Bitcoin Forum

BREAKING NEWS: WikiLeaks releases TOP SECRET plans for Bitcoin Penny™ Summer Project 2017!

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The Bitcoin Penny™ Physical Bitcoin: MANHOLE COVER EDITION
(TOP SECRET -- For Authorized Eyes Only)

The Official Plans

https://i.imgur.com/OXeCE9q.jpg


Digital Prototype / Photoshop Illustration

https://i.imgur.com/R2jeM4s.jpg

I feel dirty just looking at all this top secret stuff.

This must be some kind of record for largest and heaviest physical "coin" to date.

What about gold? ;D

Think so too :D
27.66 kilograms for EU people.

This is amazing.  Is it going to be cast in bronze?  I'm not even sure what manhole covers are normally made out of.  Copper would be really cool also. 

This would look great on my wall!

LOL Silver, gold, and copper would be awesome, but much more expensive. ;D Besides, we wanted to keep things as authentic as possible with this particularly special project. We discussed several ideas for faux manhole covers (same size, but different materials and weights), but in the end, we decided that if these weren't authentic, then the entire soul of the art piece would be lost. Genuine and authentic manhole covers from a genuine and authentic manhole cover cast iron foundry. That's the ticket! This project will be 100% legit (and 110% LEGENDARY)! ;D


Officially, I'll probably have to challenge that idea, due to its weight and the resulting safety concerns. However, I suppose that if people can mount XL cast iron pan holders or large screen TVs onto a wall safely, then one of these might mount safely too, given proper anchoring into the wall studs, etc. On the other hand, we will have these custom-designed Industrial Pipe Display Stands available, just in case. ;)

https://i.imgur.com/chlzB3j.jpg

Regards,
Chris

This is without question mad, unique, crazy and of course very cool!

I want one for my garden.

let me know when you go into production with them :D

Viz

This is pretty epic, any plans to install one of these somewhere?   ;D

Very cool idea and certainly an original one at that.
How will you go about shipping these internationally? I don't know what the pricing is but I'd assume shipping alone would be quite significant.

Ha...insanely well done, Bitcoin Penny!  

Congrats on pulling this project off.

I liked the garden placement idea too. (..if you don't already OWN a road!)  :D

May I ask what the plans for sale/auction will be? Starting Price/MSRP?

 :D Congratulations sir! Well done indeed!

The foundry has been paid, and we're in the mold making stage now. The mold should be complete and ready for pouring by the month's end. Plus one more week for the sample / prototype to arrive for QC. Once that passes, it's 2-3 weeks until all ten (10) pieces arrive, ready for distribution to the pre-sale customers and lucky auction winners. :)

And I'll be laying my own prototype manhole cover in my backyard garden, as well. ;)


Epic, indeed. ;D Unfortunately, I believe installing one of these without permission would be illegal. However, I'm all for making a few phone calls. Who knows?


Thanks for the kind words, AT101ET. We do have a few options for our international customers. For those customers who simply wish to own one as an investment art piece and who don't necessarily need to physically possess it yet (for instance, they may be arranging for their own shipping services or simply waiting to flip it later for a small profit), we're offering a storage / housing service free of charge. We're also looking into third-party shipping services such as Parcel Monkey for our UK friends. Those services estimate a cost of ~$200 for delivery to many UK customers, which is actually quite favorable for something of this size and weight. And if the price of BTC goes up enough, then I may even spend the extra funds to hand-deliver it. :o


I appreciate the kind words, GP. It's a big project (pun intended) for sure, but we're finally done with the hard part. Now it's a waiting game. Man, I can't WAIT to see one of these in person! And you're absolutely right...Totally insane! ;D


Thank you again, everyone, for all the kind words. We could never do something like this without your support!

(Oh, and before you ask...YES. Each of these unique art pieces will come with a free doodle. LOL)

Regards,
Chris

Thanks, Moonie! :)

We are making only ten (10) of these special art piece / manhole cover physical bitcoins, and we originally stated that we'd pre-sell four (4) for exactly 1 BTC and the remaining six (6) would go on auction (mid-September) for a minimum starting bid of 1 BTC. However, we decided to only pre-sell three (3) of them before starting production. (I was impatient, so I came up with the extra cash, myself.) So I suppose that we may be auctioning seven (7) of them in the fall???

Hopefully, the price of BTC doesn't jump too high by mid-September. ;)

Regards,
Chris

Thank you for refreshing my memory! I will be saving up my....pennies  ;D

I agree it would definitely require permission. If there's a "Bitcoin Road" out there somewhere, that would be the place to call!

Awesome to finally see the TOP SECRET project leak.   :)

I don't even want to think about how much this will cost to ship to the EU. ;D

dude it wasn't too bad when I spoke to Chris about this. I wanted one, but logistically it was a nightmare for me due to customs being a pain in the arse here. If I was still in the UK I would of bought this.

I've inquired about this. It's a couple hundred USD, and in combination with customs, a nightmare:

---

The project itself, is amazing and quite innovate for this section where most people just re-hash the same pseudo-quality concepts.

WOW! Thank you for all the very kind words, everyone. ;D

And to address the international shipping: we're still looking into more affordable shipping options, but we won't have any specific prices until after the manhole covers are crated and ready for shipping. Then we can get the most accurate rates for a parcel of this size and weight to many different countries.

By the way, we're building the shipping crates so that they are re-usable, in case the buyer wishes to re-sell and re-ship one of these manhole covers someday.

Thank you again, everyone. Your kind support is the only thing that makes this special project possible. We appreciate you. I appreciate you. :)

Regards,
Chris

This project is awesome!

Seems so beautiful and nice that makes me wanna get it but the weight makes it very difficult for shipping to India

All the best! would love to see more pictures once the project is ready :D

Oh boy I've always wanted to pay hundreds of dollars (literally) just for shipping!

This is such a unique piece, I love it! Too bad that I don't even have a budget for the shipping, let alone a limited edition 30kg round  ;D

Glws, BP. I would kill to live in the US/EU. You can literally get anything shipped to your door for cheap.

This project is SKAM approved. :P

Any estimates as to when you may know specific prices?

The cost of this project in silver/gold would be interesting.

US definitely dominates in that aspect.

At the current spot price it would be:

Silver - $15,194.08
Gold - $1,145,760.79

Given that the metal density of both silver and gold is higher than steel, it would mean that both pieces would be over 61 lbs at the current size.

EDIT:

According to my calculations they would weigh:

Silver: 81.51 lbs ($20,302.78)
Gold: 150.13 lbs ($2,820,493.56)

Who wouldn't like a 2.8 million manhole cover? :D

Chris, you need to drop one of these in a real manhole and then post about here and watch the race ensue for one of us luck bastards to find it and keep it. It would be as if Banksy actually acknowledged and approved of someone scraping is work off the side of a building. You'd have to tell us that it's out there given the race to beat the local dept. of transportation noticing and replacing it.

This would be the best lore you could attache to one of these fine works of art!

Would be a pretty amazing item to have in your collection. I would purchase it for sure if I had a billion dollars. Anyone giving out loans? :P

Fun idea, Habby. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that dropping one of these without the city's authorization might result in a race to see how quickly I land my unlucky butt in jail. ;D

By the way, since we originally had planned to pre-sell four (4) of these, then I suppose that we could accept one more pre-purchase, if someone is interested. Just PM me. (My advice? Get one NOW before the price of BTC goes up even more!)

Regards,
Chris

UPDATE: Our custom manhole cover mold (along with the special machining setup) is almost complete! We should be pouring the prototype within the next week, then after some special finishing processes, the prototype will be on its way to my doorstep for a complete QC check!

Super excited to finally see this incredible project become a reality! ;D

Regards,
Chris

(NOTE: There is still one more pre-sale spot available. First come, first served. PM me for details.)

Put me down for a few.

Yeaaa...it's getting near!  Looking forward to this.

Time to find that perfect spot in the garden, for this beast.  ;)

LOL I'm pretty sure he was joking. Nobody has the extra space for "a few" of these XL art pieces! ;D


That's such a great spot for one of these! All that natural patina and weathering will look totally LEGIT!

Oh, and I've offered to hand-deliver all pre-orders within the USA upon request, so let me know if you need a hand carrying it to the garden! ;D

Regards,
Chris

(NOTE: There is still one more pre-sale spot available. First come, first served. PM me for details.)

I've been watching this and can't wait to see the final item when complete!  Now that you're offering to hand deliver them, I don't see the final pre-order lasting long.   :)

Saw this and thought of your project...

https://www.facebook.com/mentalflossmagazine/videos/vb.10974002364/10155657330312365/?type=2&theater

Oooh! We may have to make a few of those... ;D

Thanks for the idea!

Regards,
Chris

UPDATE: Today, the foundry announced that the mold and special tooling/machining is now complete! We're scheduled to start pouring the first prototype of our Bitcoin Penny™ MANHOLE COVER EDITION Physical Bitcoin art pieces in the next few days (Friday afternoon or Monday morning)! Then it's on the way to me for final QC inspection, assembly, and all kinds of EPIC fun! ;D

Regards,
Chris

(NOTE: There is still one more pre-sale spot available. First come, first served. PM me for details.)

I've asked if they can get a quick shot of it being poured, and my contact says that he'll see what he can do. (Fingers cross'd.)

In the meantime, here's a random production photo that he sent to me yesterday. ;D

https://i.imgur.com/0BT3JrN.jpg


Regards,
Chris

I fucking love you Chris - you are an evil James Bond super bad guy of the bitcoin world!

LMAO Thank you for the kind words, TMAN! (I love you too.) ;D

Regards,
Me (Evil James Bond Super Bad Guy of the Bitcoin World)

Production photo looks awesome, can't wait to see the final!   :)

Thanks for the kind words, Digi! We can't wait either! :)

Regards,
Chris


(NOTE: All pre-orders are now filled.)

It's been super busy around here at the Bitcoin Penny Co., and it all revolves around our new Bitcoin Penny™ Physical Bitcoin: MANHOLE COVER EDITION!

Here are a few quick pics from the foundry of the freshly poured and drilled prototype which is now in our possession and ready for final assembly. Once the 5" copper plates that secure the privkeys onto the reverse side are returned from the engraver, then our prototype will be assembled and 100% complete!

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

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


In the meantime, we are absolutely thrilled with the quality of these custom manhole covers! Just completely over the moon with smiles! ;D

The foundry estimates another 3 weeks until the next batch of manhole covers is poured, drilled, and ready for shipping, so our wonderful customers will have to wait a bit longer to bid in our first auction for one of these ridiculously EPIC physical bitcoins!

Oh, and the prototype weighs under 49 pounds, so we're working on a magnetic wall mount. ;)

Regards,
Chris

That is so cool man! Wish I had a place to put one. Will make a great paper weight too  :D

This thing is absurd and I love it. Bravo.

Realy wow, this looks insane  :D

Thanks for the super kind words, guys! Now get your wallets ready for the upcoming auctions in early November. ;D

Regards,
Chris

Oh my god that is awsome.  I can't believe that is real, penny you are a legend.   :D

November auction? Cool man...will get my truck ready to haul this baby! ;D

LOL I can hardly believe it's real, myself! ;D



Yep, the foundry says the first order of five (5) manhole covers should be ready by early November. Then it's just a matter of the final assembly, so we should have the first one ready for auction soon! (As Tom Petty famously sang, "The waiting is the hardest part." RIP, Tom.)

Regards,
Chris

I really have no words for this. They turned out waaaaaaaaaay better than I imagined. Awesome job Chris, this is going to be part of the Bitcoin history! Now go place that thing on Wallstreet!

Thank you for the kind words, Anon. (I'm blushing.) ;D

One more week, and you'll get to see the finished prototype. (Just waiting on the custom engraved 5" copper plate that bolts onto the back and covers the private key, and that should arrive by the week's end.) I'm a long way from Wall Street (geographically AND financially), but I'll do my best to take plenty of fun photos of it around town here in Greenville, SC. ;D

Regards,
Chris

Holymoly, that coin (If I can call it a coin :P) looks crazy. Will these be bought by governments to place on the streets or so?

We've toyed with the idea of offering a few of these to a small neighborhood association, and we may do that some day. Who knows? ;)

Regards,
Chris

Just a thought...Contacting The Free State Project in New Hampshire could be a good place to start. They're very open and endorsing towards crypto progress.

wow! that looks totally badass - a great add to collection am sure

Thanks, Sky! Wait until you see the assembled prototype with the antiqued bronze finish! ;D

Regards,
Chris

HOW LONG :P

The last piece of the puzzle is the custom engraved 5" copper disc that attaches onto the back to secure the private key, and that should arrive in the next few days. Then it's time for assembly and photography. I'm sure you'll see the finished project before Halloween. :)

Regards,
Chris

Wow, what a unique and beautiful project  :)

I want one.

Whoa, these already look top notch and I can't wait to see what they look like with the copper discs.  Thanks for the updates BPC!!  ;D

i want one but postage could be a killer  :D

According to Lauda it's a couple hundred USD and I don't even want to know how much the customs would try to charge me. ;D

How on Earth did I miss all these new thread posts? ???



Thank you for the kind words, frankbitcoin. :)



Thank you, WinterParker. You should definitely get one. The first auction starts in a few days. ;)



It's my pleasure, digi! And thank you for kind words. I'm so excited for the first auction to start! You should totally bid! ;D



Yes, we're still hoping to lower the international shipping charge for our non-USA friends, and we should have that settled soon. However, our USA customers will receive FREE SHIPPING!


Again... thank you, everyone, for all of your support on this little project. We couldn't have done it without you! :)

Regards,
Chris

C'est fini! ;)

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

https://i.imgur.com/3XdNbYd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Za7ImES.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/N4s1n0X.jpg


Our first auction is COMING SOON!

Regards,
Chris

Amazing work, it looks great Chris!  The "Fall" theme gives the images a nice touch.   ;D

Just amazing.

Wow, that really is amazing

Thank you, everyone! We're thrilled to read all your kindest posts about our special project! We could never have made this insane idea come true without your enthusiastic support! Again, thank you so very much! ;D

Regards,
Me

YES! Behemoth!

Will it keep out 2x rats too?   :P

Absolutely! These physical bitcoins are guaranteed to keep out 2x rats! (DISCLAIMER: Our guarantee does not apply to NYC rats.)

And as requested by a good customer, here's a side-by-side comparison shot with our standard "penny."

https://i.imgur.com/EF9aaLP.jpg


Regards,
Chris

holy shit

I like it a lot.

Thanks, cg_c! :)

Regards,
Me

 :o  looking forward to the auction.  I'll keep my eyes out  8)

It looks so awesome! Have you thought about doing a .999 copper version?

Thank you, TheNewAnon!

And a .999 copper version would be cool too. At the moment, the foundry only pours the traditional cast iron. If that changes, then we'll definitely consider that idea. ;)

Regards,
Chris

https://i.imgur.com/YD0070G.jpg


Today, I caught my dog laying a trap for the family cat. Bad dog! >:(

Regards,
Me

HA!   :D

That pic should become a Doodle someday.

Thanks for the photos, MJ! ;D

Regards,
Me

As a result of my never-ending curiosity and child-like "what if?" philosophy, we had the prototype powdercoated in ANTIQUE COPPER.

https://i.imgur.com/X0TAXWl.jpg

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


Now that's a big 'ol penny! ;)

Regards,
Me

eBay item number:

152814989909

Yes, that's our eBay account. We seldom use it, but we thought it would be a great way to spread the word about these awesome pieces. Looks like it worked. ;)

Regards,
Chris

UPDATE

We're waiting on our last few manhole covers to arrive from the foundry, and we expect delivery within the next few weeks.

Most of these unique manhole cover art pieces have been SOLD.

No.6 and No.8 are still available. (That's all, folks.)

Once again, thank you to everyone for supporting this bat-sh*t crazy project! ;D

Regards,
Chris

That is absolutely gorgeous  :o

UPDATE

Just a little holiday season bump...

Most of these 10 unique manhole cover art pieces have been SOLD, but No.6 and No.8 are still available.

Add this record-breaking World's Largest Physical Bitcoin to your own private collection today!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Regards,
Chris

Now THAT'S a stocking stuffer  :P

UPDATE

Most of these 10 unique manhole cover art pieces have been SOLD, but No.6 is still available.

Add this record-breaking World's Largest Physical Bitcoin to your own private crypto-collection today! (PM for more details!)

Remember to visit our website and claim your favorite 2020 Bitcoin Penny® goodies while supplies last! Use coupon code ENDOF2020 for 50% OFF all remaining in-stock items. (Clothing not included.)


Chris @ TBPCo