How to sell casascius coin as a beginner

[osunakyu]

Hi BitcoinTalk

I am a bitcoin noob who happens to have an unpeeled Series 1 Casascius coin with the spelling error hologram, and I'm looking to sell it for slightly more BTC than face value (Someone on Reddit told me it may be worth 1.3btc).

I am completely paranoid and more than a little lost in this new scene, so I'm asking for help.


Here's what I know:

• my Casascius was loaded in 2011 and is untouched since
• I need a UK-based escrow for the exchange
• peel value includes some forks like bitcoin cash in addition to btc

And what I'd like to learn here:

• How do I make contact with an Escrow, and who to trust?
• How do I prove my own trustworthiness and coin legitimacy
• How do physical hand-offs work in Corona-time?
• How long should I expect it to take?
• What scams should I look out for as a noob?

Am I jumping the gun thinking about a physical sale with so little bitcoin knowledge/experience?
I find this all so overwhelming that trying to learn about it is anxiety-inducing.
Should I even be considering selling at this stage?


My plan was to sell for whatever premium the relic fetches, and then cash out up to my tax-free allowance to pay off some debts. Obviously, I want to cash out at a high btc-gbp value so I keep as much btc as possible, and maybe buy back if it crashes badly like in '18. If btc is on a 2017/2018 trend-line though, maybe the +0.3 will be wiped out by the time sale is finalised. Am I being silly even considering this?


Sorry if this reads like a mad ramble - I'm in way over my head here.
Thanks for reading :)

[jackg]

I've seen them fetch between 1.05 and 1.15 but if you gave a longer term offering you might be able to get higher.

If you try to sell to someone in the UK, then you might be able use an actual. Escrow firm or solicitors instead (then you'll be able to rely on the law more strongly). I'm not sure there are many UK based escrow on here either, I've heard of one but not sure if they're still active and can't remember their name.

Also you can post things with tracking and then track them online rather than doing a standard stamped letter send, you might want to also take out insurance from the currier if transporting within the UK.

[actmyname]

Honestly, OP, the premiums are going to probably continue to decline (in BTC terms more than stagnation in fiat terms) and the hassle of selling is nearing its breaking point. Just take a look at this auction for a Casascius

Come to the Collectibles board.Peeling and redeeming is actually a very viable option at this stage. Avoiding the risk of sale and having peace of mind (selling the now-defunct token as a peeled collectible afterward) is worth a lot to some people.

[osunakyu]

I've seen them fetch between 1.05 and 1.15 but if you gave a longer term offering you might be able to get higher.

If you try to sell to someone in the UK, then you might be able use an actual. Escrow firm or solicitors instead (then you'll be able to rely on the law more strongly).

0.15btc is still £3.5k-ish at the moment, so maybe it's worth it. Although who knows what it'll be weeks from now.
Using an actually registered escrow firm would help my peace of mind too.

Honestly, OP, the premiums are going to probably continue to decline (in BTC terms more than stagnation in fiat terms) and the hassle of selling is nearing its breaking point.

Come to the Collectibles board.Peeling and redeeming is actually a very viable option at this stage. Avoiding the risk of sale and having peace of mind (selling the now-defunct token as a peeled collectible afterward) is worth a lot to some people.

Thanks, I feel a little bit more comfortable with the idea of peeling and redeeming, just to get it over with and move on. I'll sleep on it though.
I'll check in with the collectables board tomorrow, and listen for more replies here too.

Thank you both for taking the time to help an anon

[Evilish]

Hello there, welcome to Bitcointalk.

I would start by posting a sales thread in Collectibles forum with your desired asking price. You can also auction the coin in the same forum if you prefer that.

Use a trusted escrow like minerjones and you will be safe. Do not deal without an escrow.

You can prove legitimacy of the item by 1) posting a picture of both the front and the back of the coin with your forum username and current date, and 2) when the sale finalizes, send item to the escrow to verify the legitimacy and condition of the item. Escrow can then ship item to the buyer after verifying the item is as described. This is important for both yours and buyer's safety.

As for the price, I don't realistically see it going above 1.05-1.10 BTC given the current price of Bitcoin and even that might be generous, but you never know, you might find someone looking for 2011 Cas and willing to pay a premium for that but I highly doubt that.

Best of luck with your sales.

[Beparanf]

Just a suggestion. Due to increasing value of BTC, Shipping it internationally is a bit risky right now compared when it's value was below 10k. Dealing via meetup is the safest method to do especially you are located in the UK and there's a lot of potential buyer lives there.

But if you want to risk 30K USD in a shipping company then go for it.

FYI: Premium price of casascius coin in BTC already drop significantly. The current premium price value of casascius coin is close to the amount of fork coins it contains. You can do the math and check whether the risk is worthy for it. Goodluck.

[HabBear]

I am a bitcoin noob who happens to have an unpeeled Series 1 Casascius coin with the spelling error hologram, and I'm looking to sell it for slightly more BTC than face value (Someone on Reddit told me it may be worth 1.3btc).

Error coin, nice! You should share some pics. There's nothing on the coin or it's hologram label hologram up that is sensitive information.

I've never sold a Cas coin, only bought, but i've followed the market quite a bit over the years.

• How do I make contact with an Escrow, and who to trust?

Here's the list of reputable escrow providers:    
★LIST★ BitcoinTalk's ESCROW Providers

• How do I prove my own trustworthiness and coin legitimacy

You need to provide pictures of the coin - both sides, high quality, the more the better. In the past people would get these coins graded but i'm not sure that happens much anymore and it's not required for you to sell your coin.

There is a site where we can verify that your coin is loaded with BTC, just go to Casascius.uberbills.com and enter the prefix of the address found on the hologram. This will verify that the coin's address still contains BTC.

• How do physical hand-offs work in Corona-time?

Latest health official guidance is that coronavirus can't contaminate objects as originally thought at the start of the pandemic. BUT...buy a plastic coin case (from any coin shop) to put your coin in if you want to protect/preserve any germs from getting on the coin. Allows anyone to sterilize the outside of the case as they deem appropriate.

• How long should I expect it to take?

This is a big sale, be patient with the timing. The escrow provider can also help you with writing the post or running the auction, if you want them to. Most auctions come with a duration, however you could set a minimum sale price at the start to ensure your upside.

• What scams should I look out for as a noob?

Don't buy or sell via eBay, nor in person. eBay is easier for sellers but you aren't totally protected from not getting paid. And if you meet someone in person you could get killed...there were stories years ago about people getting robbed when meeting in person to sell bitcoin.

If you keep your deal at bitcointalk and use one of the reputable escrow providers you'll be in good hands.

Personal Thoughts - the error coin could command greater interest because of its novelty, first issue and error status. I would test the market with an auction that has a minimum that's high enough for you to cover the fork coin value and whatever premium you want. This protects you from taking a loss (from fork coin value) if interest is low. You can always strike a deal with the highest bidder if that person came close to hitting your minimum. If bitcoin really goes the distance i believe these coins will be be truly collectible in numismatic circles, and if that day comes I'd use a Sothebys or something equally official to run the auction.

Welcome to the forum and good luck to you!