Bitcoin Forum

Keep in mind this design is a rough draft. Edges/spacing might not be exact. The coin will look better when minted and in its 3d shape and metal shine.  :)

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/NEW-CoinLineupCoinCompany_zps7605e2c6.jpg

Can you expand on "physical" litecoins?

Do you mean a silver bullion coin with the logo above?  How does that contain the Litecoins if you don't mind expanding on this?

The first characters of the Litecoin address will either A. be printed on the hologram or B. be under a see through window in the hologram. That way you can verify there are funds in the address of the Litecoin on any block explorer.

The private key to that address will be hidden under a tamper proof hologram. When someone wants to spend the Litecoins, they would peel off the hologram to find the private key underneath. You can use this private key to redeem your Litecoins in your wallet.

The first round of coins will not be silver bullion, as I don't have the money. I am hoping to expand into silver on later runs. The first round will be some sort of silverish metal (yet to be decided) or faux silver.

I added likely costs for each coin and edited the relating poll choices, also added a too expensive option even though I'm not sure I can trim costs much more.

The prices are subject to change and are only an estimate.

I am not taking preorders at this time, but maybe in the near future.

Bump to the top.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It seems most people like the 50 LTC denomination. That is understandable/expected since its a better value.

I noticed a couple have said its too expensive- the price could come down a bit if the exchange rate goes up by the time I have them made. Also, the price is an estimate as I'm not sure of the complete manufacturing costs yet.

After thinking about it, I will most likely not do any preorders but it still a possibility.

I m confused

1.You create an address with lets say 50LTC
2.You create the physical coin with part of the address being visible and the remaining part as well as the private key being printed in a hidden
area of the coin.

Am i missing something about the process of making these coins?

Exactly, each physical Litecoin will have the first 7 characters of the Litecoin address printed on top of the hologram.

You can then use these first 7 characters of the address to enter into any Litecoin block explorer to get the full Litecoin address and check to make sure the value in LTC is actually held in that address.

Hidden underneath the tamper proof hologram is the private key that can be used for redeeming the LTC that was sent to that specific Litecoin address.

I think you understand it.. you are not missing anything.  :)

Any other opinions or questions??

PS: VOTE!!!

I just voted too expensive on the basis that the 1 LTC denomination costs 6 times that of the LTC itself. The 50LTC version isn't so bad. But what I would really be interested in is if the actual coins are made of fine silver as well.
Somehow I think fine silver holds value better than unknown silvery metal.  ;D That way you can still persuade someone the coin is worth its weight in silver even after someone decided to redeem the ltc.

Also, it has probably been suggested before, how about putting larger denominations on heavier coins? E.g. 10LTC on 10 Oz silver coin, 50LTC on 50 Oz, etc.

I think physical Litecoins is a great idea and I'm all for it.

I do think the 1 LTC coin is a little too expensive though - but I can understand if it costs say $8 to get a 1 LTC coin minted. But paying 6 times one LTC for an LTC coin just doesn't seem right!

Might be best to only sell the larger denominations unless you can drop the price of the 1 LTC somehow.

Hi, thank you for your feedback.

First of all, a 5 LTC mark up on each coin is actually lower than what Casacius himself charges for his physical Bitcoin, and I would venture to guess he is making them at much larger quantities that are most likely cheaper to make. So.. I am making less profit than he is by selling these.

People don't seem to realized that because a Bitcoin is worth over a hundred dollars, he can charge a .2 BTC mark up and it doesn't seem like much at all, but this .2 BTC mark up is bigger in USD than my 5 LTC mark up if you do the math.

Also, silver bullion and coins are something I would like to expand upon in the future if this project is successful. This is another reason to justify the 5 LTC mark up. The costs of buying a bunch of 1 oz silver coins adds up very quickly as you can imagine. I simply do not have enough money to start with silver coins right from the get go.

By buying a coin or two from the first batch metal coins, you would be helping me to reach that goal of offering more denominations and silver coins/bullion as well.

Thanks,

Ch

Maybe LTC will go up after Mt.Gox release and 1 LTC will be worth more than 2.5$

Yes, it is unfortunate that a LTC is only worth about $2.50, making a 1 LTC physical Litecoin cost 600% more than a regular digital Litecoin for consumers. This number gets much more reasonable the higher the value of the coin is. I am honestly not sure if I will even make a 1 LTC coin at the start, perhaps leave that later on until LTC value is higher allowing me to charge a more reasonable cost. For instance, if Litecoin was $100, this would drastically reduce the cost for the consumer.

If LTC price goes up in the future, then this mark up can be brought down a little, but until then I will need to pay for the cost to make the coin and provide enough profit to expand my offerings to different denominations of coins, better designs, and silver coins as well.

I agree with you that I will most likely only make the larger denominations from the get go. Possibly even one higher than a 50 LTC version to further decrease the cost to the consumer.

I will adjust prices accordingly as Litecoin value changes, but at this moment I am going to need to charge about 5 LTCs just to make 1 coin... no matter what denomination it is.

Yes, hopefully as LTC rises this can be adjusted. I would buy some 100 LTC coins no problem, and I am sure there are people out there who would buy 1000 LTC coins :)

So many people saying that they're too expensive   :-X

I wonder if they know that I am charging less in USD per coin than Casascius... He probably gets them made at higher quantities and cheaper as well....

It is just unfortunate that a Litecoin is worth 2.50 and a Bitcoin 100+, it is easier for him to mask the mark up and it makes people seem like they're paying less than what they actually are...


Definitely, after seeing the poll results it seems most people are more interested in the higher denominations... I guess because they are a better value.

So, perhaps I will do away with the smaller denominations at first.

I could sell these for cheaper, but this would probably make the project:

A. Not worth my time and effort of designing, manufacturing, assembling, and sales.
B. Not provide the correct risk to reward ratio for the HUGE investment this project will take to lower costs per coin to a reasonable amount. I need to get an investor (which I already have) to complete this project, he is not going to want to invest in this project if the risk/reward ratio is not reasonable.
C. Not able to afford to expand into silver bullion/coins, make the designs better, make more denominations, etc.

All of these would kill the project before it ever really got going.

For the better of the future of Litecoin itself, and Physical Litecoins (so we can live up to our Bitcoin big brother) it is a necessity that this mark up be charged.

Bump, need more votes and opinions.

Yes please I'll take several in all denominations. :)

Forget the few tight asses that can't afford it.  You make less per coin then Casascius does.  And I don't see LTC staying at $2.5 anyways.  Especially since we know it's going to Gox.

Cheers!

 :D

Thanks for the support  ;D

I think i'll take several in all denominations except 50 LTC.  8)

Yeah it's a bit expensive for me.

+1 on your initiative though.

The big ones get more cost efficient but are way to expensive to sell. (if i wanted to sell physical litecoins)  And then the cheap ones are way to cost ineffective.

I am planning on avoiding this problem by not loading the coins until someone pays for them.

Otherwise, I would never be able to get this project off the ground because it would be way too expensive.

And sorry about the price, but there's not much I can do about it.. it's not my fault that the LTC exchange rate is what it is.

If I trimmed retail price anymore it simply wouldn't be worth my time.

So you and probably others that are involved in the printing process will be aware of the addresses
and the private keys of all of the shipped litecoins.
What exactly ensures us customers that you or someone else isn't going to steal the litecoins sometime in the future?

I am doing the assembly myself for security reasons, so that I am the only one that will ever see the private keys. You can be sure that as soon as they made, they will be encrypted and stored offline on two USB drives (an extra one in case the first is corrupted) and stored in a very safe place. The computer that will print the private key cards will never connect to the internet, ensuring safety from prying eyes. As soon as I make a coin, any record I have of the private key will be permanently destroyed.

You can always use a block explorer to check the balance of the address, but when it comes to the destruction and confidentiality of private keys, you will just need to trust me. I have no interest in stealing, I have a good job and an OK enough life where I don't need to steal. I will be as transparent as possible when the time comes to make them.

I am open to any suggestions on how I can do this in the most transparent way.

Thanks for your interest,  :)

Ch

Moar votes needed!

Free bump!

1 LTC coins out of 1oz silver and sell them for like 20 LTC. I'd probably buy some of those.

Thanks :)

Its hard to get opinions with this sub forum so cluttered.


I am planning on doing this in the future. Minting costs are too high to do silver coins in the first batch.

Also, whether silver coins become available in the future hinges on the success of this first batch.

Glad you continued this project.
I voted for 50. +10% is a reasonable amount for a physical coin.

Thanks Skull!

Sorry to not bring you aboard as a developer, more than a few people contacted me and honestly I wasn't sure who I should choose, who would do the best job, and didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Thanks for supporting me anyways!  ;D

I wanted to thank everyone for voting and for your feedback in this thread and my other thread. It seems that there is enough interest to enter production. I have selected the quotes from the companies I chose to make the coins and holograms, I am just negotiating the details with them.

I will start an official thread for the project soon with an organized OP explaining more about the manufacturing process. I will try to be very transparent in the whole process, you guys must trust that I have the best interest for Litecoin at heart and would never intentionally scam anyone. Private keys will be destroyed more than effectively three times over, you can be sure of this.

ETA of Physical Litecoins: ~1 month to 1.5 months  :o

I'm excited, I hope you guys are too. I am happy to be involved in a project that will hopefully be mutually beneficial to all Litecoiners.  ;D

Cheers,

Ch

Sweet...

I probably shouldn't of said that. That's me not learning from BFL's mistakes. 4-6 weeks guys!  :D ;D ;)

physical cryptocurrencies. "Its like fiat except you pay 40% just to hold it in your hand"

With the way Litecoin prices are rising, I expect the cost of each coin to be less than 40% of its value, especially on the 50 LTC denomination. Prices will be tied to the US dollar, they will change with the market. As Litecoin gains value, you will be able to buy them for less and less Litecoins.

The prices in the picture I posted were calculated when LTC was about $2.55 I think. Already today they would be cheaper than what I originally stated, it will be fluid though and change with the market price. I cannot control the market price of LTC/usd and what is costs to design, make, assemble, and sell them (since I have to pay for most of this proccess with FIAT.)

This still in the works?

I like that idea but not for 1ltc at least for 10ltc/coin
with current spot price of silver of 22.5$/oz let's say you got them at 24$ and 3$/ltc = 8ltc for silver + 10 ltc + 3-5ltc

I would be ready to pay between 21-26ltc for a 10ltc-1ozSilver coin with current market condition for silver and ltc

Any update on when these will be available?

Hi guys,

I decided to hold off on production to get a better design to make these more unique and special. I have had about 4 graphic designers from the forums make a design. Not everyone has turned in their completed designs, so I am holding off of any announcement until then.

Everything is lined up with the hologram manufacturer and the coin minting company once I have a final design. I have gone through the necessary steps for pre-production including background checks, etc., for the hologram manufacturer. Both manufacturing companies are simply waiting on word from me to give them a final design. I expect to enter production next week.

If any of you are at the Bitcoin conference, PM me and I'll give you my phone number. We can meetup and I'll let you be one of the first to see the designs.  :)

Cheers,

Ch

Where is the "None, because this idea is fucking stupid" option?

Not only do I vote for 25, BUT if you are intending on selling physical items I urge you to accept CC/Bank/PayPal. Doing so would widen the reach quite a lot and allow new 'adopters' to the Litecoin market (not everyone is comfortable or knowledgeable enough to mine/purchase coins on exchanges).

Hi, although you may think this is stupid, there are others that feel differently.

Some people like to hold their money in their hands. Sure, they could just print a paper wallet, but you have to admit this is much neater than a regular old paper wallet. Also, it is more secure than a regular paper wallet because the private key will be hidden, so you can show it off you your friends and family.  :)

It is meant as somewhat of a novelty for enthusiasts, or to introduce people to Litecoins that wouldn't be comfortable keeping an online wallet due to security reasons or the lack of computer savviness.

Unfortunately to accept CC/Bank/Paypal, I would need to comply by FINcen guidelines and register as a money handler. This is very expensive.. I have heard it costs 100s of thousands of dollars to set this up, and unfortunately I don't have that kind of money.

If I could do it legally, I would love to. But, in this current state of government awareness of Bitcoin/crypto currencies, I am not comfortable breaking the law just to sell some coins. All transactions will be done via crypto currencies.

My budget is tight on this first round of coins. I am planning on having coins made out of Silver, but unfortunately it's not possible the first batch. Whether or not this actually happens somewhat hinges on the success of my first batch of coins.

Guess I'll post this here too, I need opinions!

As stated earlier, I have delayed production a little bit so that I could get a better design. I have had 4 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

Xqisit:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/rowtaree/Xqisit_zpsdb5baa89.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

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

Thank you,

Ch

I like the "LikeHero" design for a 50 LTC denominated coin.

Although IMO it doesn't make sense launching this kind of product yet. Maybe wait until price per LTC up above $6 to release them in fine Silver..