What's Up, Casascius?

[johnniewalker]

First of all, I'd like to say that I have personally talked to Casascius (Mike) and he's about as nice as they come. The new coins on his site are awesome. But so are the prices...in a bad way. I thought it would be cool to have a .5 Silver BTC...but then I realized it would cost me close to 2BTC. That was crazy I thought. I understand paying more for a regular coin, and certainly understand paying even more for this one (its silver). But, silver prices are at a low-about $20oz and dipping below.

I wish for two reasons they were priced cheaper. Number one is selfish. Number 2 is this will deter people from getting into bitcoins...or Casascius coins, anyway.

I commend Casascius on his genius-I truly do (wish I had the same idea he did, when he did-but who doesn't? I'm about as economically conservative as they come, so why should he not try to make as much money as he can? This truly is a question-I don't even know what to think.

Do you think Casascius's products are priced "too high" and that they could prevent people from getting into not only Casascius coins, but bitcoins in general? Or should Casascius make as money as he can-his right (no sarcasm at all)?

[Cyberdyne]

Just remember he's not just selling the physical coin, he's selling his own status.

The exact same coin would be worth a different amount if it were manufactured and sold by anyone else.

I'd rather order his than anyone elses...

[Este Nuno]

I'm sure he welcomes competition.

The problem is trust. Very, very small amount of people in bitcoin are trusted as much as he is.

[Wardrick]

Didn't it start off as he didn't want to make any money and was just doing it for the community?

[johnniewalker]

I'm sure he welcomes competition.

The problem is trust. Very, very small amount of people in bitcoin are trusted as much as he is.

Of course. I appreciate how he explains how he generates the keypairs for all of his coins, and describes how he could not possibly see them. Even if he could, I trust Casascius. And yes, true about status. I have to say though, I really am surprised that no one else has attempted to make a "physical bitcoin". Surely there are plenty of people on here who are technically capable of generating keypairs in such a method that they would never see them. And there are plenty of enterprising people on here who would be happy to fund a project to get something like 1oz silver rounds made to turn into a physical bitcoin. I think it would truly have to be a collaborative effort.
About Casascius making money-he should. The bitcoin world does not need some philanthropist. I guess what I'm surprised about is how great the desire is for his coins. 2 Bitcoins for a .5 Bitcoin Coin made out of about $10 worth of silver. I tip my hat to the man.

[Wardrick]

I'm sure he welcomes competition.

The problem is trust. Very, very small amount of people in bitcoin are trusted as much as he is.

Of course. I appreciate how he explains how he generates the keypairs for all of his coins, and describes how he could not possibly see them. Even if he could, I trust Casascius. And yes, true about status. I have to say though, I really am surprised that no one else has attempted to make a "physical bitcoin". Surely there are plenty of people on here who are technically capable of generating keypairs in such a method that they would never see them. And there are plenty of enterprising people on here who would be happy to fund a project to get something like 1oz silver rounds made to turn into a physical bitcoin. I think it would truly have to be a collaborative effort.
About Casascius making money-he should. The bitcoin world does not need some philanthropist. I guess what I'm surprised about is how great the desire is for his coins. 2 Bitcoins for a .5 Bitcoin Coin made out of about $10 worth of silver. I tip my hat to the man.

The only thing people buy them for is because they think they'll be worth more in the future and that's been proven wrong quite a few times, lol. What's BTC at now $95.