What makes/what kind of physical coins valuable. Good investment idea?

[Harpua]

So I've been browsing the marketplace in my spare time when I have nothing else better to do, and I see people selling physical btc, ltc, xmr, et cetera ... and pricing them at a pretty high price.  Why is this?  Are physical coins going to steadily increase in value over time if cryptocurrencies value increases along with it?  The whole concept of physical coins has me a little confused...

Edit: Also, I see that some of these coins are made in valuable metals like gold, silver, copper... then you have some physical coins made with something like plastic... so if you think physical coins are going to be big in the future, does the potential value of the actual make up of the coin like a X2 factor in value?

[gentlemand]

Good question. Casascius is the most sought after and the best bet for the future mainly because he was the first, he's not making any more and his coins became one of the defining Bitcoin images in the media. 

There are plenty of others out there but I don't know whether they'll always hold much of a premium. Casascius has that unique set of attributes.

One thing to bear in mind is that every physical coin creator will have handled its private key at some point. That's a big if when it comes to new coins from unknown people.

Pricing goes into materials, design, forging and shipping so there'll always be a premium over the BTC value. I'm not so sure many of them will be any type of investment but you never know unless it's in retrospect.

[Harpua]

One thing to bear in mind is that every physical coin creator will have handled its private key at some point. That's a big if when it comes to new coins from unknown people.

Ok, so I know what a private key is and everything.. but what do you mean by the bolded text above?

Pricing goes into materials, design, forging and shipping so there'll always be a premium over the BTC value. I'm not so sure many of them will be any type of investment but you never know unless it's in retrospect.

So in your opinion, Casascius's coins are the way to go for the best bet of potential profit/return in the future?  Do you know how many coins Casascius has made in the past while he was still making them, and how rare is it to see a Casascius coin being sold on the market place?

[gentlemand]

Ok, so I know what a private key is and everything.. but what do you mean by the bolded text above?

In most cases you peel the coin to reveal the private key. Thus the coin's creator created and printed out the private key to insert in the coin behind the hologram. If they were nefarious they would just keep a copy of the key and cash it in a few years down the line.

So in your opinion, Casascius's coins are the way to go for the best bet of potential profit/return in the future?  Do you know how many coins Casascius has made in the past while he was still making them, and how rare is it to see a Casascius coin being sold on the market place?

http://casascius.uberbills.com/

This will tell you all about the Casascius coins.

Also here - http://www.spotcoins.com/bitcoin/casascius

They pop up for sale often on the goods and auctions section on here.

And yes, I think they're by far the best investment option for a physical coin. Nothing else has the same pedigree. Even if Bitcoin itself became totally worthless they'd still have historical value for what they are.

[GermanGiant]

One thing to bear in mind is that every physical coin creator will have handled its private key at some point. That's a big if when it comes to new coins from unknown people.

Ok, so I know what a private key is and everything.. but what do you mean by the bolded text above?

If someone else has handled your private key, then those coins are not yours. If those are not yet gone, then they are just awaiting to be gone. If you go for physical coins, always go for empty ones.

[Harpua]

Ok... so I started looking more into physical coins and which ones are being sold right now, and I came across certain coins being MS64-70 ... what are these grades and what do they entail?

Thanks for all your answers so far though, helped me understand a bit.

[gentlemand]

It's the grading company's opinion of the condition of the coin. 70 is absolute perfection and then it goes down from there. MS69-70 coins are rare and attract a premium. I'm not totally sure how justified it is but it's important to some people. I often can't tell the difference between a photo of 66 vs a 68.

[chennan]

Ok so I figured I'd compile a list for all of you guys that are casascius and are going on right now... Idk I'm bored  

So I saw these threads that just so happened to be going on in the Marketplace as of right now:

1)  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1183872.0
2)  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1183631.0
3)  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1161026.0
4)  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1161027.0
5)  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1161016.0

Auctions:

6)  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1177897.0
7)  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1180745.0

[notlist3d]

It's the grading company's opinion of the condition of the coin. 70 is absolute perfection and then it goes down from there. MS69-70 coins are rare and attract a premium. I'm not totally sure how justified it is but it's important to some people. I often can't tell the difference between a photo of 66 vs a 68.

People will pay an amazing amount for highly rated coins.  It's amazing how the difference of a few numbers on grade is HUGE in how much value it has.

Currently there is a good market for coins.  People really enjoy them, and I would like to see them get their own thread they are so popular.  But in 5-10 years will they hold that value... hard to say.

One of my favorite examples is ball cards people thought they were like gold for a long time.  Then one day... they drop to hardly what they were once worth.   I knew one person who invested most of his money in them as a hobby he did great... until they dropped.

No one really knows just make sure you don't only invest in one thing is the moral of the story.

[Harpua]

So is there any way/any website that tells the average price of casascius coins, and/or other coins?  I really would like to invest and get a good quality coin to buy, but I have a feeling I need to do a lot more research in these physical coins before I go putting money down on getting one...

Anyways of knowing more about these coins or should I just frequent the Goods and Auctions sections frequently and see what prices they sell for?

[gentlemand]

So is there any way/any website that tells the average price of casascius coins, and/or other coins?  I really would like to invest and get a good quality coin to buy, but I have a feeling I need to do a lot more research in these physical coins before I go putting money down on getting one...

Anyways of knowing more about these coins or should I just frequent the Goods and Auctions sections frequently and see what prices they sell for?

This site is where the most sales action is and you can search all the old threads and get a feel for prices. I don't know of any dedicated price sites and if there are they'll take the info from here. The only other place they turn up regularly for sale is Ebay but prices can often be a lot higher.

[notlist3d]

So is there any way/any website that tells the average price of casascius coins, and/or other coins?  I really would like to invest and get a good quality coin to buy, but I have a feeling I need to do a lot more research in these physical coins before I go putting money down on getting one...

Anyways of knowing more about these coins or should I just frequent the Goods and Auctions sections frequently and see what prices they sell for?

This site is where the most sales action is and you can search all the old threads and get a feel for prices. I don't know of any dedicated price sites and if there are they'll take the info from here. The only other place they turn up regularly for sale is Ebay but prices can often be a lot higher.

And it varies as if someone is trying to complete a set or had one they were wanting.   Its worth as much as someone is willing to pay.   

If you watch some accounts there are some that deal a decent amount on coins. 

[Harpua]

People will pay an amazing amount for highly rated coins.  It's amazing how the difference of a few numbers on grade is HUGE in how much value it has.

Currently there is a good market for coins.  People really enjoy them, and I would like to see them get their own thread they are so popular.  But in 5-10 years will they hold that value... hard to say.

One of my favorite examples is ball cards people thought they were like gold for a long time.  Then one day... they drop to hardly what they were once worth.   I knew one person who invested most of his money in them as a hobby he did great... until they dropped.

No one really knows just make sure you don't only invest in one thing is the moral of the story.

But I guess if you think about it... there are the really really rare cards that are of old/legendary players that go for like $100,000 ... maybe these casascius coins will kind of be like that since they were the first ones.

Also have you guys looked into Kialara coins? They look really beautiful, and to me they look more expensive than the casascius coins, but I'm not quite sure.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=837501.0

[gentlemand]

Also have you guys looked into Kialara coins? They look really beautiful, and to me they look more expensive than the casascius coins, but I'm not quite sure.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=837501.0

Yup. They've taken a very nice and original approach. No idea what future valuations will be but if you find it a satisfying object to own then why not take the plunge? They're not a huge outlay.

[Harpua]

Also have you guys looked into Kialara coins? They look really beautiful, and to me they look more expensive than the casascius coins, but I'm not quite sure.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=837501.0

Yup. They've taken a very nice and original approach. No idea what future valuations will be but if you find it a satisfying object to own then why not take the plunge? They're not a huge outlay.

True, but I believe these coins come without funds... so since I wouldn't know how to go about funding them I'm kinda wary, but idk. I would rather have an "original" coin that will be a lot more valuable than the other made coins.

[gentlemand]

True, but I believe these coins come without funds... so since I wouldn't know how to go about funding them I'm kinda wary, but idk. I would rather have an "original" coin that will be a lot more valuable than the other made coins.

There's a reason why that coin is unfunded and why Casascius isn't making any more - http://www.coindesk.com/us-regulators-bitcoin-mint-casascius-shut/

Not sure what other makers of funded coins in the US are doing about that. Maybe they're hoping to be ignored or registered themselves.