Ok, so here's an email I got from one of my first customers. Obviously there is some misunderstandings contain herein where I think I should address point by point.


Dustin,



Are you sitting down?

yes.

Your financials are completely transparent, and I know that of the 16 coins that have been funded you funded 12 of them yourself, and began shipping starting with the serial #18, despite the fact that there are lower serials unfunded.

I know they're completely transparent, thats kinida the point. if coins are unfunded it means one of three things:

The coin is reserved as payment for a developer, artist, etc for helping me get the business off the ground or,

It is an international order, which are not loaded until arrival. This is to protect myself and the customer incase it is lost or damaged in shipping, as then I would just be eating the cost of the silver and could refund the customer, or,

I screwed up placing the hologram. In which case it will never be funded. We will be posting a data table this week detailing those coins.

Let alone the fact that you did not begin shipping from serial #1, this is enough to compromise the posterity of your product. Given the above, I would not value a Recalesence Coin above 1.1945 BTC, that is 1 BTC + the cost of 1 oz silver in Bitcoin.

I offered my coins on a first come first serve basis. The #1 coin has gone to my grandfather who is not long for this world. On his death I have not decided whether to give it to my dad, or auction it off to a charity.


Given that I am the only one to receive a coin at this point, I’m about to offer you my consultation services with the sole intent of disaster mitigation and recovery. Should you decline my offer, and otherwise neglect to take the steps necessary to fix your product, I will publicly provide the information and direction necessary for a potential customer to determine that you have grossly misrepresented the product that you are selling. As a consumer and proponent of Bitcoin, it’s my obligation to make this information public so long as you continue selling and shipping these coins as is.

I am glad you have recieved your coin, but I am in no need of your "consultation services". I'm making the information as public as possible, as I have nothing to  hide, and where I can improve, I am only too willing to get advice in.

As stated previously, I am offering you my consultation services with the sole intent of disaster mitigation and recovery. Since I’m the only one who has a coin and I’m the only one who has identified this issue there is still an opportunity to fix the product before refunds need to be issued, and silver liquidated. I am doing this because I would rather see a business succeed than to watch a man's name tarnish.

I would like to believe that

Disaster mitigation covers the following:

This email.

mmm k

Services already rendered in analysis of blockchain and PGP signatures.

go on...

Services already rendered in identifying a problem that reduces a Recalesence Coins value by ~0.5 BTC.

I'm listening

Direction on how to move forward. (THE FIRST HINT IS DO NOT LET THOSE 4 COINS SHIP TODAY! ), spin the problem into something the forums will eat up.

uh huh

Critical items that must be done now to protect your company during the recovery phase.



Recovery covers the following:

Streamline the serialization process

its working exactly as intended

Advisement on address management to keep company’s financials out of the public eye.

I want the financials IN the public eye.

Assist in gaining public trust via transparency.

I think I'm doing pretty good on that front.

Prioritizing organization, to get back on your feet as soon as possible, with scalable growth in mind.







What are my qualifications? We can start with the fact that I’m effectively calling you out on fraud based on analysis of the blockchain and some PGP signatures. Here’s some other information I gathered.



Coins 3 (I know that was the demonstration one), 9, 10, 14, 16, 19, 20, and 22 have not yet been funded.

that is because of the above. either reserved (16 actually is the only one reserved) or I screwed up the hologram placement in which case they will never be funded.

Coin 24 was very likely the last one sold/funded.

I think that is correct. the others are international orders, though I do have some USA orders to pack and ship and fund later today.

Of the 16 coins that have been funded 12 of them were funded by you.

that is exactly right

The 12 coins funded by you were funded in this order: 15, 17, 13, 12, 11, 7, 8, 5, 6, 4, 1, and 2.

ok

The first coin purchased was mine - the coin being funded at 5:38:32 August 14 2013.

yup

3 more coins, #21, 23, and 24, were funded Saturday between 17:45:14 and 17:46:43, however these were from orders.

One of the orders with the deposit address 1PoEKaEzYn9ZfdUEPoxRwboap6adnV8ux5 ordered 2 coins, but I don't know which one you're shipping him. Doesn't look you funded a new coin for the occasion.

International order, as stated for reasons above. Also, on large international purchases we save TONS of hassel in customs where the value of the product being shipped really comes  into play with regulation and such.

Following is the order in which you funded coins that actually correspond to orders: 18, 21, 23, 24.

You signed 498 PGP messages between 8/4/2013 22:54:31 and 8/4/2013 22:56:28.

Serials #1 and 2 were signed on 8/12/2013 18:40:33 and 8/12/2013 18:41:36 respectively. 8 days after the initial batch of 498.

This address, 1HW8kKXk8ABMnDKwURSM8X6hWYZ4kmiTcX, is where you're keeping your revenue from this project.

That is correct

I'm assuming this address, 1FX2FSujA3sLKsjHrkVN6kZ1NvUkzNxwPo, is for the next batch of Silver?

That’s the best resume I can give on short notice.

You've done a good job


This is what I’m asking in return for my consultation services:

Coin #1, as it should have been sent to me in the first place.

Sorry, no, that belongs to my grandfather.

5 BTC immediately as confirmation and acceptance of services

Also no.

4 BTC as progress payment at the end of disaster mitigation phase (that would be due this evening)

The no continues

1 BTC held as retention until coins are put back up for sale.

no

Payable here:



15YVnvaw6PXUhXzr6ndEewyNbCmAFEfDwZ

still no


The price is reasonable considering services already rendered. The risk is liquidation of silver, and any chance of recouping manufacturing costs.



This is not a threat. I am in no way shape or form leveraging my knowledge to get Bitcoin from you. The circumstances under which I will make this information public is if you do not fix the product, and continue to sell or ship the product.







Good luck,



Dillon Bigglesworth



It certainly sounds like a threat, although In the case that I am wrong, I want to applaud you in your dedication and detective work. Scams are all over the place in Bitcoin land and I am happy that there would be those that would take the time and effort to weasel them out

However, I think this is at best a misunderstanding, the fault of which is attributed to me. I will take the necessary steps myself to correct them.

At worst, this is a thinly vailed ransome note. In which case, I want you to look at the back of your coin, read the words at the bottom and how they relate to bitcoin, and know that they relate just as much to me.




below is my orginal email to Mr. Bigglesworth
On Sun, Aug 18, 2013 at 10:58 AM, <dustinmfree@recalescencecoins.com> wrote:

Hi mr. Bigglesworth,

By now you should have received your coin, and I would be very grateful for any feed back you could give us as to its condition on arrival.

Thank you for purchasing from us. I hope you put that coin to good use on display, and as a conversation piece when discussing Bitcoin.

Cheers,

Dustin Freeman
Recalescence Coins, LLC

-----------------------------------


The name of the customer has been altered to protect him/her.

I am not perfect. The way I run my business is not perfect. But I am dedicated to making it better. I am dedicated to my customers and Bitcoin. For those willing, I really do value your input. Please use our contact page on the website or respond to this thread and I will answer it as soon as possible.

-Dustin Freeman

Banned in the USA? That would be upsetting.

I think that would be a good avenue for people who would want to resell the coins.

Thanks! I was actually worried how that would be received...

No problem. International shipping is horrible and messy right now. Its not going to be this way for long.

We are currently not offering bulk discounts. While we are not limiting bulk orders, I do not wish to encourage them either.

Contact us via our contact page and we can set you up with an international order. The UK is actually our next priority as far as broadening shipping options.

I see. Reselling was one of the things I had in mind when I decided to serialize them in the order of their purchase. So even if you were to claim the coin immediately after purchase, you still have proof on the peeled hologram and on the certificate that it was the #"xxxxx" coin.

The way the coin was designed actually makes it quite easy to put your own sticker design and private key on the back of them, which is why I opted to not have the denomination on the physical coin itself. I should include the diminsions on the back of the coin in the redeeming page of the website...

Reselling the coin as is without sweeping the private key is still risky to customers. At DEFCON casascius's coins were successfuly removed with solvents, the private key recorded, and placed back on the coin. Our private key however, is very suceptible to solvents. Their use in defeating the tamper evident hologram runs a real risk of destroying the key. Granted, I'm sure a dedicated individual could defeat my design like they did casascius's.

Hmmm... How about now?

Because he is a hero.

Sorry, Bitcoin only.

The coins are 1oz .999 fine silver.

We do ship overseas, use the contact page with the subject OVERSEAS and we can likely accommodate you. The added complexity of shipping over seas forces us to deal with those orders on a case by case basis for the time being.

There is a story behind it of course. I prefer to not divulge my interpretation of its meaning, as it would tarnish what you might otherwise find in it. I will say it was difficult to get the image that was in my head onto that coin...

Looking forward to sending it!

Hello fellow Bitcoiners!

It is with great pleasure that I announce physical Bitcoins by Recalescence Coins, LLC!

www.recalescencecoins.com

I've created a coin that speaks to me, and I hope it speaks to you as well. We are only offering one coin at this time, but we have plans for many more in the future, so forgive us if the pluralization seems premature.

I would like to extend a hearty thanks to the community at large. I've learned so much since I've discovered Bitcoin, and it has truly given me hope for the future. Any success I have had with Bitcoin, or will have, is a direct result of this community and its efforts. I can not thank you enough.

There is still a rocky road ahead of us, but I take comfort in the sheer resolution and commitment (bull headed stubbornness?...) of the users, developers, and fellow entrepreneurs that share in the qualities of the Bitcoin Protocol itself. We shall not yield.

   

Hello fellow Bitcoiners!

It is with great pleasure that I announce physical Bitcoins by Recalescence Coins, LLC!

www.recalescencecoins.com

I've created a coin that speaks to me, and I hope it speaks to you as well. We are only offering one coin at this time, but we have plans for many more in the future, so forgive us if the pluralization seems premature.

I would like to extend a hearty thanks to the community at large. I've learned so much since I've discovered Bitcoin, and it has truly given me hope for the future. Any success I have had with Bitcoin, or will have, is a direct result of this community and its efforts. I can not thank you enough.

There is still a rocky road ahead of us, but I take comfort in the sheer resolution and commitment (bull headed stubbornness?...) of the users, developers, and fellow entrepreneurs that share in the qualities of the Bitcoin Protocol itself. We shall not yield.

   

Needed furniture and capital :p

Winter is also coming. yeah I got it.

LTC founding tennent is that it is Asic resistant. They changed the way mining is handled to be more "fair" and dorked with inflation. Otherwise you might as well call it bitcoin.
How can you say ASICs will come to LTC when the whole point of LTC was to prevent people from having an unfair mining advantage? Why do you support LTC in the first place then?

Yes, botnets still exist in bitcoin, but they are being pushed out of the market like I've said.

I'm not arguing that LTC can't be profitable. I'm arguing that LTC is vulnerable to malicious attack due to the way LTC handles mining. The fact that bot netting is profitable is the whole point.

edit: botnets cost money to purchase and maintain. There is a cost/benefit ratio and as Asics proliferate it will become increasingly more difficult to turn profit with bot nets on the bitcoin chain.

No, it cannot be scaled up to attack bitcoin nearly as well, because Asic hardware is making botnets unprofitable in bitcoin land. Asics are pushing them out of the market.