Bitcoin Forum

View the gallery HERE (http://imgur.com/a/UZDbt#0)

Commissioned by: Sometimes i just make the things i feel i need to make before i die. If someone buys it, its a bonus and a compliment.
Material: Grade AAA Purpleheart (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/purpleheart/)
Purchased By: Pistachio (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=47306)

Dare to dive into the raging markets of BTCitcoin. Going from bull to bear then back to bull all in only 1 day. "Mazuma" (Hebrew slang for money) represents all that Bitcoin is in today's market climates, and is the first of only 10 physical BTCitcoins i will be making for the 2015 calender year.

At 8" round and 2" thick Mazuma weighs in at just over 12 pounds and is carved from the highest grade Purpleheart wood a person can ever get their hands on. This high grade Purpleheart only comes from the top 3 or 4 feet of trees that exceed 160 foot tall and contains the highest resin concentration of Purpleheart wood which leads it to turning the deepest "crown royal" purple color you will ever find.

When freshly cut the heartwood of Purpleheart is a  dull grayish/purplish brown. Upon exposure the wood becomes a deeper eggplant purple. With further age and exposure to UV light, the wood becomes a dark brown with a hint of purple. The high grade Purpleheart that Mazuma is made of has a super high resin content that leaves it more purple than others after aging. This piece was freshly cut and worked by hand so it still has 5-10 years to fully age to its darkest color but will start to show its deep royal purples within the next week or two.

Mazuma can be hung on a wall, framed in a shadowbox or displayed on a pedestal or desk. Once sold, the purchaser can tell me how they intend to display it and i will prepare it for display.

For an extra .25BTC i will carve your bitcoin address and/or QR code into the reverse side of the coin as well as carve out a recess if you would like to store the private key to that address.

The buyer will receive a CoA (certificate of authenticity) from me usually within 1-2 weeks of receiving the artwork. As many of you who have bought my art already know, i use Bitcoin technology and Vanity addresses on my CoA's and it can take up to 2 weeks to generate the desired result.

Each of the 10 coins i make for the 2015 year will have a different design, and if you would like to request something special for your own coin design or a special denomination you may feel free to contact me and i can make sure that 1 of the 9 remaining is designed with you in mind.

Please feel free to ask any questions below, and if your board and just browsing the web, take a minute to check out my other Bitcoin artworks (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=868954.msg9626954#msg9626954).

nnnnno!

Good god - this is breathtakingly beautiful with the amount of detail on it!

Stunning peice

That is one mighty piece of art.
Out of curiosity, what would the price be for something similar but quite a bit smaller in size?

I sent you a PM, beautiful.

Wow you have some amazing skills. How many hours did that take to carve and apply the finish to it?

Edit: Would you be willing to create display cases for your pieces, or is that sort of a waste of time for you?

How's it smell

Thanks John
I appreciate that Icey


$450 and up. It really hits a tipping point in size vs. quality. It costs less for the wood to do something smaller, but takes 3 times the amount of time to do the carving in that kind of detail. $450 would get you a 4" coin but would not have anything as detailed as the bear head on Mazuma on it. If you went with a cheaper wood i could do a 4" coin for around $300 out of things like Mahogany, Padauk, Curly Maple, Cherry, or Mallee.


Reply sent. Piece will be held for 23 more hours to give Saigon time to send payment if he still wants to purchase it when he wakes up.


This one took me a little over 61 hours to carve, should have been done in about 35-40 but i had to stop about once an hour to sharpen the chisels. Purpleheart is very dense and eats through tools like their a McDonalds Quarter Pounder.

Yes i will create display cases for my art, so long as i can turn the display piece into art as well. Basic shadow boxes start at around $200 - $250, Pedestals start at around $350 for somethign 36" tall and 7" round, It would be a waste of time if you just wanted me to slap wood together with glue then ship it. But if you will let me carve a little on it, that makes the display accent art for the piece it is showing off.


Like burnt ass at the moment, it just got its last coat of PolyCrylic coating to keep it from aging to quickly and to ensure it last for a thousand years to come. PolyCrylic has a worse smell than CA glue when it dries. By tomorrow it wont smell like anything.

Amazing details on there! wish I had the patience and skill to carve wood like that.

Thanks Thermost !!

Is this hand carved?

Honestly, no offense it looks like it was laser engraved. I've lasered wood and it looks very similar in nature.

Nice work!!

Hand carved with chisels and worked with a dremmel tool and sandpaper.

https://i.imgur.com/x4l3Laf.jpg

No offense taken.

I've seen lasered wood before and it just looks dull to me. It only has 1 real dimension and that's depth. I was looking into getting a laser to speed up the stenciling process but after a day of searching found that any good ones run $20,000 up to $80,000 which is a lot more than i want to spend to save 5 minutes of work of transferring an outline from paper to wood.

Perhaps I misread why the smell was "burnt"?

Isn't carving's only dimension DEPTH given length and width is a given on any flat surface?

Please realize I am no expert in carving and am really just curious.

This is really very, very cool!

big question is, should I include this in my guide of physical crypto coins? perhaps not as a 'normal' entry, but a special page for out-of-the-box things like this.

see it at www.coinfirm.org

The smell was "Like Ass" and its because of the UV sealer. As it cures it off gasses and smells like rotten eggs mixed with horse manure.

Its hard to see in some photos of some pieces but carving has many dimensions, A laser printer looks flat like ink on paper, Carving creates many dimensions along the horizontal plane. When you look at Transcendence (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=868931) you can see that each block that was carved is not only rectangular when looking at it straight on but it is also perfectly round when you look at it from a side view as each block holds 2 shapes as you move around it, thus giving it the appearance that it is moving while it is sitting still. To put it simply, THIS PIECE (https://i.imgur.com/CoDNGQm.jpg) was carved, and THIS PIECE (http://marblelaserprinters.com/wp-content/uploads/Wood-Table-Laser-Etching.jpg) was lasered. you can see that the carved piece ans 3 dimensional characteristics while the lasered piece has no relief or charecter. Lasering is like extruded images.


You may, yes. There will only be 10 coins made this year ranging from $500 to maybe $10,000 or $20,000 each certified by a CoA. You could list the bitcoin addresses used on the CoA as a means of verifying authenticity for future buyers if someone who purchases the piece from me wishes to sell it to someone else. Each piece in the collection will have a name, and each piece will have its own design and be made from a different exotic wood.

WoodCollector, thank you for pointing this out for me. Now I have learned something new and will take it and use it going forward.

Aloha!

Beautiful.

From what I gather from the photos you posted above it seems to me (from what I can see) that your piece looks more like this https://i.imgur.com/CoDNGQm.jpg than this https://i.imgur.com/CoDNGQm.jpg

If I am not mistaken it does look a bit flat from the pictures. Could you elaborate to me how it is not like the first link I pasted above?

Lasers also have the ability to go at different depths. I would imagine other more specialized lasers have the ability to move the laser in a 3-dimensional space to carve out an image like the second link you provided above.

All one would need to do is provide the 3dimensional vector image to the system and it would do something as complex as the second link.

Then again that last part I am just guessing as I have not used a 3d laser (if it exists).

To date this is the (as far as I know) THE largest physical bitcoin in existence!
AWESOME!

Any time smoothie. You know, sooner or later you are going to have to make one of these art pieces yours, or commission your own. A man with your reputation and stature in the Bitcoin community needs something beautiful in his home or office to memorialize his position on Bitcoin.

Maybe something from Koa or Mangowood to represent Hawaii



Thanks Og, I will be messaging you in a bit or maybe tomorrow for an escrow if you wouldnt mind. Have to ship a $17,000 bitcoin art piece and there is no way it leaves my hands without funding from someone who who has 0 reputation in this community and only 9 posts as of today.

Shoot me a PM smoothie, i will go more into detail for you, or do you maybe have skype? I dont want to clutter up the thread with a pages full of talk about the difference between laser engraving and carving. On skype we could have conversation, you could teach me some things i dont know about laser engraving, and i can teach you about the process and results of carving.

Will do. Sorry for cluttering your thread.  ;D

Sounds good.  I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your creations.

You need him to do a NastyFans piece!

Looks like the market for Bitcoin art is maturing significantly.

Perhaps it is time for me to create another website to track all significant pieces of bitcoin art and artists, especially useful in preventing counterfeits.

What do you think?

This is one ugly wooden plate  >:(

I think that would be a great idea, after browsing the Bitcoin art markets i have found a lot of great originals, and even bought a few acrylics myself to display in my office for inspiration. But as with any significant art there are quickly counterfeits reproduced. I use Bitcoin and Blockchain technology for Certificates of Authenticity for my art as it makes the chances of someone being able to reproduce it about as likely as someone brute forcing a Bitcoin address. But i also intentionally hide a few secrets or intentional flaws not able to be noticed to the naked eye in case the authenticity of a piece ever came into question. I have even started using Bitcoin technology on my CoA's for work i do outside the Bitcoin community. My clients love the idea due to its "Uncrackable even by the NSA" Tech and it also lets me teach them a little about Bitcoin although i am still learning a lot myself.



It appears someone from /r/buttcoin has found their way to the thread. Welcome!!!! I can make you your very own ugly wooden plate for roughly $5,000 if you would like  ::)

Sorry I have children and a fireplace..

Not to hijack my own thread, but since i have all of you wonderful guys here on this thread already i figured it would be the best place to get a quick reply.

I have had a recent surge in commissions from clients that are wanting exotic wood Bitcoin Bongs made and i need a new place to buy the stems and down tubes from that will accept my Bitcoin as payment. As much as i would like to make wooden stems and down tubes to match the bongs it is not economical in terms of price i would have to charge the clients for them. Since my introduction to Bitcoin i have all but refused to do business with anyone who will not take my BTCitcoins as payment and the only place i can find that sells stems and down tubes for BTC is in the UK and charges an arm and a leg for shipping to New York or Maine.

Also if any of you know any glass blowers, i would be seriously interested in finding someone who can make custom stems to match each art piece so long as they will accept Bitcoin as payment.

Thanks for allowing me to hijack my own thread for a minute!!!!!!!

Back on topic, I believe Mazuma has found a home in the UK and it will confirmed within about 8 hours. I thank you all again for your support and kind reviews of my art. If you need something for the Christmas season please do not hesitate to message me and i will do my best to get your piece done and delivered by Dec. 24th. Options are not restricted by anything, any wood, any design, anything you can think of. I will turn your thoughts from the furthest depths of your imagination into one of a kind art masterpieces. You can view other works i have done in my signature.

Oh my god such beautiful piece of creation  :o

Awesome.  This is a truism come to life: "making money is an art"!

I do have questions about how you managed to get this wood imported to the USA, which has very strict import laws (even Fender guitar has problems with getting rare woods imported).

Maybe you have connections, or found some local source, or don't care to say, that's fine.

TonyT

Sure Tony, i dont mind sharing.

I have been in the trade craft of wood carving, wood turning and wood collecting  for over 2 decades now. With that, i have made literally hundreds of connections around the world with people with direct access ( meaning they can go cut it down ).

Fenders problem was the commercialization of what they were doing. The didnt care about law, regulation, process, or time/due diligence. To them it was all about how much rare or exotic wood they could get for the best price and how fast as the more they could get the faster they could get it the more profit they could make and their pitfall was records keeping. When they were raided, the were unable to provide necessary documents for the wood they were in possession of, that was the same area lumber liquidators got in trouble for when they were raided. 

In order to keep your head above hot water you really only need a few things to get any wood in the world.

1: a certificate of origin (if the wood is protected, endangered or on the watch list )
2: a forestry permit ( again if the is protect endangered or on the watch list )
3: a fumigation certificate ( if the wood comes from a region known to have wood dwelling hazards )
4: a good set of book keeping skills

Although i do import a lot of wood for what i do with it, its nowhere near on the scale as the guys who get in trouble all the time like fender so i do not draw much attention. I have never been raided but i did have a pretty nasty surprise inspection from a few different government agencies that all showed up at my storage warehouse at the same time. Even one guy with a gun is never good so a few of them wasn't pleasant. All in all, it didnt take more than 10 minutes for the nightmare to stop. They asked for documents, i pulled out dozens of 3 ring binders full of documents on every piece of wood in my possession that required them and each piece of wood on the shelves that required paperwork was tagged with a number which corresponded to a page in one of the binders. I looked at them, smiled and said "i'll be in my office having some coffe, please let me know if you have questions or when the audit is done" The guy who appeared to be in charge looked at me and said " No need, it appears you have everything in order" then they left.

If required, i always get the paperwork, i will not make a purchase without it, Once i have it, it really takes me only 2 minutes to write a number on each piece of wood, and slide all the documents into a page in a 3 ring binder.

Put simply, i play by the rules for the most part, i know what all the rules are, i have the connections to the people to get what i want, and because of that, there is nothing i cannot get. I have species of wood which have not been able to be harvested for over 40 years now. i have wood that has been extinct for over 100 years, and wood that is over 52,000 years old. For every piece i have the proper documents for it, and when i turn it into art and ship it, the documents go with it if required. 

If i cannot play by the rules for some reason, i do not store it in the USA, and i travel to my "offshore" storage facility and wood shop when i need to work with it and i do not ship the art piece to anywhere in the USA. Now if the client has it shipped to Paris or some other place where it is legal to import then decides to bring it home with them to the USA in their luggage to display in their home / office. It then becomes their problem not mine. I never violated any rule or law and cannot be held liable for its possession in the USA.  Knowing ALL the rules is the best way to know how to work around them when a person needs to. Big companies always try to take shortcuts for profit, i don't care about the money aspect of it, my clients over the years have set the tone for what i charge and even if i couldn't make a dollar i would still create art and hoard it in every corner i could find like one of those old ladies you see on TV. I am an artist and a collector first, the business aspect comes second. Fender is a business first and only and all they really care about is quarterly statements for their investors. Too many hands and the one responsible for the paperwork didnt do it.

Hope that answers your question, sorry if i went into to much detail, i didn't really know how to summarize all that.

Congratulations!

Excellent piece of work but the price is a bit too high I guess!

The person who claimed to be buying Mazuma has not sent payment or a reply so i am listing it for sale once again!


I can create something smaller or out of cheaper wood for you if you would like to get a piece. I can work within most any budget for the bitcoin community.

Id be interested if you would make smaller and cheaper ones.

Sure, i would be happy to make you a piece. Message me with your budget and ideas and we can for sure come up with something for you.

Hi

Hows it going?

Love the projects you have shared with us so far.

I have access to all the stems, downpipes & fittings you could ever need - Glass / Wood / Steel / Ceramic etc. I have everything from cheapest Chinese glass to German made quartz & titanium attachments.

I am UK based but ship to US all the time. If you wanted a job lot (10 - 50 pieces) then shipping isn't too bad as weight on the fittings is minimal. I can ship up to 2kg parcel to US tracked and insured for around £15 - £20.

Would also be interested in pushing some of your smoking creations over here - PM me and we can talk further..

Payment by BTC is perfect or even better you can do me a wooden piece and I can match the balance in fittings.

Lets talk - PM here or bitcoinaccepted (at) countermail (dot) com

All the best.

Bored*

My new favourite bitcointalk member  ;D

You do know that Nazi is a colloquialism itself?

The 24th edition of Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (2002) says the word Nazi was favored in southern Germany (supposedly from c.1924) among opponents [my emphasis] of National Socialism because the nickname Nazi, Naczi (from the masc. proper name Ignatz, German form of Ignatius) was used colloquially to mean "a foolish person, clumsy or awkward person."

Your posts would have more gravitas if you change your username to "Grammar Nationalsozialist"

All the best

He should issue 0.01 BTC fines for offending members.  :)

I'm game if you are?

I love languages and grammar. No matter how hard you try there are always errors / misconstructions.

*Just edited as I wasn't happy with the comma I used. Full stop is far more efficient in this case.*

I wish I had the money to buy these. These are beautiful Very well done :)

Thanks Finlon, i appreciate the kind words. I can make you something smaller out of a less expensive wood if you would like. Something a little more within your budget if you have a target price.

you're bored*

Back to school Grammar Nazi  ;D

It took you a bad grammar, grammar Nazi in order for you to fix your own mistake. Congratulations!

Can we please refrain from hijacking the thread over a lousy attempt at trolling. the Nazi can start his own thread about whatever it is he hopes to accomplish.

Thanks.

This is a beautiful piece, WoodCollector. Nice work.

Thanks Kialara, i am a fan of your physical coins as well. Beautiful examples of engineering art.


"Mazuma" has been moved over to the auctions (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=882466) and will be awarded to the highest bidder on Noon on Friday 12/5/14 for those of you who were following.

One question, since iam bidding on your auction.  ;D
Is it slightly broken? Looks like it on the pics. Under the 2015.

It's the grain, In order to cure Purpleheart against oxidation (it ensures this hunk of wood will still look exactly the same in 10,000 years) you have to bake it in the oven at 450 degrees F for one hour. It causes the entire piece to expand and widens the grain, some of the highly resinous grain tears. As it cools the grain resumes its normal size the highly resinous grain fills back in with the natural resin in the wood.

Forgive the crappy cell phone picture but you can see that the tear which looked big in the original photos is now under the size of a strand of hair, and over the next week or two as the wood settles you will not even see it. As you can also see, the wood is starting to age and it is starting to turn its crown royal purple color already too. Much more beautiful than the original photos when it was fresh out of the oven.

Someone who was in my gallery today offered me $2,000usd for Mazuma and they dont even know what Bitcoin is. Sadly i had to tell them it was not for sale in the gallery and if they wanted to buy it they would have to bid on the auction on Bitcointalk.org. They looked at me like i was insane (which is fine, i'm an artist and were all a little crazy and eccentric) and bought something else

Thanks for the explanation!  :)

Any time IronMarvel, I forget sometimes that not everyone eats, sleeps, breathes, shits, shaves, shines, and showers wood like i do and that i should give more explanation on things when i post about them. Sorry for making you have to ask in the first place. I should have posted more info about it originally.

This is simply amazing, your artworks are very cool... But this is the most beautiful, I think :)

Really nice artwork. I was planning to start with woodworking at one point, but gave up since I didnt have the resources. I still have some old videos(digital), incase you would like some. Would be happy to send them to you(free of charge ofcourse, I really appreciate your work). Even though I doubt you will need it ;)

Here are some pics of the back with it's new address and BIP38 encrypted private key.

http://s14.postimg.org/5qpgr3uil/IMG_8009.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/5qpgr3uil/) http://s14.postimg.org/4cxtvsv99/IMG_8012.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/4cxtvsv99/)

Is that QR code scannable or is it just there?

Hi,

It is difficult to scan but it should read 6PRTW7Z9NrNKxJ3aDX6yDMyJFhGpoz8XPRwxPz2f9gLSiPposFeg47f9xm.

sorry for the noob question but where is the private key?

Hidden behind encryption  ;D

Damn, this is an amazing looking coin. Well done dude!

Thanks, It was the first of the 10 piece collection for 2015. The new owner of this coin just bought a second one from the collection as well. 4 have been made so far, #5 is in process right now and was commissioned by a forum member to be custom designed for them. There will only be 5 more made for the 2015 year, meaning the minute #10 is sold, the value on all of them will pretty much double as no amount of money will get me to make another one for the 2015 year and anyone who is holding one at the moment knows they cannot be forged or faked.

I have really enjoyed working with the Bitcoin Community, some of the best clients i have had in 20 years have come from here. I will be releasing a new project/collection that is not coins sometime in February as well for the Bitcoin Community.