[Photo] First of 2013 Casascius Silver Coins Now Available For Sale

[bitcoinpreneur]

Do you know how many 0.1 you will have in a roll?

[01BTC10]

Great count me in! 

[murfshake]

Yeah, but how is the spelling?   

[molecular]

Mike,

I was initially not going to re-sell these because of the hefty premium. But demand is there and customer is king, so we (jalaman and I) will probably do pre-orders.

Since import VAT tax of 19% will have to be payed by us on import (we will get it back later) it would greatly simplify things at customs if it was possible to do the following.

(Background: customs officials have to value the product coming in and tax it. On my last import of brass coins I had a really hard time explaining no bitcoins were yet loaded (the lady even looked up the bitcoin exchange rate and wanted me to pay 19% based on that valuation. your info card helped a lot!!!) and arguing the value of the brass coins. The customs lady kept asking for a bill or payment receipt. The customs form you filled out isn't really a reliable source for them at all (as you could put anything there)).

Split the payment in 2 parts:

• 1 for the silver value plus a slight premium. Use bitpay or paypal for this part so I end up with a bill stating USD amount payed. State that same amount as value in the customs declaration.
• 1 for the BTC to be loaded plus the remainder of the premium. Depending on wether we do this using our company, we'd also need a bill with USD amount for this part.

In addition it would be great if we could do "deferred loading" (load only when coin is in the hands of end-customer) to ease customs hassle and potential VAT to be payed by end-customer.

I hope you can consider this.

[molecular]

just placed an order with you, mike.
noticed the substancial (!) premium over silver. phew!

anyways. also ordering with you if you're ready, smoothie.

Please share you customs experience with us. You probably have other experience importing silver to germany... can you share it?

[dwdoc]

Mike

I already have some of your aluminum coins from a group buy but would like something more substantial to carry around to show friends. I know that silver coins (as opposed to sterling silver) tarnish (develop patina) pretty significantly.  In your opinion which Casascius bitcoin will stay the shiniest the longest when exposed to air?

[dwdoc]

I don't see a gold coin listed but I'll bet the gold plated BTC25 coin would work.

[casascius]

I think what I am going to do is, when I get all these initial orders shipped, I may wait to fund them so that the FIRST funding transaction funds as many as possible, to give them "first batch" distinction.  That might mean that those who get them the quickest might have to wait 7-10 days for me to fund them to let others catch up.  I'm curious on others' opinions.  If I don't do this, then only US buyers would have a chance to get "first batch" coins because theirs will arrive the fastest.

If I do this, I will at least publish where the funds are, so everyone can see they're just sitting there and not accruing "interest" in a ponzi scheme.

(These won't have incrementing addresses like my newest brass coins do... I will just be using the 1Ag* addresses I already generated long ago, in truly random order, since I have so many of them that aren't used)

[nubbins]

I think what I am going to do is, when I get all these initial orders shipped, I may wait to fund them so that the FIRST funding transaction funds as many as possible, to give them "first batch" distinction.

This would be extra special for the silver halfs with the Series 2 hologram

[molecular]

I think what I am going to do is, when I get all these initial orders shipped, I may wait to fund them so that the FIRST funding transaction funds as many as possible, to give them "first batch" distinction.  That might mean that those who get them the quickest might have to wait 7-10 days for me to fund them to let others catch up.  I'm curious on others' opinions.  If I don't do this, then only US buyers would have a chance to get "first batch" coins because theirs will arrive the fastest.

If I do this, I will at least publish where the funds are, so everyone can see they're just sitting there and not accruing "interest" in a ponzi scheme.

That's a good idea.

Since you didn't answer about my "billing" suggestion above, I take it you're reluctant to do this?

[BitAddict]

They're really nice!

Are you considering making them with the BTC in gold (like before)?

Thanks!

[BigBitz]

Not wanting to sound stupid but why is the 1BTC priced at 2.5BTC?!

[nubbins]

Not wanting to sound stupid but why is the 1BTC priced at 2.5BTC?!

Because it's made of pure silver, and it's really pretty.

[2weiX]

just placed an order with you, mike.
noticed the substancial (!) premium over silver. phew!

anyways. also ordering with you if you're ready, smoothie.

Please share you customs experience with us. You probably have other experience importing silver to germany... can you share it?

You pay 19% on the silver value.
100oz of silver @ 14€ = 1400€ * 0.19 = 266€ Einfuhrumsatzsteuer.

Sadly, customs are going by the value ON THE INVOICE, so if I buy 20oz at a 250% premium, I will pay 250% premium on my VAT as well!
100oz of silver @ 24€ = 2400€ * 0.19 = 456€ Einfuhrumsatzsteuer.


That's why an invoice stating "100oz .999 silver rounds" with the silver spot price denominated in USD is probably the best way to bill the goods, with the funding of the coins AND the premium of manufacturing invoiced seperately!


so preferrably:

a) pay the silver
c) pay the premium +  funding

this may all be consolidated in the FINAL receipt, but should be separated for shipping.

[casascius]

Molecular: I could offer deferred loading but strictly for customs purposes and not as an anti-loss measure.  In other words all coins you get must eventually be funded.

Does Germany charge VAT on the premium or just the silver?  And is Einfuhrumsatzsteuer something in addition to VAT (which I understood was Mehrwertsteuer last I was there)

[2weiX]

Molecular: I could offer deferred loading but strictly for customs purposes and not as an anti-loss measure.  In other words all coins you get must eventually be funded.

Does Germany charge VAT on the premium or just the silver?  And is Einfuhrumsatzsteuer something in addition to VAT (which I understood was Mehrwertsteuer last I was there)

VAT is the equivalent of Einfuhrumsatzsteuer.
I edited my above post to answer your question while you were posting it^^

[molecular]

Molecular: I could offer deferred loading but strictly for customs purposes and not as an anti-loss measure.  In other words all coins you get must eventually be funded.

Does Germany charge VAT on the premium or just the silver?  And is Einfuhrumsatzsteuer something in addition to VAT (which I understood was Mehrwertsteuer last I was there)

Yes, I want deferred loading purely for customs purposes, not anti-loss measure.

Einfuhrumsatzsteuer is VAT. Umsatzsteuer and Mehrwertsteuer are the same. So Einfuhrumsatzsteuer is "import VAT".

import VAT is charged on the premium also and yes, it would even be charged on the bitcoin value of the coins if they were loaded. Therefore I agree with 2weix that it's probably best to use 2 invoices (see his post #37

[tlr]

Not wanting to sound stupid but why is the 1BTC priced at 2.5BTC?!

Because it's made of pure silver, and it's really pretty.

To be clear, there's only about 0.2 BTC worth of silver in each of these. But they are really pretty and I'll probably be buying some.

[chrisrico]

I think what I am going to do is, when I get all these initial orders shipped, I may wait to fund them so that the FIRST funding transaction funds as many as possible, to give them "first batch" distinction.  That might mean that those who get them the quickest might have to wait 7-10 days for me to fund them to let others catch up.  I'm curious on others' opinions.  If I don't do this, then only US buyers would have a chance to get "first batch" coins because theirs will arrive the fastest.

If I do this, I will at least publish where the funds are, so everyone can see they're just sitting there and not accruing "interest" in a ponzi scheme.

(These won't have incrementing addresses like my newest brass coins do... I will just be using the 1Ag* addresses I already generated long ago, in truly random order, since I have so many of them that aren't used)

For what it's worth, waiting a week or two for the coins to be loaded is not an issue for me.

[tlr]

What size Air-Tite cases do these fit in?