Found a Private Key but the lenght dont looks right

[dadadum]

Hi i have a found a txt file on the pc of my grandpa when i copy the old pics on USB, it was in the pics folder hidden,
it is a Bitcoin address 2 adresses and every has a private key, but it match not with any i found on the Internet from the length

The txt file looks like .. i will make a "example" not the Original

Bitcoin Address 1

1..........
( When i put it on Blockchain it shows near 1 BTC and the second 1.4 BTC both address with first Number 1, and both created 2013 )

Private Key

4fb5hhxi75abc2cbd48TZi875XY123456abcdefghBCA15iWCo8i --- the Problem

(53 Characters, i read everywhere it has to be 51 for Base58)

Bitcoin address 2

same as above from the length 53 characters is the PK


what is this for a PK, have i to do something with it ??
I try it on Offline brainwallet converter, hex to dec, dec to Base58 or Base 58Check but i get no WIF import format !

And no i cant ask my grandpa, he died last Year, thats why i try to backup the old family pics.

If somebody can help me, would be nice thx.

[escobol]

check https://brainwalletx.github.io/#converter

[dadadum]

yep thats what i did i download offline version and--- i try all combinations but found nothing, oooor i do something wrong

i try base 58 base 58check from dec to hex from hex to dec but all informations on the net say 51 charackter with a 5 infront is for WIF

[LoyceV]

4fb5hhxi75abc2cbd48TZi875XY123456abcdefghBCA15iWCo8i --- the Problem

(53 Characters, i read everywhere it has to be 51 for Base58)

You've posted 52 characters. I hope you didn't post the real key though! Okay, you didn't.

These are my notes on private key length:

Bitcoin private keys (this section is largely based on data from bitaddress.org)

• WIF (Wallet Import Format) (51 characters base58, starting with "5").
  Example: 5KMWmYkn5YWkJnUDG4utD9L1HXQv3DBseqqCGsQXmthcEerbA7k
• WIF Compressed (52 characters base58, starting with "K" or "L").
  Example: L41YPdADy46J9Vh77WGR2bktFwEZ6knza2Xim3Urq9CEWynkkLgn
  Note: both WIF and WIF Compressed are derived from the same private key, but result in different Bitcoin addresses.

What's the first character of each private key?

It could be some characters were changed to make it harder to take funds if someone discovers the keys. Something like: move N characters from left to right, there are so many possibilities. I'd look for other files that may give more clues.

[escobol]

It is not WIF.

Like in PM.

What I would try

Before next step:
Do offline copy of https://www.bitaddress.org/

Play:
With offline https://brainwalletx.github.io/#converter paste you 53 char - (Convert to HEX) - copy every HEX, from every available source encoding.

Go to saved, offline www.bitaddress.org -> Wallet Details -> paste saved HEX to Enter Private Key -> View Details.

[dadadum]

My fault there are 53 characters i did it wrong in the example in the first post

from First address it starts with

7P+51 characters in sum 53

the second with

3N+51 characters in sum also 53

i am a total noob so maybe it has to be some convert to be made, 2013 have be no wallets WIF ! or have they ??

Other thing is can i import the REAL Private Key somewhere without converting in WIF ?? Maybe this is also a solutuion ??!

THX for all help i apriciate that real !

[escobol]

check my post above yours

[o_e_l_e_o]

Could it be these are actually private keys for an altcoin and not bitcoin at all?
Could it be that they are encrypted?
Perhaps they have been put through a simple cypher (increment all characters by one, reverse the order, etc). The first character in a Base58 private key should be 5, K, or L.

[DannyHamilton]

Could it be these are actually private keys for an altcoin and not bitcoin at all?

Possibly, but he did say that when he checks the address, there are bitcoins at the address.  Wouldn't be completely unheard of for an altcoin to have the same address as Bitcoin, but typically then they have the same private key too.  Seems very unlikely for an altcoin with a non-bitcoin private key to result in an address that actually has bitcoins.

Could it be that they are encrypted?

That's my suspicion.  But there are so many ways of encrypting and/or obfuscating a private key, that if Grandad didn't leave some hints or instructions it may be VERY difficult to find the correct process for recovering the original private key.

Perhaps they have been put through a simple cypher (increment all characters by one, reverse the order, etc). The first character in a Base58 private key should be 5, K, or L.

The cypher would need to be one that adds additional characters, and if so then decyphering it will require figuring out what to remove.

[escobol]

Maybe it is minikey?

Download Bitcoin Address Utility
https://en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/Bitcoin_Address_Utility

Tools / Address Utility
Paste your hex in Minikey, next - button with two arrows down (next to the button Generate Minikey)

[LoyceV]

Maybe it is minikey?

Unlikely:

Mini private key (30 characters base58, starting with "S", see wiki)
Example: Sf2i92UoH3kMooYXHdDQ4YQvLTdPrQ

[escobol]

Im aware of the spec, but simple check will not hurt

[seoincorporation]

Normally the privatekeys start with 5 or with L, yours starts from 4... that and the number of chars is weird, maybe is a private key for another coin, but I don't know what coin has private keys starting with 4.

If it's the private key encrypted, then it will be hard to recover the original.

[dadadum]

Quick info about what i found all out i double check now the given Addresses, and yes they are bitcoin addresses.

Then i do the offline search with the scripts forward backward front reverse ....

My main question is, does it make a difference on a clear ECDSA private key if i put the letters all in Upper or not because i realize that on the side of "tp´s go bitcoin tests" where i only look how a real key looks like. all is in upper letters.

And thanks for all help.

[o_e_l_e_o]

My main question is, does it make a difference on a clear ECDSA private key if i put the letters all in Upper or not because i realize that on the side of "tp´s go bitcoin tests" where i only look how a real key looks like. all is in upper letters.

For private keys in raw hexadecimal format (only containing the characters 0-9 and A-F), then it makes no difference if the A-F characters are upper or lower case.
If the private key is in any other common encoding such as WIF or minikey (which use Base58), or in Base64, then it is case sensitive.

[NotATether]

I not-so-long-ago helped someone out whose wallet had a completely different representation of a private key, so it's possible that he (your grandfather) used some obscure wallet software that stores private keys like that and not 51 characters.

Does the text file look like some kind of backup that the wallet told him to write down? Try also finding the wallet software that he used, from traces on the USB, or the computer' hard drive if you still have access to that, if possible.

[dadadum]

The txt file was named "BC-13.txt" and when i look the details it shows ... that it was created 11.2013 on his PC.
I also check for BitcoinCore or another software that was installed maybe finding some crumbs of bad deinstallation,
but he has never uninstall something, and has only the standard programs and office pack on the pc.

I will try to switch the first and last characters now.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I also check for BitcoinCore or another software that was installed maybe finding some crumbs of bad deinstallation,
but he has never uninstall something, and has only the standard programs and office pack on the pc.

If we assume that what you say is accurate - he has never uninstalled anything and there are no traces of a bitcoin wallet on his computer - then is there a chance these are not private keys at all, but rather passwords or some other important details for a web wallet? Is the computer you have access to the same one he was using back in 2013? Can you check the browser history for any web wallets or other bitcoin related sites which might give you a clue (or even other wallet sites which might give a clue as to any wallet software he was using)?

[dadadum]

I ask my father, he say pap (grandpa) has become the pc 2012 for his 60 birthday, and he has windows 7 pro on it, like the pc now.
So when he also told me his username was ADAM without a password ... yep thats the PC i have now home.

I would wonder if he has something other on it, because last 3-4 years i help him with all the itunes and camera software if he has any problems, over anydesk.

I will flip switch reverse all i can now, pap was no illuminati guy, he write down what he see and hear ... example his wifi password is in clear letters pin on the whiteboard in the kitchen.

Grandma her coment was only, " i know he became some internet money from a friend, he say maybe it will be worth one day, but thats long ago darling !"

[LoyceV]

So when he also told me his username was ADAM without a password ...

This doesn't sound like someone who would create a complicated system to secure his Bitcoins.

Grandma her coment was only, " i know he became some internet money from a friend, he say maybe it will be worth one day, but thats long ago darling !"

There's your biggest clue: find out who that friend was, and go from there.