Casascius Coin: Excellent Offline Option for Storing Bitcoins. Physical Casascius coin is a form of Bitcoin that comes in various shapes, sizes, and varieties. Casascius coins have recently gained popularity, and this article will go into their history and how to get your hands on them. Look at the Casascius Coin if you want to experience Bitcoin (BTC) in a way that no other coin has. One of the most sought-after and coveted commodities in the cryptocurrency industry, these actual Bitcoins were initially distributed in 2011 by Mike Caldwell.
Embossed with a distinct Bitcoin address, each Casascius Coin is crafted from premium brass. These coins can be sent to an online wallet or exchange or used to make purchases like regular Bitcoin. On the other hand, the Casascius Coin is also an essential part of Bitcoin’s past. Coins like these, among the first actual bitcoins created, are still coveted by collectors and fans today. So, get a Casascius Coin now if you want a unique Bitcoin experience.
Casascius Coin: Tangible Bitcoin
Casascius Coins are an excellent offline option for storing Bitcoins because they are physical representations of the cryptocurrency. A fixed amount of Bitcoin is pre-loaded inside each coin. Within the coin is a safe compartment that contains the private key. Going to blockchain.info and plugging in the coin’s public key will show you the current Bitcoin balance.
An American software programmer named Mike Caldwell of Utah designed Casascius Coin in 2011. The actual Bitcoins have a 30mm diameter and are crafted from brass. Their thickness is roughly 3 millimeters, and they weigh about 28 grams or an ounce. Every coin has a distinct Bitcoin address imprinted on the front and a hologram showing an immutable design on the back. They include a holographic sticker on one side and are struck onto steel rounds that have a brass plating. A private key is printed in tiny text behind the hologram, and underneath that, there is a tamper-evident serial number. If you scratch off the hologram, you’ll see the secret key.
Each Casascius Coin is worth the same as the Bitcoin it contains. To illustrate the point, one Casascius Coin is equivalent to one Bitcoin. Because these coins cannot be divided, you will have to transfer the difference back to yourself if you wish to spend less than one bitcoin.
Casascius Coins are beneficial because they offer a physical medium for storing and spending bitcoins. Plus, they streamline transferring a fixed quantity of Bitcoin to another user. For instance, if you wanted to give someone one bitcoin, you could hand them one bitcoin coin. Although the minting of Casascius Coins has ceased, they are still available on the secondary market.
How Casascius Coin Works
There are actual Bitcoins contained in each Casascius Bitcoin, making them a collector coin. The private key to unlock the Bitcoin is protected with a hologram sticker that cannot be tampered with. There are actual Bitcoins, so you may confidently hold one in your hand. The Bitcoin address and private key are printed on the paper wallet that comes with each coin. Remove the hologram sticker to expose the private key, and then transfer the entire value of your Casascius Bitcoins to your Bitcoin wallet. That’s all there is to redeeming your coins.
How to Purchase Casascius Coin
If you’re looking for a physical representation of your Bitcoin holdings, Casascius Coins is excellent. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to purchase your own Casascius Coin.
- Locating a trustworthy vendor offering Casascius Coins for sale is the initial stage. There are a few choices, but Bitmit.net is likely the most excellent place to start. You can find a decent assortment of Casascius Coins on this website focusing on Bitcoin and related products.
- Selecting the appropriate coin is the next step after locating a dealer. You can purchase Casascius Coins in one, ten, or twenty-five bitcoin denominations. The bigger the coin, the higher its price, but it will be easier to hold more Bitcoin on it. A single Bitcoin coin, or 1 BTC, should be enough space for a modest wallet. One of the larger coins would be better if you intend to keep a lot of money.
- It is time to buy the coin once you have chosen it. You should be able to discover a payment option that works for you because there are usually many. The procedure is simple if you want to pay with Bitcoin. You can get your coin in the mail soon after sending the dealer the right amount of Bitcoin. Things get trickier, though, when you pay with fiat currency.
- It is time to store your Bitcoin on your Casascius Coin after you have got it. Taking the hologram off the coin should be your first step. You can access your Bitcoins using the revealed private key. This private key is the only way to access your Bitcoin, so keep it safe. You can’t spend or sell your Bitcoin if you misplace it.
Interesting Facts about Casascius Coin
There are numerous intriguing details about the Casascius coin. One of the most remarkable aspects is its weight of 28 grams, making it one of the largest and heaviest physical Bitcoins. The denomination is also reasonably high, with 1,000 virtual Bitcoins per coin.
The Casascius coin’s security features are another intriguing aspect of it. A hologram featuring the Bitcoin logo and a tamper-proof seal adorns the surface of the brass coin. This hologram conceals the Bitcoin private key, making the coin extremely difficult to duplicate or forge.
Mike Caldwell, who designed the Casascius coin, started minting it in 2011 and kept minting it until 2013. Approximately 500 coins were sold monthly by Caldwell at its height. Caldwell ceased minting Bitcoin coins in 2013 as a result of legal concerns. Caldwell continued selling the remaining Casascius coins until November of that year, when he ultimately decided to close his firm despite these misgivings.
Every Casascius coin is now worth a fortune more than it was then. One coin went for $1,000 on eBay in December 2013. The highest price for a single Casascius coin was $28,000 in June 2017. Due to the scarcity of Casascius coins, their meteoric rise in value is all the more noteworthy. Due to scarcity, these 11,000 coins are among the most valuable and rare physical Bitcoins.
Conclusion
In Casascius coin, a tamper-evident hologram conceals a private key holding one Bitcoin, making it tangible. Casascius coins are an excellent offline physical Bitcoin storage option. Casascius coins are beautiful, but they’re not being made anymore. Therefore, they’re rare and pricey. But if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on one, it will be money well spent.