Physical Cryptocurrencies Prove Hot Collectables
- By Dr K.A. Rodgers
In April 2022, Stack’s-Bowers sold a physical bitcoin (BTC) for $108,000.
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.
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