Physical Cryptocurrencies Prove Hot Collectables

It consisted of a loaded, unpeeled, and unredeemed 2013 Lealana Gold B 1 BTC. 

That was an all-time world record for that denomination. At the time non-physical or virtual BTCs were selling for $45,200 each. [All prices and values are given in USD.]

The same auction offered an example of the first fully funded physical BTC ever produced – an unpeeled and unredeemed Series 1 of 2011 Casascius 1 BTC that showed the infamous CASACIUS error on the reverse. It realised $78,000 – a record for its type. 

That price was matched in March this year when Heritage sold a second 2011 unpeeled and unredeemed Series 2 (error-free) Casascius 1 BTC. Importantly, this latter coin came from The Otoh Collection.

In a previous account of physical cryptocurrencies, I referred to their collecting as being somewhat arcane. As the examples above show this is clearly no longer the case. BTC collecting has become mainstream. It is now a serious business – highly popular in the USA and growing elsewhere.

While there are quite a few collectors in Australia, you won’t catch many attending regular coin auctions seeking BTCs. 

The reason is simple – our main Aussie auction houses, like the majority of Aussie dealers, have yet to include serious numbers of physical cryptocurrency in their stock.