Bitcoin Forum

Nice to see Elias on this list. Well deserved

 https://readwrite.com/blockchain-speakers-who-make-it-easy-to-understand/ (https://readwrite.com/blockchain-speakers-who-make-it-easy-to-understand/)

  Hey Steeley...Thanks for sharing and yes. His book was a big help when I dived into the rabbit hole of physical collectables.

  I hope he comes out with an updated version. I did suggest he pay homage in it to Bitbills as they were the very first before Casascius.

  And also looking for him to add the many that have come out since the book was published last.

   Cheers!

Same for me.

I also would love to see an updated edition (easy to for me to suggest, hard to do probably). I'm sure this forum would help a lot with updates.

  Indeed...I am quite sure most physical crypto items are being created here compared to whats made in the outside world.

  If not him, maybe somebpdy else can find the time to do it. Maybe when I retire someday (sigh) I will have the time to do it and make it available online for the entire world to see.

It seems like an exciting book because making it an encyclopedia about Physical Bitcoins and crypto-currencies.

Anyway, it says it's a revised edition here.

https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Physical-Bitcoins-Crypto-Currencies-Revised/dp/0995089922

Isn't that already the updated one?

---

And is Elias a member here or something? Or just really knows a lot about crypto?

  Revised probably in 2016? And yes he is a member here Elianite https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=231497

  So many new items have come and gone since the last edition.....a newer updated version needs to get done.

  It would take much time to do the research and gather the info....someday someone will for sure.

Maybe it's in the works already. I can't find where the first edition is or something. I only have seen the latest that he has written, Blockland^[1] (https://www.amazon.com/Blockland-Stories-Bitcoin-Blockchain-Cryptocurrency/dp/0995089965/). Thanks for sharing his profile. it's amazing to see his account and also his published works.

I do hope someone would be able to do it with all the recent things and maybe some pandemic happenings and what happened with all the logistical nightmare happening etc.

---

References:

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Blockland-Stories-Bitcoin-Blockchain-Cryptocurrency/dp/0995089965/

This was a nice surprise, as I don't frequent the forum as much as I used to. The response here is heartwarming.

To clarify, the 'Revised Edition' came out less than a year after the first, and only had a few extra pages- it is a hardcover 'coffee table book', and is an improvement upon the original softcover in terms of design, presentability, and some updated information.

Interestingly, the book was written in the first place was because I got PM's here saying I should expand upon the Casascius eBook I published in 2014. When I began writing the Encyclopedia in late 2014, the projected length was much shorter, but the amount of coins grew exponentially over the 2-year writing process.

One of the challenges of the Encyclopedia was that it was not possible to get all the specs like size, weight, or denomination of all coins, or even quality images or information, of all coins. Further, come coins were far less interesting and remarkable than others. As such some coins needed to be left out, as adding bits and pieces of incomplete and seemingly insignificant info would have make the final result look disjointed. The scope of 'physical bitcoins' is large, and you would be surprised by just how many ICO's and crypto startups created metal coins or plastic chips. Luckily, the Encyclopedia was out before ICO's became a thing. Then there are whole other closely related areas: 'crypto bills' and 'crypto cards'. I will note here, that the book did credit BitBills in the Foreword though they were not part of the primary material.

While I love the book format, I think the best first step for the next iteration is to create an openly accessible online resource that lists as many coins as possible along with all available specs and links to primary sources. As there is so much more "physical crypto" material than before, this would need to be sourced by a team of researchers initially, and later crowd-sourced with a simple mechanism for new entries and specific pieces of data to be continually submitted and published. I have the initial framework ready for this database ready to go, as well as a basic version set up for Casascius coins at https://www.cryptonumist.com/casascius-gallery/

In this new iteration, I envision that each entry could credit the name(s) of whoever contributed data.

Let's make this happen- once the information is all in one place, I can actually put it into a book, perhaps editions such as "Physical Bitcoin: 2017-2019 - The ICO Era', etc.

Consider this a call for volunteer researchers ;)