Bitcoin Forum

In observance of the upcoming 4th halving, it’s time to make something special.


BACKGROUND:
The Encyclopedia of Physical Bitcoins was first released in May 2016, with a print run of 100, 25 of which were designated the “signature edition” having been signed by Mike Caldwell (Casascius). That summer around the time of the 2nd halving, co-author Howard Kesselman (bithalo) collected autographs and hologram samples from over 30 coin makers featured in the book. When the Revised Edition of the Encyclopedia came out in early 2017, these were sold in 20 full sets with a matching book, making it the sought-after “Autographs Edition”, featuring the actual holograms and signatures of dozens of markers and selling for as much as $10,000.

WHAT:
There are leftovers that were set aside - until now!! With 5 sets of about 30 autographs and 18 holograms, there’s an opportunity to revive something old and also give newer collectors a chance at something truly historic.

IDEAS:
There are a few things I can do here:
Option 1: holograms and autographs added to books (hardcover or soft), affixed to the relevant pages. I could also add a special sticker of my own to each book, collected from various crypto events.
Option 2: creation of a framed/frame-able artwork(s) made of the signatures and autographs, possibly incorporating pieces/pages of the Encyclopedia as well, making it possible for one to display and enjoy all the holograms and signatures at once.

It’s of course possible to do both - such as 3x books and 2x artworks. Fair warning, I would probably want to keep one to myself :D

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1717024.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1497543.0
https://wiki.coin.community/Autographs_for_the_Encyclopedia_of_Physical_Bitcoins
https://youtu.be/tpiT-6vfdV4?si=JKPM100eJHSEglUM

Feedback welcome! (photo is of an original set)
https://wiki.coin.community/images/7/7c/Autographs_for_the_Encyclopedia_of_Physical_Bitcoins_full_set.jpg

Very cool, super important collectable. Not sure whos going to be able to afford it but cool never the less. On behalf of the poor people i suggest raffle, lol.

I like the idea of 2 framed art pieces and 3 books. Also i dont think an autograph set has been put together with the autographed casacius book. That would be the ultimate autograph set. Also at a minimum all books should be the no less than the premium revised edition. No revised edition or paperback used except the casacius

Super cool idea. I am a huge fan of your encyclopedia and use it almost weekly when searching through coin auctions. I had it open yesterday as I watched the Stacks auction live (and bought a couple Microsoul coins)!

I purchased one of the original 100 released second hand (that one is safely tucked away and I have a normal one for everyday use).

Have you ever thought of releasing a second edition with many of the newer physical cryptocurrencies from 2017-present?

SP

It's great to see these resurface and give new people a chance to grab one. Personally, my autograph/hologram set is my most treasured collectable (hence the crazy high price here) (https://shop.coin.community/product/extended-autographs-for-the-encyclopedia-of-physical-bitcoins/). Many of these coin makers would be difficult if not impossible to contact these days, so creating another set like this would be hard.

As for what to do with them, since ICG has started slabbing holograms (https://wiki.coin.community/File:Microsoul_-_graded_hologram_bear_bull.png) I thought it could be cool to get my whole set slabbed, however the signature stickers are too big to fit into standard sized holders, so I personally decided against it. If you were to slab them and sell individually, I would be interested.

This set is a really good idea eli.

Preserving history like this in a way that will probably never happen again as theses creators grow apart, die and move-on with life.

I would love to get my hands on a gravitate signature!

I see a few holos I dont have - would be nice to have a holo set.

Here's how I'm envisioning the framed work, standard size approx 30x40cm (12x16). I have enough to make 2x with ~20 holograms and 30 autographs. the remaining three sets would have about 17 holos and 27 autographs.

https://i.ibb.co/5YwwjXK/holoframe.png (https://ibb.co/mvggyrN)

Thougts?

I think I see my signature on there! :)

If there’s anybody out there that wants one of the limited edition signature encyclopedias then hit me up. Anybody know what the last sale of one went for? Feels like mine could be in a better spot then collecting dust on my bookshelf.