CASASCIUS PHYSICAL BITCOIN - In Stock Now! (pic)

[casascius]

(+) --> increase motivation for accepting physical bitcoins ("if I am lucky, I get more than just the face value")

The fact that someone is receiving a physical coin with its associated premium value in exchange for goods and services at face value is already substantially attractive an incentive enough to accept the coin as payment, possibly far more than the remote chance of having value added to it in a game of chance.

Besides, I don't really mean for people to spend them as cash at face value.  I do mean to make it legitimately possible to do so, but doing so isn't practical if the payee just wants digital bitcoins and the payer must sacrifice the premium to pay with physical ones.  They make great gifts, and they are great for promoting bitcoin, but if you just want to "spend physical bitcoins", you should print a banknote-style voucher on your printer, send bitcoins to it, and hand it to the merchant, which will cost you much less.

Did you know that by printing just twelve notes, you can make a payment in any bitcent amount between 0.01 and 11.10 BTC?
Just print 0.01, 0.02, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.20, 0.50, 1, 2, 2, 5

[1713522271]

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[jtibble]

MemoryDealers is out of the 1BTC coins. Are they getting more in stock any time soon? http://memorydealers.com/1-casascius-bitcoin-version-2.html

Cheers

EDIT: Also, the 25BTCs are out too. http://memorydealers.com/25-casascius-bitcoins.html

[Michael_S]

Hi people in germany,

I want to buy some casascius coins by end of november, and a friend of mine wants to do the same. We live in Stuttgart. If anybody wants to join for a larger order, let me know by personal message.

Viele Grüße
Michael

[Bigal]

I ordered a dozen of these for Christmas, they seem like a great stocking stuffer and I was wondering about some capsules, I was looking at these on e-bay
10 DIRECT FIT 29MM COIN CAPSULES http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-DIRECT-FIT-29MM-COIN-CAPSULES-HOLDERS-/120809904131?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c20d4d803
I see the coins are 28.6 mm in diameter I think that part should be ok, I was more worried about the thickness I don't see any dimensions listed on the site I assume the coins should fit inside?

[casascius]

I ordered a dozen of these for Christmas, they seem like a great stocking stuffer and I was wondering about some capsules, I was looking at these on e-bay
10 DIRECT FIT 29MM COIN CAPSULES http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-DIRECT-FIT-29MM-COIN-CAPSULES-HOLDERS-/120809904131?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c20d4d803
I see the coins are 28.6 mm in diameter I think that part should be ok, I was more worried about the thickness I don't see any dimensions listed on the site I assume the coins should fit inside?

A stack of 51 coins makes 3 inches.  (I know this because I frequently roll 50 coins using 3-inch masking tape, and there's just a tiny margin left over).

So I think that makes the coins 0.059 inches or 1.50mm thick.

I am interested to know how well these capsules work if you try them.

Edit: to remove 0.59 inches (typo)

[Bigal]

A stack of 51 coins makes 3 inches.  (I know this because I frequently roll 50 coins using 3-inch masking tape, and there's just a tiny margin left over).

So I think that makes the coins 0.59 inches or 1.50mm thick.

I am interested to know how well these capsules work if you try them.

Sounds like they should work, I'm going to try them, I'll let you know.

[MoonShadow]

Did you know that by printing just twelve notes, you can make a payment in any bitcent amount between 0.01 and 11.10 BTC?
Just print 0.01, 0.02, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.20, 0.50, 1, 2, 2, 5

I do now, and I thank you for that info.  However, I'm curious what prompted you do determine this fact, and to what length did you go to find it out yourself?

EDIT:  Is there some way I can produce said notes, without needing to design them myself?

EDIT2:  This little fact would also be useful for memory restricted, off-network capable devices such as the bitcoincard; as it would permit a disconnected device to create, in advance, a series of input transactions that it could use to create a perfect payout transaction for any amount within that range, at least once during an Internet blackout.

[Otoh]

I ordered a dozen of these for Christmas, they seem like a great stocking stuffer and I was wondering about some capsules, I was looking at these on e-bay
10 DIRECT FIT 29MM COIN CAPSULES http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-DIRECT-FIT-29MM-COIN-CAPSULES-HOLDERS-/120809904131?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c20d4d803
I see the coins are 28.6 mm in diameter I think that part should be ok, I was more worried about the thickness I don't see any dimensions listed on the site I assume the coins should fit inside?

I use Air-Tite capsules from http://www.valleycoin.com/ who also sell stuff on eBay, now days I just order direct from them, Air-Tite have a very high reputation for quality, I find the 28 mm ring capsules a very good fit for Casascius single bitcoins & expect that 29 mm direct fit capsules would work very well too but unfortunately don't see this size listed by ValleyCoins - I've tried the 30 mm & they rattle around a bit, also being thinner than the capsule thickness allows for they will rattle a bit anyway, you can just squeeze 2 in to a capsule.

I have found that plastic film roll contains are perfect for loose 1 bitcoins & think that they would hold about 33 or 34 coins, there are plenty of varieties of these on eBay - I prefer the clear transparent ones, most are more opaque though.

[casascius]

Did you know that by printing just twelve notes, you can make a payment in any bitcent amount between 0.01 and 11.10 BTC?
Just print 0.01, 0.02, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.20, 0.50, 1, 2, 2, 5

I do now, and I thank you for that info.  However, I'm curious what prompted you do determine this fact, and to what length did you go to find it out yourself?

I started with the awareness that 0.01 0.02 0.04 0.08 0.16 0.32 0.64 1.28 2.56 5.12 are 10 notes that can be used for any amount between 0.01 and 10.23.  This just comes from being a software developer and familiarity with binary math.  I changed 4's to 5's, and 8's to 10's, so that it would be usable in a form more like money everyone is familiar with, rather than leaving people to say "WTF" with respect to the amounts.  If twelve bills were used in this form of strict doubling, the eleventh and twelfth bills would be 10.24 and 20.48, making any amount up to 40.95 BTC achievable, and a machine as you suggest would have no problem connecting the bills like this.

EDIT:  Is there some way I can produce said notes, without needing to design them myself?

What do you mean by design?  There's BitAddress.org and there's my utility, with the design already built in, and then a few other generators by third parties with their designs added.  My utility has the ability to help you create and fund a batch of identical bills with the same denomination, which would help you quickly create a supply of the smaller bills.

[Bigal]

I use Air-Tite capsules from http://www.valleycoin.com/ who also sell stuff on eBay, now days I just order direct from them, Air-Tite have a very high reputation for quality, I find the 28 mm ring capsules a very good fit for Casascius single bitcoins & expect that 29 mm direct fit capsules would work very well too but unfortunately don't see this size listed by ValleyCoins - I've tried the 30 mm & they rattle around a bit, also being thinner than the capsule thickness allows for they will rattle a bit anyway, you can just squeeze 2 in to a capsule.

I have found that plastic film roll contains are perfect for loose 1 bitcoins & think that they would hold about 33 or 34 coins, there are plenty of varieties of these on eBay - I prefer the clear transparent ones, most are more opaque though.

I like the black ring ones you have there, I think I might get a couple of those for the ones I plan on giving to myself for Christmas 

[kwoody]

I've been wondering for a while, how secure are these 'coins' compared to those held in cold storage? are these a form of cold storage? sorry if this has been asked and answered before, don't want to read almost 500 posts to find out.


also, i think it'd be awesome to hold a poker tournament with these coins.

"i'll see your call, and raise you 1 billion satoshis" *pinkie finger on bottom lip* nyah nyah

[Otoh]

I've been wondering for a while, how secure are these 'coins' compared to those held in cold storage? are these a form of cold storage? sorry if this has been asked and answered before, don't want to read almost 500 posts to find out.


also, i think it'd be awesome to hold a poker tournament with these coins.

"i'll see your call, and raise you 1 billion satoshis" *pinkie finger on bottom lip* nyah nyah

If you make your own cold storage then you don't need to trust a third party, in this case Casascius, you can also store copies of your private keys in more than 1 physical location, Casascius does offer his 1,000 btc gold 1 Oz coin with a dual generated private key so that he can not know it & perhaps with his no denomination savings bars one can get copies of the private key so as to have a back up for security, the ideal may be to have both of these options on one product.

I look forward to seeing some photos of a poker game with Cas coins as chips.

[jtibble]

Casascius, are you participating in the "Bitcoin Friday" fun and offering any deals or discounts? I was looking for you on the list (http://bitcoinfriday.com/) but didn't you. Would you be interested in doing something like this, either now or in the future?

Cheers!

[casascius]

Yes, see my sig!

[Mushroomized]

Has anyone ever suggested adding RFID tags to contain the public key? Pop your phone over the thing to check the balance of the coin real quick? Or would it be too much trouble (the minikey is already pretty short)

[casascius]

Too much cost to be useful. No one would want to pay the price it would have to sell for to be worthwhile.

A barcode would accomplish much the same in terms of true abilities gained from having it there.

[molecular]

Too much cost to be useful. No one would want to pay the price it would have to sell for to be worthwhile.

A barcode would accomplish much the same in terms of true abilities gained from having it there.

true, until nfc/rfid tags become dirt cheap, a qr-code or similar seems the only cost-effective way. Are you thinking about doing this?

[naypalm]

Has anyone ever suggested adding RFID tags to contain the public key? Pop your phone over the thing to check the balance of the coin real quick? Or would it be too much trouble (the minikey is already pretty short)

I tried selling something similar but unfortunately NFC was not quite popular then as it is now. Now I use them to connect devices to Wifi, send Texts/Emails, etc. 

[casascius]

Just a quick rundown on what's left in stock for 2012, in case anyone wants to know how long they'll be around.

2012 5 BTC COIN: first series - I have only a few left of these.  Less than 100.  I now have a "Series 2 5BTC coin" with a silver label.

2012 10BTC silver coin: I'm down to about 70 of them without gold plating, and 100 of them with the gold plated B.  This is the first run of them.  When I run out, I won't be making any more (instead, I'll make a different coin for 2013).

2012 1BTC coin: I have about 2,000 of these left.  I produced 5,000 blanks, and have given a significant number of the blanks away in the form of "roll-your-owns" instead of actually making hologram coins with them.

[jtibble]

Just a quick rundown on what's left in stock for 2012, in case anyone wants to know how long they'll be around.

2012 5 BTC COIN: first series - I have only a few left of these.  Less than 100.  I now have a "Series 2 5BTC coin" with a silver label.

2012 10BTC silver coin: I'm down to about 70 of them without gold plating, and 100 of them with the gold plated B.  This is the first run of them.  When I run out, I won't be making any more (instead, I'll make a different coin for 2013).

2012 1BTC coin: I have about 2,000 of these left.  I produced 5,000 blanks, and have given a significant number of the blanks away in the form of "roll-your-owns" instead of actually making hologram coins with them.

Hey Mike! Just wanted to say hi and thank you for selling these coins! I just paid for my order, and I'm excited to see when they come.

One quick note-- In the order email I received, it asks me to go back to the site to "Confirm", but I have long-since closed the form. Is this okay, and if not, are there additional steps for me to take? If it is okay, you may want to reconsider the wording in your email. It assumes the payment happens immediately as soon as the order is generated, but in my case, I was delayed 5 hours.

Also, another thought: I would love to get regular updates from you about the availability of coins like in the quoted text above. Do you have a Casascius-coins twitter feed, FB page, or email list I could join to get notified of deals, offers, limited availability, new stock, etc? You don't update the first page in this thread with up-to-date news, so I often have to look through pages to see if there have been any developments.

Cheers, and thanks again!
-jtibble