The mysterious oriental gold, Bitcoin, still has 89% remaining unredeemed.

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

"2014 Oriental Gold Physical BTC: 1 oz gold coin containing 1 BTC, limited to 100 pieces, not for sale. 89% remain unredeemed after 12 years, embodying the true spirit of the Diamond Hand, an OG among OGs." Official website: https://goldphysicalbitcoin.com

[bitbollo]

Thanks for sharing the website. The description in encyclopedia is really intriguing

Where have it been sold? Or is there someplace where they are selling this?
I have tried to search the firstbits with no success How can I see the original tx/check their loading?
I am curious to know...according Ahoen, it has been created a die for each coin (due the serial number?)
The same QRcode seems already designed with the coin... it was created one by one?

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

Thanks for sharing the website. The description in encyclopedia is really intriguing

Where have it been sold? Or is there someplace where they are selling this?
I have tried to search the firstbits with no success How can I see the original tx/check their loading?
I am curious to know...according Ahoen, it has been created a die for each coin (due the serial number?)
The same QRcode seems already designed with the coin... it was created one by one?

Thanks for the interest! Here are the details regarding your questions:

1. On Availability: This was a commemorative project created back in 2014, not a commercial product. It was intended strictly for private collection by early Bitcoin enthusiasts. There has never been an official public sales channel; only a few private transfers occurred among early adopters in the past, and these were always priced in BTC.

2. On Tracking / Firstbits: "Firstbits" functionality is largely obsolete now, which is why your search failed. You can check the original funding records and current status directly by entering the Bitcoin address on our website (or a block explorer). Note regarding the addresses: We have not publicly listed all addresses to protect the coins from "dust attacks," which would disrupt the clean 1 BTC balance (a concern for those of us with OCD regarding the exact balance!).

3. On Manufacturing: You have a very sharp eye! Yes, a separate die was indeed created for each individual coin. We spent 500 BTC at the time, covering the cost of the gold and the production of 101 unique dies. Because the production cost far exceeded the face value (1 BTC), it was never destined to be a commodity priced in fiat currency. It was simply positioned as an "inside joke" or meme for the early Bitcoin community.


"Just to add one more detail: The reason we created a separate die for each coin wasn't just for the serial numbers. Each die had to incorporate the specific QR code for that coin's encrypted private key, which was then struck directly into the metal. This means the physical relief pattern of every coin is unique.

Our goal was to have the private key data permanently minted into the gold itself—rather than using superficial laser etching or stickers. You can essentially think of it as a 'paper wallet,' but forged in solid gold."

[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[MoparMiningLLC]

first bits works easily - if the address is funded, using first bits will populate - it only can be an issue if multiple coins have identical first bits - case and all. Otherwise first bits works - it is not obsolete.

[Rymaster]

I feel like many explorers have stopped supporting firstbit searches though.

https://chainz.cryptoid.info/ was one of the last few I could find that actually still does when I searched a few months ago.

@goldphysicalbitcoin, why does your website say there’s a total of 405.66 BTC between the 100 coins? Weren’t they all only loaded with 1 BTC each or did some owners load more onto their coins?

[MoparMiningLLC]

I feel like many explorers have stopped supporting firstbit searches though.

https://chainz.cryptoid.info/ was one of the last few I could find that actually still does when I searched a few months ago.

@goldphysicalbitcoin, why does your website say there’s a total of 405.66 BTC between the 100 coins? Weren’t they all only loaded with 1 BTC each or did some owners load more onto their coins?

it could be that some have - I use mempool.space and it works fine. I have seen at least 4 or 5 others that work with it as well. but mempool.space has been the easiest to use and you can run your own instance of it on your own node.

[Rymaster]

That is good info Mopar! I didn’t realize I could setup mempool on a node, will have to put that on the to-do list ty

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

Originally, each of these gold coins was loaded with 1 BTC back in 2014. After being distributed to core community members, they've changed hands multiple times over the years, making it impossible to track every current owner. Some holders have added extra Bitcoin to their coin's address for storage—the highest balance on one coin is now 26.6 BTC. More than half still hold just the original 1 BTC, while 8 coins have had their BTC fully redeemed (balance 0), likely by unaware owners. If early participants knew about them, they'd surely have acquired these at a premium well above 1 BTC.
These figures come from checking the 100 addresses on mempool.space every 12 hours. By the way, I highly recommend mempool.space—it's incredibly clean and practical!

I feel like many explorers have stopped supporting firstbit searches though.

https://chainz.cryptoid.info/ was one of the last few I could find that actually still does when I searched a few months ago.

@goldphysicalbitcoin, why does your website say there’s a total of 405.66 BTC between the 100 coins? Weren’t they all only loaded with 1 BTC each or did some owners load more onto their coins?

[goldlyre]

I recall that 10 years ago, I, as an amateur collector myself, had contacted Mr. Hu Lin in a Wechat private talk and tryed to get my hands on one of these coins, by offering a price which was way more than double of its intrinsic value then (1 btc + 1 oz. gold). But it was a pity that my efforts was in a vain. If there's possibly an auction showing up here in the future to sell such an item, I'd like to eagerly join in.

[elmejorrematador]

Never heard of it. Did we even have qr codes back then?

[Cryptogreatdane]

Please make sure that any potential coin sales happen here on the forum with coin verification and escrow. We had a similar post on our facebook page with coins claimed as owned but pictures were stolen. Cannot confirm if OP is the same. Just be careful if coins come up for sale.

[goldlyre]

Never heard of it. Did we even have qr codes back then?

Don't know it. But the news of their existence was popular on the web, especially in the Chineses sector.
I even offered 20k dollars for a piece when the value of btc was probably only 6-7k. There's no answer back anyway.

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

I recall that 10 years ago, I, as an amateur collector myself, had contacted Mr. Hu Lin in a Wechat private talk and tryed to get my hands on one of these coins, by offering a price which was way more than double of its intrinsic value then (1 btc + 1 oz. gold). But it was a pity that my efforts was in a vain. If there's possibly an auction showing up here in the future to sell such an item, I'd like to eagerly join in.

It is a pleasure to meet someone on this forum who still recognizes this project.

Most of the materials on the website were provided by Mr. Hu Lin. I was one of the original participants back then and have maintained contact with him over the years.

A major catalyst for building this archive was an incident last November. A secondary holder (non-original owner) couldn't find any information about the coin online. Tragically, he peeled it to redeem the Bitcoin and sold the physical gold to a jewelry store to be melted down. When the original community found out, we realized he hadn't even claimed the forked assets like BCH.

That is why this website was established: to ensure that current holders can find this information before they decide to redeem, and to offer a Preservation Buyback option to keep these coins.

[goldlyre]

Yes, in my collection there are Casascius, BTCC, Ballet and other a dozen or so
brands of physical bitcoins such as Moonbits etc. Besides, I have other two kinds
made of pure gold. By the way, the guys of your community were very smart and diamond
hands indeed.





I won it in an auction here in September of last year.


Yes, I'm a very old man as a so-called 共和国同龄人

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

I won it in an auction here in September of last year.

You're definitely a seasoned physical Bitcoin collector; the gold coin is beautiful. It's great to meet you here. Our community mainly consists of people from CyBTC; many were early Bitcoin miners, but they've gradually left the scene after 2021.

[Steeley]

Hello GoldPhysicalBitcoin. Welcome to the forum and thank you for posting this information. We discuss these coins occasionally but, except for what is in the encyclopedia, we did not know very much.

I have a question for you. Do you know about any other significant projects China that developed physical bitcoins that we may not know about?

[goldlyre]

Another Chinese brand of physical gold bitcoin that I'm hodling a piece is this. They may be made in last half of the year 2017 and thus after the emergence of BCH hard fork.   They were made of 1 oz. pure gold and contained 0.003 btc at the time. As far as I know, the creators of them include Doctor Xu and Master Chang. （徐刚博士和常拜大师）

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

I have a question for you. Do you know about any other significant projects China that developed physical bitcoins that we may not know about?

Thank you for bringing back such wonderful memories. I know that between 2013 and 2017, several physical Bitcoin projects emerged in China.

In 2014, Mr. Hu Lin developed the brass gold-plated 1BTC series and the custom tungsten steel tag series (both of which used laser engraving to etch the private key QR code onto the metal surface), as well as the gold physical Bitcoin (with the QR code stamped using a mold).
In 2016, BTCC Physical Titanium Bitcoins were issued by Mr. Bobby Lee (with the private key covered by a tamper-evident holographic seal).

However, all of this came to a complete end in 2017 following changes in China’s cryptocurrency policies. I have found some images for your reference.

https://ibb.co/39NG2tMB
https://ibb.co/4nBMjDxq
https://ibb.co/B2qVYTmH