CLOSED: [WTS] Chainsaw's 5 BTC MS-65 Casacius Holo Error

[Chainsaw]

Up for sale is a 2012 5 BTC 'Casacius' holo error. (The repeating text in the background of the hologram is misspelled as CASACIUS instead of CASASCIUS.)
Other offerings are enumerated here.

Asking Price: 12 BTC 14 15 16 18 20

The coin has been graded by ANACS as MS-65. Such a rating represents an Uncirculated state. Here is the official definition (ANA) of MS-65:
"A coin graded MS-65 shows an attractive high quality of luster and strike for the date and mint.
May have a few small scattered contact marks, or two larger marks may be present.
One or two small patches of hairlines may show.
Noticeable light scuff marks may be seen on the high points of the design. Overall quality is above average and eye appeal is very pleasing..."

This coin was graded prior to the discovery of the pseudo-exploit.
I know of less than 10 other coins that were graded prior to the DefCon failed-but-close security breach.

The front:


The back:


For historical price comparisons, and possibly other same-offerings at lower prices, check the Bitcoin Collectible Marketplace thread.

Here's a link specifically to my other offerings.

List of all First Version Active 5 BTC
Link showing coin balance

Only 600 (approx.) 5 BTC Version 1 coins were printed. Only a subset of those carry the holo error.
Note that this Mintage is significantly lower (about 6 times lower!) than the 1 BTC holo errors.
I am not yet sure the date at which they crossed over, but the actual number is less.
You can compare this coin's Mintage to other mintages in the Collectible Marketplace.

A final note on pricing. Most of my offerings do not yet have a well-established market price.
Going first when selling runs a risk - ask too much, you seem greedy. Ask too little, your wares are snapped up, only to be flipped.
I greatly desire to establish a baseline for as many Bitcoin specie as possible...but I do have long-term holding intentions for my collection.

So, my intention is to limit each offering to 1, slowly decreasing the asking price over time, until one is sold.
Anywhere along the way, feel free to ask questions, or make offers! I promise you won't hurt my feelings :-)
Even better, if you have a similar coin...I invite you to undercut me. I'll happily provide a link to your posting from the marketplace thread.

Goal #1 is in establishing market prices. The more sellers we have, the faster we can get there.
Goal #2 is a first-sale of each of these coins.  If we can get to price discovery without a sale of one of my coins, the main objective will still be achieved.

I warmly invite your purchases, offers, and competitive offerings.  
Each data point lowers the barrier to entry into this collectible marketplace, allowing it to grow.

Happy shopping, and by all means, if there are any questions I've left unanswered, feel free to ask below.

-Chainsaw

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[lucky7slick]

how about 10BTC for it?

[Chainsaw]

how about 10BTC for it?

Price discovery in action!
I don't accept your offer today (and will treat it as non-binding going forward).
However, we now have a more tightly defined range for a market value of a 5 BTC MS-65 graded specimen: Somewhere between 10 and 18 BTC.

As time passes, if no-one takes the buyout, I will lower it.
Others are welcome to improve upon this offer of 10 BTC.

Thanks for getting the ball rolling, lucky7slick.

[Chainsaw]

I am very interested to see what these coins will really sell for, please keep us updated if you sell any.

You and I both! You can count on me updating the marketplace thread with any sale prices. So long as the buyer is willing, I will do so non-anonymously - such postings instill more confidence than ones you need to rely on the seller's word for what the asking price.  But privacy concerns come first.

These sales will fill in some gaps, where no instances of an item have sold before. (The 1 BTC graded specimens are an exception to this.)
Once a baseline has been set, future sales for anyone in the collectible community should be easier.  That ease-of-sale should lead to a more attractive market, more buyers, more sellers...all very good things :-)

The one downside to market assessment here is that it is slightly apples-to-oranges. Much like SgtSpike's 50 BTC sale of an MS-67 1 BTC holo error...that also was a first-day.

No coin is 100% guaranteed tamper-free. But these coins have a higher confidence that can be passed along to future prospective buyers, in that they were sealed in ANACS' tamper-evident cases well before the failed-but-close casascius exploit occurred. How much of a premium will this command? I have no idea - maybe 0 BTC, maybe 10. I'm leaving that for the market as a whole to decide.

Also, how much did you pay to get them graded and can you briefly describe the process? I have some coins I'm thinking of grading but kind of nervous on sending 30-40k worth of coins in the mail.

I should probably write this up once and link to it, I get asked rather often. PCGS and NGC are the two biggest grading agencies. They elected not to grade Bitcoins...but ANACS does. ANACS is generally considered 3rd-in-line for coin grading.  The primary cost is not in dollars. You can send one round trip for $23, I believe, if you wait for a free return shipping special.  The true cost lies in finding a high quality specimen to get graded in the first place. You're not going to get an MS-65-or-greater coin unless it has been properly stored through its lifetime.  After that, you just need to call up ANACS to clear up any questions you may have, get a form, fill it in, package up your coin, send it in using whatever insurance you choose, and wait. You'll get it back in a few weeks and see what you're looking at for rarity.

You can send them individually rather than in bulk if you like...but they do make a profession of handling high-value coins. Your greatest risk would be in transit, which is probably what you were saying anyway.  You could always start with one and send more after you're more comfortable with the process.

[Chainsaw]

I've lowered the asking price, figured that was worth a bump.

[Chainsaw]

I've lowered the asking price on this as well as all my other collectible Casascius offerings - most graded, some not.
Here's a link to my other listings.
Here's a link to the collectible marketplace thread..

[Chainsaw]

I've lowered the asking price on this to 12 BTC, as well as all my other collectible Casascius offerings - most graded, some not.
Here's a link to my other listings.
Here's a link to the collectible marketplace thread..

[Chainsaw]

This piece is no longer available.