Bitcoin Forum

find it very good from your side that you give a little insight into your prdouction processes to us (the big crypto collector community 8)). i am a very big supporter of the BTC polymerbit notes and am always happy when new BTC notes (with denomination) are released.

Great idea @polymerbit - it’s nice to see an insight on how the process works  :)
I’ve always wondered a few things …
How did you get into note making ?
Did you get into note making first and then crypto or vice versa ?
Don’t feel that you have to answer these questions if they are too personal by the way- I don’t want you to dox yourself :)
Anyway keep up the good work  :)

Well thing is I've always been fascinated with money. Used to collect coins & banknotes as a child. This meant spending hours staring at patterns.  

During university my passion turned into not just passively collecting, but actually contributing. There is a certain obsession in understanding how currency is made, and the details of the design process.

At the time I was trying various start up ideas, some failed catastrophically (got into trouble for mailing Gallium in the mail). At the time Adam and I already knew each other. We were experimenting with crypto mining back in late 2013. Regrettably, we gave up on that.

Around 2015 I started working with photoshop and started to really get into banknote design.

Polymerbit started as a simple uni project. I was working on a paper on how local currencies work. I was playing with all sorts of ideas, fiat, silver / gold backed (see above) and then came the idea of Bitcoin.

So I researched the topic and found out about Casascius and cold storage. The thing is, I saw that the paper wallets were so crude.

I was convinced I could design something better. So I wrote the paper, and out of boredom posted a pic on Reddit. Thats where Minerjones found me, and introduced me to Bitcointalk.

Do not worry about that, I'm very public due the fact that I handle keys. I accepted that to be a maker means no anonymity.

TL;DR:

How did you get into note making ? A: Personal Fascination

Did you get into note making first and then crypto or vice versa ? A: Technically note making first

https://i.imgur.com/BheKLq1l.jpg?1

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

Thanks for the response  :)
I’ve got to say - you are at the top of your field and even every non- crypto collector,I show your notes too are suitably impressed as well  :)

thank you for sharing - I see some notes that I dont have up there lol

Firstly - thanks for posting this, its really nice to get some background info on
Polymerbit and its creator. I am fascinated about your notes and how they are
created. I have a Lithographic Background and although apart from the designing
I can appreciate the printing and finishing ^{however that is done} have to
perfect, especially with a limited run of 100 or so prints. I can appreciate also
from a design aspect that eye for detail has to be 100%, as does the print of course.

Secondly - hanks to Minerjones for bringing you onto BCT.

Thirdly - January 2022 !!!!!!

Well at this point is really is an obsession to strive for perfection. With time we have been getting better using our tools and finding ways to squeeze every bit of quality out of our equipment.  

Adam has managed to crack quite a few important challenges with his engineering background. He also has joined me in design. The certificate is his work. Fully vector artwork no less.

Collaboration with other companies and creators from here helped to get to another level.

----

In short, the main reasons why you see this increase:

1) Greater knowledge in the design process, colour science, materials, supply chain

2) More time invested- our new notes take longer to design and prepare for print

3) New printing processes & better calibration

4) Collaborations and knowledge sharing

5) You keep funding our search for new tech

The reality is that these days it's really a question of money. With adequate funding, we could push much further since we have the right contacts.

----

Now yes, you saw correctly. I published a work in progress. About 47 hours in on the reverse.



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

What a fantastic thread, I find myself getting more and more involved with similar designs each day as I work towards innovation surrounding my posters.

https://i.imgur.com/0AGQcpB.jpg

The effort that goes into some of your notes is truly remarkable, I am happy to have a few in my collection.

thanks for the AMA, I'm enjoying the thread.

Would it be possible to embed some sort of an RFID chip in a polymerbit ?  And might there be a way to load them requiring the presence of the RFID chip to redeem ?  That could make a polymerbit as secure as a hardware wallet, and remove the trust issue of purchasing a form of paper wallet.  And it could be used in traditional 2FA too !
BTC :)

We have experimented with both already.  ;)

Adam engineered a way to block the chip until the hologram is peeled over.

The reason why we stopped working with NFC is the intense production process. About 40% longer than printing keys.


https://i.imgur.com/ufPPCmh.png

Rotterdam, The Netherlands Late 2017

A run of 16 notes sponsored by VIA

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

Dallas, TX. 2018 Woman holding of our VIA sponsored notes. A run of 100 NFC.


Now, since we are working on making our own substrate in house. We could possibly embed a chip inside.

dammit man - every post just shows me more notes I dont have lol

love the work! keep it up, please.

Soon I want to try and do a custom note with you as well!

I have just become a big fan of the NFC notes.  It's regrettable that it costs 40% time to develop, but good things are worth waiting for.  And worth paying a little more for.  Unless you think the price would be so high that they would not sell......
BTC

I just scored one of the polymerbit nfc notes :)  in my latest purchase of 4 notes I did not yet have.

https://i.ibb.co/7jbNkYS/photo-2022-01-13-10-39-46.jpg (https://ibb.co/ckxXYgy)

Wonderful. :D I found some photos of the production process. And here is one of the notes where it was sent back to be printed.


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

https://i.imgur.com/ywq1NhS.jpg

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

I need one of these!

Polymerbit one of my favorite manufacturers of crypto cold storage wallets does a very perfect and very solid job and in addition the presentation of the notes are in my taste ... and the most important thing is that the whole community has a direct contact with you @polymerbit👌💪

Contact is always good  ;)

Speaking of manufacturing....

I'm still thinking we need to bring back this red foil. It really does pop.

It was selected out of 20 different suppliers.

https://i.imgur.com/9EYi9yd.png

Working on a new affordable Polymer series of at-least 4 different denominations.

Idea was 1,2,3 & 4 mbtc. If you have any suggestions of what else you would like to see, let us know  ;)

https://i.imgur.com/5UKvySYh.jpg

Very smart looking indeed, love the idea if an affordable series, how does the affordability
transpire over to the physical note?

For denominations, I like the idea of going into the lower mBTC's, it fitting for the affordability
feature of the notes IMO.

Will the series be based on a "Nautical" theme?

EDIT ::::

Oh and a .5mBTC would be nice!

Affordable meaning the notes will sell for $19.99 each. Bundle packs will be offered as well.  

The way we do this is by optimising the amount of time it takes to get from design to finished note.

Over time we learnt how to automate certain tasks & maximise output without impacting quality.

These notes are produced on a rolling basis (unlimited). Similar to the crypto valley series (also at $19.99).

Economies of scale help a lot to push down from our traditional $50+ price point.  

The goal being that we can make cold storage wallets more accessible and appropriate for circulation.
------

Yes. Thats a good idea... we could also go into fractions of a mBTC. Such as the .5mBTC

----

Yes, but the design will remain largely the same. With colour and text changing.

Designing the banknote straps for the unlimited series;

https://i.imgur.com/XVM6lmG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/N5K7j8B.jpg

they will come in bundles of 100? what will the cost be for a bundle?

Individual notes will be the original $19.99 each.

Bundles of 50 pcs will be $949.50 ($18.99 each).

And Bundles of 100 pcs will be $1699 ($16.99 each).

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

https://i.imgur.com/eB9N9aS.jpg

I almost want a bundle of 100 just to sit on my desk lol

and best of all still loaded - but this must then already be done yourself :D

Where can I buy these beautiful works of art? I appreciate you showing the process, thats cool.

when they become available, there will be a thread made and then you order there - there are 2 distributors of polymerbit notes - minerjones and mitchell

Considering that this is in fact a 'behind the scenes' thread:

https://i.imgur.com/tKL62ISh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/aID73YEl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/P7e3nSD.jpg?1

(All exposed private keys shown are for testing only and will never be funded).

We are still in pre production on these. I'm waiting for our material to be delivered.

Beautiful design work, love the "crypto whale", love the notes and fine measurements
and swatches, a lot of work in the design which includes measurements and colour combinations.

Nice update to the thread, getting closer to release!

thats right
both users are recommendable and send the notes safely packed and expeditiously to the buyers
minerjones ships from the usa
Mitchell ships from the netherlands (would be a very good option here for eu buyers)

we could do a group buy and get 100 notes for the lower price but then still have mj send them all out LOL

just kidding :)

I have no problem with that. If you group with people to buy bundles, then I'm happy the community is able to get them for cheaper.

The important thing is that the shipping is covered by all parties. The question is, who will get the strap then...  ;)

EDIT: I should add, you are welcome to organise a thread and handle the collection of funds. If MJ agrees to ship out, then great. If not, any community member is free to sell their notes how they wish.

Are all the other (past) designs all sold out? I was referring to any of the polymerbit notes.. I wouldnt mine grabbing a few.

There are still a select few notes available on the polymerbit online shop >

https://www.polymerbit.com/shop

Also Mitchell's site is still listing Garlicoin notes >

https://www.coinsofnakamoto.com/notes/polymerbit-10000-garlicoin

::::EDIT::::

You could also hit up @Xprim77 on this thread where there may be a few
notes still available, im not sure though >

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5323888.msg56566169#msg56566169

Ohh  :o , I like that you test your notes with a Gold Vreneli. ​

Awesome work. "God is in the details."
You rock, Polymerbit.
Love the thread.

Thank you  :D

https://i.imgur.com/qm1fGwNh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PQIQ3vQh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/m7QMfk4h.jpg

 :o :o
find the new notes with the beautiful motifs very successful  :)

https://i.imgur.com/7DoVbBO.jpg?1

Had the chance to have a drink with Polymerbit in Geneva.
Very nice talk and the notes are beautifull.

Great Job Polymerbit.

I just ordered 2 of your non-denominated Crypto Valley edition bills just to start.  I can't wait for these new bills!

BIG UP @polymerbit for all the transparency and insights you give... and of course the precious notes you produce!
Having the notes from at least 'Mystery Note #3" on upwards it's odd that still some individual pieces are available in the webshop!

@Markzellers: Might be a really good chance for you (and of course all others) directly catching some of the last officially sold notes from the producers themselves; also supporting them directly while known resellers are here on the board... and in this thread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5385772.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5385772.0)

Personally I'm curious what it will do to the notes collectability when they are officially [SOLD OUT]. I mean, I believe to know what it will do but I wanna see it unfold  ;D

https://www.reinka.org/delete/polymerbit_stock.png

@polymerbit:
- May I ask how many notes of the 'Non Denom BTC Crypto Valley Edition - 2B-U(ND)'-series have been produced/shipped/sold/are out there?
- And how many of "The Crypto Whale"-serie's denominations will be or (more likely) have been produced/etc.?

Mystery Note #3 only 5 left... and Mystery Note #4 only 2 left!! 8)

I am looking for mystery note #2 - I thought I had it but its not quite right - the main image is the same but the sides are different on the note I have.

Greetings from Philadelphia   :D

@bobbycoins May I ask how many notes of the 'Non Denom BTC Crypto Valley Edition - 2B-U(ND)'-series have been produced/shipped/sold/are out there?

Answer: The 2B-U keep increasing in number, to know the exact production we need the date written on the bill. They are typically made in batches from 100-200 pcs at a time. The smallest batch (outside of test prints) is 28 notes.

No new notes were printed as of late.

And how many of "The Crypto Whale"-serie's denominations will be or (more likely) have been produced/etc.?

Answer:

At the moment we are at serial number 400 for each note and there are only denominations 1-4 that are unlimited.

We are planning others for the future. But I cannot say for sure as to how many denoms will exist. We will look at demand and plan accordingly.

As for the orginal notes.. This will keep increasing until at least 1000 units. Changes to the note will be visible due to the series date being changed.

@MoparMiningLLC

I will take a look at the note personally next week. Then we can post all the info.

EDIT: For your viewing pleasure...

https://i.imgur.com/8CGEBqG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Jmh1MxC.jpg

Mine are from 'SERIES 2B-U(ND)' dated with '11. JANUARY 2021' and the highest number I've got is 'A000094' but for the sake of simplicity: Can you publish a list with all POLYMERBIT notes out there with printing dates and their associated number of copies, PLEASE?

By digging just a little bit into your notes more and more notes start popping up which I haven't been aware of... easy to lose track and such a list would be appreciated very much.

Xprim777 published a Polymerbit Reference Thread back in 2017, probably needs
an update but here it is, its a great reference > https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2393303.0

Working on the next run of notes;

https://i.imgur.com/lr8qF9m.png

https://i.imgur.com/wlJxBTo.png

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

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing these in their entirety!

finally got the new Polymerbit white giant and the new mif maastricht 2022 notes today 8)
detailed photos will follow in the next minutes in my ccc thread ;)

https://i.ibb.co/SmfN4RH/61084185.png

This is still very much in progress, but we're compiling a list of every single polymerbit ever made and what we know about them:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WThBbOwyeL1gAx5muWtXuUdzmQEjRXkBPcyYIkRX13Y/edit?usp=sharing (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WThBbOwyeL1gAx5muWtXuUdzmQEjRXkBPcyYIkRX13Y/edit?usp=sharing)