Explanation to the hints:1. All the information needed to synthesize the phrase are in the data matrix. Obviously at this point you do not know how to approach the problem. The data pairs could have been presented in any form, the squared arrangement could be the first hint that you need to generate a QR code. There are 26 column and 25 rows, this asymmetry is the first hint that the data should be read as pairs. 2. This hint reveal that the data are read in pairs, the picture of the couple reveal a coordinate set 22 and 11 (on their shoes), at this point do you not know what is x and what is y, the first pair is (22,11) suggesting x=22 and y=11, the fact that the males have a Y chromosome and females only have X chromosome could help confirming this. 3. The range of the data is revealed, at this point can you more or less rule out hexadecimal and you know that 01 = 1. The pictures is the first solid hint that the pairs are X and Y coordinates, the X and Y has the exact same colour as the male and female from above, from here is it reasonable to assume that x=22 and y=11. 4. This hint reveals that the pairs are coordinate sets and rule out most decipher scenarios, since the randomization will limit the information to be present in the pairs and not the matrix as a whole. The pictures gives a valuable hint as it is a prototype of the solution, the side of the rubrics cube has 3x3 squares (or pixels) the coordinate set of the first pixel is shown as (01;01). 5. The purpose of this hint is to lead the thoughts patterns to a graphical solution in a 2 dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. At this point should there be enough information to start plotting the data points and realize that the solution is a QR code. However this is tricky since you have to plot a large amount of the data points blindly of what the result might be. 6. This hint is designed to convince the contester to plot the data, blindly of what the result might be. The idea is create a sensation of realization in the process of the plotting, since you obviously do not need all the points to realize that the result is a QR. Once you have realized that it is a QR then would it be easy to make the QR code with Excel, Matlab etc. How to generate the data matrix.I had to find a phrase that would not be too long to fit a 25x25 QR code, else would it take too long to work with. Once I found a phrase then did I map the point in a coordinate system (from 1 to 25) in two columns using excel, I would dublicate some of the points to end up with 26x25 numbers in total (so it would look like a matrix) and randomize all pairs. The two columns was exported to an txt file and read into Matlab: clear
clc
fileName1 = 'puzzle.txt';
fileID1 = fopen(fileName1,'r');
%Define file formate, integers seperated by \t
formatSpec = '%i %i';
%Read file into matrix A
A = fscanf(fileID1,formatSpec);
fclose(fileID1);
%Convert matrix into x and y vector
xvector=A(1:2:length(A)-1);
yvector=A(2:2:length(A));
%Plot the solution
scatter(xvector, yvector,'filled')
%Create/open file for SMF code output
fileID2 = fopen('puzzle_smf.txt','wt');
%Table start
fprintf(fileID2,'[table]\n');
%Row start
fprintf(fileID2,'[tr]\n');
%Run index loop
index = 1;
for row=1:25;
%Start row code
fprintf(fileID2,'[td][/td]');
for col=1:26;
%print as two digit format with leading zero
formatSpec = '[td]%02d[/td]';
%Write a col value
fprintf(fileID2,formatSpec,A(index));
index = index +1;
end
%End row code
fprintf(fileID2,'\n[/tr]\n');
end
%table end
fprintf(fileID2,'[/table]');
fclose(fileID2);
The matlab code generates a plot so I could test QR code and it prints out the data in a format understood my the SMF based forum.
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Wow I've been watching this... Well done to Took for the idea and to the winner!
This was a really cool puzzle! Thanks for making it Took!  Maybe I'll get the next one  Thank you very much Feel free to post feedback, if the puzzle was too hard/easy/unfiar/fair etc. |
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Solved it!
"420000 pages of history!"
LOL Congrats! you beat me to it... I took too long to post Sorry CITM, looks like pawnshop770 beat you with 4 minutes. I would like to give you a 2nd place prize, even thought it was not defined in the rules, I will send you a PM. WTF 4 minutes? He just reposted  Besides it was impossible to solve this with pen and paper. If plane was big (A5) and dots where small (ball pen) no way anything could read that QR. I know because I tried. You are correct, the dots in hint 6 would not be large enough to actually scan the solution. However, the idea is that once you start plotting the points, then would you quickly realized that it was a QR, and then would you shift to another medium. If you made squares on the paper instead, then would it scan, but that would have been slightly easier if I have used squares instead. |
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Solved it!
"420000 pages of history!"
LOL Congrats! you beat me to it... I took too long to post Sorry CITM, looks like pawnshop770 beat you with 4 minutes. I would like to give you a 2nd place prize, even though it was not defined in the rules, I will send you a PM. |
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Solved it!
"420000 pages of history!"
Congratulations - Well done!  Feel free to post how you found the solution! |
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6. Hint:"The pen is mightier than the sword" - Pen and paper can be a powerfull tool. 
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I think it is an interesting product, and if made well then do I believe that there is a market.
Consider the option to store the private key BIP38 encrypted, where the buyer will provide you with the encrypted key.
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Most of the scratches you can see there are present in the capsule, as we handle the coins with cotton gloves it is inevitable to leave some threads inside. Other tiny defects are the inevitable result of coin minting and can't be avoided :/
What about the black marks above the 0.125 BTC? I'm most concerned about this. Hi udet4food, to ease you mind a bit, then will I just let you know that I had many coins delivered from CI, spread over all the batches made. I am overall very happy about the quality, I only once had a small quality issue, I contacted CI and he quickly came up with a solution that I was more than happy with. Mistakes do happen from time to time, but based on the picture then would my best guess be that the black marks are on the capsule. |
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bump, I am going to bump this everyday in hopes someone buys it because they are sick of seeing the topic
Lol Edit: eBay is definitely the place to sell these, then use those funds on Coinbase to purchase BTC. Don't think many people will offer more than double spot around here, if you're lucky GL anyways. Thank you, lol. I know, but I refuse to let these go at a extreme lose I would say that your best chance for selling world coins is at ebay - even if taking the unreasonable fees into consideration. I have no idea how these are priced, so I have no opinion if they are expensive or reasonable priced, however: To compensate for extreme loss, don't expect bitcoiners to pay extreme overprice, bitcoiners love their bitcoins, which makes them extremely reluctant to spend them. In any case good luck with your sales |
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Hell this is hard. Took me like 3 hours already since yesterday. Cant stop thinking about this its not about the reward any more. Anyway I came up with this: Euclidean three-dimensional coordinate system. But its not matching hash... Thank you for the feedback poptok1 As mentioned in OP the contest will be over at halving day, we are only 1450 blocks away. The last hint will more or less give the solution directly, so I really hope someone solves it before |
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5. Hint:"Cogito ergo sum" - A particular idea from the gentleman below can help you solve the puzzle. 
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... Which version of the Casascius BTC Bar will be up for grabs?
Looking at the pictures, then is it the casascius bearer bar... |
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Edit - Just seems like a scam. If not, prove it with me. Why does everyone on this forum think everything is a scam? Who would go to the effort of creating a 'fake' book, if the real thing can sell for $150? One might question whether the book is worth $150, but surely it is not 'fake'. Nobody would question this in the 'real world'.. I know that there are some mixed opinions about this product, this i just my view on things: I agree with Elias that is not a SCAM per se, the word scam is sort of miss used in the bitcoin community. What I hear, is that some of the people that have bought the book say that they don't think it was worth $150. My definition of scam is that a person try to trick another person, most commonly by receive bitcoins for a product that is never delivered or is completely different that described. It is not my place to say if the book is worth $150 or not, since i don't have a physical copy (yet), but calling scam is a bit misplaced (imo). But it is definitely legit that the buyers say that the product does not live up their expectation or that it is too expensive, its their right to feel that way. I agree $150 is a lot for a book, no doubt about that, it is also the price that has hold me back so far for not getting the book. But for me was it clear from OP that the book would not a novel or a encyclopedia on casascius, I see it more as a collectible in the form of a very unusual/obscure crypto related product, I fully respect that the buyers have a different opinion than mine, this is just my view of the product. If someone have bought the book and feel that it does not live up to their exception and is not worth $150, then could an idea be to put it up for sale in the marketplace or make an auction. If the book come up for auction then will I most likely bid on it. @OP Another thing that has come to question: How will the raffle will be done, can you share some more specific details? How will it be provable fair? |
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I'll gladly participate in this raffle, but how do we know this is going to be a fair game? Can you prove that we're all actually playing this, rather than you having an alt account magically win or someone you know winning (for the bitcoin we paid, and positive trust from your alt/friend)? I don't mean to be disrespectful in any way, and would love to play...I just don't want to risk throwing my bitcoin away for nothing. Thanks in advance. The winner is chosen by using the last character of a bitcoin block, chosen at random, in advance, and there can only be one of 16 chars. it doesn't get any fairer than that. There is no way to scam on this raffle, it's provably fair by the bitcoin blockchain.  Edit - if it makes you feel better, I won the last set he raffled, and he sent me tracking today which already shows up on USPS USA site. I can add: The hash of a block is what miners is actually trying to find, they perform the SHA hash' in random until they get enough leading zeros. There is no way you can predict the hash of a block in the future. |
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After printing, the private key files will be destructed and the public key file will be kept in order to fund the coins. That being said, it's up to the buyer to trust me on not keeping any private key info. You need to consider carefully how to destroy the files. Casascius physically destroyed the harddrives, there might be other safe ways to do it (I am not an expert in this field), but simply deleting the files will not do it. Especially if it is a magnetic drive. |
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Slot 0 please tx/c513b280b2fefc85ea8da6a4ded8121106e8f3e386e764247eb5c0cfa821e8ae Cheers |
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Because of the casascius vs money transfer law incident, I wanted to ask if there are any laws in Europe that are similar to those in the USA. Would a sale of self created physical bitcoins with 10BTC loaded onto them in total need to be licensed?
I want to confirm what has already been mention about the denomination. If you are planning to generate private keys and load them with 10 BTC, then will you get zero or close to zero sale. Selling loaded coin requires enormous amount of trust. The thing about trust is that you cannot prove that you can be trusted, trust is something that is gained over time. The sad story of Coinographic shows why this is an important issue. Personally I would be ok with 0.01-0.05 from an unknown/untrusted manufacture. I would even have my concerns with a 0.1 BTC denomination coin. |
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4. Hint:"Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our mind" - the order of pairs is randomized and has no significance for the solution. 
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I am happy too see that people are having fun trying to solve the puzzle Keep in mind that all the information needed to generate the solution is present in 1.Hint. The challenge is how to approach the data. The following hints are meant as guides how to approach the problem. |
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I am very happy about the this coin, it looks amazing! It is not difficult to understand why this coin is popular:  Can't wait the receive the loot from the weekend's epic auction. |
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