Bit bills were the originals, (think may of 2011) before casascius came out with his coins. There were some others too, but that was just a US regulation. Coin makers from other countries have continued to sell loaded coins, i.e. crypto imperator, denerium, btcc, etc.
Yep Bitbills were the very first incarnation of a Physical Bitcoin produced May of 2011.
I believe they stopped or went out of business on their own ..not sure if it had to do with US regulations...They stopped in May 2012.