production, last chance to get you opinion in.

Zinodaur

I wanna get a 100LTC coin.
how do i go about this?

Absolutely amazing!!

So, you want to create a physical currency, to represent a digital currency?

So when can I give you my money!?!?!

 ;D ;D ;D

Don't forget to put in an error in printing the first version, so that it becomes collectible.  ;D

Crosspost from Litecoin forums..

After much thought, despite there being a few people that don't like the designs, I am going to continue into production using either Likehero's or Zinodaur's design (I have not decided yet which one). No matter what design I end up using, there will always be people that don't like it. Everyone has different views and opinions about what looks good and what doesn't, or what a physical Litecoin should look like.

The responses to this thread and others I have made were somewhat disappointing (in a sense of how many people actually responded with their opinion.) I can't make people give me their opinion, they have to submit it willingly. The fact is that I and others have expressed that they like Zinodaurs/Likeheros designs, and the people that have stated they don't like any of the designs are somewhat of a small minority in comparison to those that do like them. If this assumption is wrong, then I do not feel like it is my fault. More people should have spoken up and expressed their opinions about the designs.

I have already cut into the coin production budget quite a bit by getting these designs made (I was originally going to use my own very simple design,) and for website design/development. As is, I will not be able to make the quantity or variety that I was originally planning on making. Any more funds spent on designing the coins could potentially cause them never to be made, or me abandoning the project because it is too expensive. Just because a few people don't like any of the designs, I am not going to let that hold the project back.

For those of you that don't like the designs, as long as the first batch is a success, I am planning on making different designs and coins in the future. Hopefully these will be ones you like, but I'm afraid you will have to wait for this to come to fruition, as I am going to use one of the designs I've already had made.

Thank you all for your opinions and interest, and I'm sorry I can't accommodate all of your druthers when it comes to the coin design. I don't like how you jumped to the conclusion that if I use these designs then that means I am just doing this for the money and profit, it is simply not true. Nor am I ignoring the clientele or customer base, but honestly the negative feedback has been small compared to the positive feedback. I want to see Litecoin developed and adopted to its fullest possibilities, and this is just a small step in reaching that goal. I think if each person in the community were to do a project for Litecoin as I am, there will be nothing standing in the way of the "end game" goal that I think most of us share for Litecoin.

Cheers,

Ch

Correct  :)

I may do preorders, but I am not certain yet. My original intent was to fund the project myself, however there have been unexpected expenses that I did not account for so this may not be possible. I will let everyone know soon.

I hope they become collectible regardless, however I cannot promise to mimick the error in the original casascius coins. First of all, I am a bit of a perfectionist. Secondly, I feel like its time for Litecoin to part from the image of being Bitcoin's little brother. Inherently this stigma will stick with Litecoin for a long time, but it is time we start looking into the future.  :)

I do think that would be funny though.  ;D :D

I can haz silver rounds upon release?

The Series 1 Casascius coins are not valuable because there is an error (technically, it is not an error because it is on every coin of the series). They are valuable because they are different and rare. People mention the error only because it is the easy way to distinguish them from the other coins.

If you want to make the coins more collectible, you can change the design every so often (every year, for example). You don't have to misspell something. That's a dumb idea.

This is what I am planning on if this is a success. I will only make a certain amount of coins in the first batch, and this design will never be minted again.  :)



People really like their silver, many people have asked me this.  :)

Perhaps I will do preorders for silver coins, as they are a little bit out of my budget to make them on my own dime.

Missing happiness in life ? Can't understand a joke ?  ;D

Please, take my money XD

These are really cool, looking forward to release!

I expect that you've seen Casascius's aluminum coins thread (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=204662.0;all) & on his site (https://casascius.com/)

https://casascius.com/alcoins.jpg

Aluminum "Strength in Numbers" Promo Coin (bag of about 500)
1.25 inches in diameter, blank back, does not include any bitcoins.
Print your own sticker for the back and use it as a business card, or print your own private key sticker and put bitcoins on it.
Price 1.5 btc which is 0.003 btc = 39 cents each approx atm.

Also see this post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=190912.msg1989705#msg1989705) for more details, like silver, gold, other colours & finishes.

These being primarily light in weight & cheap to have manufactured I believe this would be an excellent & very fitting way to help promote Litecoin, they are most like the New Orleans Mardi Gras carnival coins & perhaps one of the krewes would be interested in incorporating this idea with having say the bulk of coins tossed to the crowd as just regular promotional ones, but maybe 100 or so having 0.1 ltc private keys inside, 10 with 1 ltc & 1 with 10 ltc or 100 ltc - however much they overall wished to give out, these coins become collectables too.

If no krewes were interested this would still be a great occasion to give out a bunch for promotional purposes & the following year there may well be more interest in virtual currency funded carnival float coins because of this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_Mardi_Gras

Examples of Mardi Gras coins & their designs (https://www.google.com/search?q=carnival+coins&client=firefox-a&hs=4L9&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=kwuqUd_yA6yI7AauyoD4Dg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1429&bih=1191#client=firefox-a&hs=CM9&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=new+orleans+carnival+coins&oq=new+orleans+carnival+coins&gs_l=img.3...16711.20349.0.21798.12.12.0.0.0.0.280.2001.4j5j3.12.0...0.0...1c.1.15.img._yp11UVpXPc&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47244034,d.ZGU&fp=c832c95d5e4371ac&biw=1429&bih=1191).

I would really like a 1 oz Silver Litecoin, preferably with just 1 LTC  :P
Because, some day 1 LTC will equal the silver content, that will be awesome!  :D

But if it's 10 LTC denomination I will also be a buyer. And then I'll buy an additional 1LTC coin, fo' s&g (Already have a 1BTC coin)

http://www.kickstarter.com/

A website to facilitate orders is being built as I type this post.  :)

I think I am most likely going to use Zinodaur's design, and am expecting to begin production sometime next week.

Sorry for the delays. It has taken me longer to get everything organized than I thought it would.

Thanks for your interest.  :)

Count me as excited to see this happen! I'd love to buy 50-100 physical litecoins! (whatever the design ends up being... )

If done right these collectible Litecoins can end up being more valuable than the non-physical Bitcoins. I could see these collectible coins selling on auction sites in 5 years going for x5 the price of buying Litecoins merely because it's the first physical Litecoins and if done right it's pure silver as well? Success. Zinodaurs models are great, I hope you're going with that.

Just offer a method to pre-order, we are waiting.

Eventually it will be silver or even platinum but for now it has to be whatever he can afford.

Count me in for a platinum order too!!! :)

Maybe you should try to get in touch with Max Keiser he is a bitcoin/silver/gold bug and has is own silver bullion brand.
He might be interested in participating in this kind of project.
http://rt.com/shows/keiser-report/
http://www.brotherjohnf.com/forum/Thread-Keiser-Ethical-Silver-rounds

he never really talks about ltc

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your interest.

Otoh:

Thanks for the suggestion. Along with making coins, I have been planning on making a few other products involving putting Litecoins in a physical form. Some of those ideas include:

• 1 LTC denominated chocolate coin, meant for gifts and to introduce people to Litecoin, not recommended for resale.
• Fireproof/waterproof paper Litecoin wallets with QR codes, private keys secured by hologram
• Adding the ability to assemble your own coins and paper wallets by generating addresses and private keys on your own computer, so that you don't have to trust a 3rd party
• Non denominated coins or "savings bars" similar to casascius' version.

The possibilities are endless.  :)

I am trying to come up with creative ideas as to storing Litecoins in a physical form, let me know if anyone else has any other suggestions.

Thanks,

Ch

I like the one's in post #144 and #166 in this thread.

Just my 2 satoshi's

got a date yet?

Could be also, just my 2 charlies or 2 coblees - from LTC creator Charlie Lee

I'm apprehensive to give a date because then I'll feel bad if I don't make it.  :)

I may be able to provide a conservative estimate later this week.

Lol. love it.

CH - I'm still loving zinodaur's design the best, especially the black on silver. Easily the most professional looking submission.

I'll be making an official announcement as to the design later this week. I have made a decision as to which design to use, however I changed the mechanics of the design after receiving some advice and would like to get it finalized before announcing anything.

I was originally planning on printing the Litecoin address of the coin directly on top of the hologram. I was advised against this because the address may wear off due to excessive wear (carrying it around in your pocket or wallet, etc.) The new design will be similar to how Casascius does his coins nowadays, with a window in the hologram containing the Litecoin address underneath it on the coin insert, and the private key printed on the opposite side.

Seems neat, I'm in for about 500 LTC worth of the first batch.

I wish you would start accepting pre-orders ASAP. I wouldn't mind securing a roll of 1/5/10 LTC coins from first batch. Would be way easier then having to check the thread every day..

Hi everyone,

After all this I have decided not to make the coins. I spent too much time organizing things and polling the public for their opinions, that it seems that someone else has beaten me to the punch and made their own physical Litecoins. This was a surprise to me, seeing as though this person never made an announcement or anything. I can't honestly take my investors money (over $10k) and use it on this project knowing that there will be competition and that his ROI will likely take a large hit. Believe me, no one is more upset with this turn of events than I am, I have spent over a thousand dollars on design and programming a custom program to generate/print addresses, and most of my free time the past few months has gone into planning or organizing some part of this.

Thank you all for your interest,

Ch

Wow, very sorry to hear this, though along with not going down the pre-order path it does help to confirm your integrity, if you & your backer/s do decide to launch a physical LTC any time, there may well be room for two or more manufacturers in this market, then you already have a lot of goodwill, best of luck & hope to hear more in the future re this &/or other projects.

 :-\

Thx for your effort!

I'll donate a small ammount:)

Is this your BTC address: 1otohotohMoQoxHuxLBveQiZcV3Pji3Tc     ?
(I also have LTC, but rather keep it ;) )

Cheers Otoh,

I assure you it was never my intent to scam, I only wanted to make something neat for Litecoin that didn't exist yet. Another part of me feels that my time would be better spent working on creating another product/service that doesn't exist and building upon the Litecoin infrastructure, rather than competing with someone from the community working on a similar project.



That's not necessary, but I won't stop you.  :)

I'm not sure where you found that address- I don't recognize it, but here is my BTC hot wallet: 1PeMQ6epzs9FWynK8ds7tAwJviAi9rLn9G

Thanks a lot.  ;D

I agree that it was never your intent to scam, just saying that this helps to confirm that.

@dnaleor lol, that's my BTC sig address, it's a black hole :P

CoinHoarder, I'm sad to hear this. Would you reconsider? The other party seems to be making silver litecoins. I assume yours won't be silver so would be cheaper. Not everyone wants to pay the premium for a silver coin. So I'm sure you will have demand that's not met by these other coins.

I will think it over some more Coblee.

I admit sometimes I am quick to make a decision or say something without really thinking things over as thoroughly I should.

It's hard to say no to the creator of Litecoin, you are seriously like a God to me... minus the praying and church stuff. Well.. OK, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, however I do hold a great deal of respect for you. :)

Who is this other seller? Source?

https://i.imgur.com/RY4Hv0n.jpg

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=232777.0;all

His coins are different. They are silver. Some people will want his. Some people will want yours. Some people will want both.

I'm also thinking of making some physical rounds for Litecoin for the community.

Would you consider either selling or open-sourcing the software you made to generate and print addresses? 

I assume it's something quite like the one Mike of Casascius created.

Thanks for your time.

Would prefer if it didnt have "cryptovest" on it... whats the price range of the coin, depending on denomination?