Redeem Casascius Bitcoin using MacOS Big Sur

[Rapids4me]

How can Casascius bitcoin tokens be redeemed using the macOS Big Sur operating system? What specific wallets should I use and what is the process of redeeming the tokens. I am very new to this and don't want to mess anything up. Please give as much detail as possible. Thank you a lot!!!

[pooya87]

They are called Casascius "physical bitcoin"[1] not tokens. They are meant to be used as collectible not what you redeem (that is revealing their private key and spending the coins in that key). Usually these physical items are traded as collectibles at a slightly higher value than the coins they contain. You should be able to find some topics in collectibles board[2].
But if you want to redeem these coins you have to basically "destroy" the item by removing the private key protection and revealing it. The keys used by these coins is known as mini private key[3] which is a special format that only a handful of tools would support. One good wallet to use is Electrum[4], you can directly import the mini-key in Electrum[5] and be able to spend the balance.

[1] https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Casascius_physical_bitcoins
[2] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=217.0
[3] https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mini_private_key_format
[4] https://electrum.org/
[5] https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html#can-i-import-private-keys-from-other-bitcoin-clients

[ABCbits]

One good wallet to use is Electrum[4], you can directly import the mini-key in Electrum[5] and be able to spend the balance.

Here's guide to import the key on Electrum, https://bitcoinelectrum.com/importing-your-private-keys-into-electrum/.

If you also need guide how to verify & install Electrum on Mac OS, check these guide. However it's somehow outdated because there are few people who use newest version of MacOS.
https://bitzuma.com/posts/how-to-verify-an-electrum-download-on-mac/
https://bitzuma.com/posts/a-beginners-guide-to-the-electrum-bitcoin-wallet/#installation-on-mac

[NotATether]

If you do end up redeeming the Casascius coin, then after you import the private key into Electrum, you have to sweep (i.e. make a transaction that sends all the bitcoins to another address) the private key because it's no longer safe to keep them in the coin's address after the hologram is scratched off to reveal the private key.