We all know of the casascius gold bars; the 1000, 500, 100
BTC versions, but more numerous then those are the EMPTY bars meant to be loaded individually.
Of these non-denominated bars, there are TWO TYPES;
1. The normal 'plain' Casascius storage bar
2. The 'plain' bar with the
PUBLIC KEY printed on the front, as-well as
Casascius.com/2factor printed above the stamped 'gold plated bearer bar' text.
EXAMPLE of #1 http://www.ebay.ca/itm/CASASCIUS-PHYSICAL-BITCOIN-GOLD-PLATED-BEARER-BAR-UNFUNDED-BRAND-NEW-/171229005380?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27de0b4644 EXAMPLE of #2 http://imgur.com/a/s3TLr#0 9/10 times when a bar is sold, it is
#1, with
#2 almost never appearing for sale or being mentioned. I believe this is a sign of rarity, and would potentially put the value of such bars much higher then the others.
Clearly, the value changes depending on condition and dramatically if it has been redeemed previously. I'm more interested in what the valuation might be of identical bars, in the assumption thet they are both brand new, unredeemed, and in the original plastic cases. Has there even been a public sale of a
#2 recently?
I think this is a matter that is best settled here. Are any production numbers or estimates available?