8

I have seen several folks selling "bitcoins" on Ebay and the like - but they are made of base metal and have no real connection with the bitcoin concept other than the symbol.

I'm wondering if some number of bitcoins could be permanently assigned to a coin (i'd plan on about 10 bitcoins impressed into a one ounce silver round). I'm thinking of having a public registry of bitcoins assigned permanently to individual coins. Said bitcoins could be reassigned only in the instance of the "surrender" of said silver round.

I appreciate the fact this reduces the portability of bitcoins, but it would be an interesting method of storing value.

Improve this question
2
  • Welcome to Bitcoin SE :) I edited the title to be more specific - please try it yourself next time you ask a question.
    – ripper234
    Jan 16, 2012 at 20:07
  • Are you describing the scenario where you are selling a silver round that is backed by a certain number of bitcoins? Essentially what that would entail would be me selling my BTCs and buying your silver round but also getting the option to buy back those BTCs at some price in the future. For you to offer that means you would need to be trusted. A public registry only means I can audit to see if the coins have been transferred in the blockchain -- not necessarily that you still would honor the agreement where I could trade the silver round back in for the previously agreed upon amount of BTCs.
    – Stephen Gornick
    Jan 16, 2012 at 23:04

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
6

There absolutely are. As a matter of fact, Casascius already offers a 10 BTC silver round in addition to his better-known 1 BTC brass coins and 25 BTC gold-plated brass coins. While not coins per se, the same principal allows for bitbills and other physical Bitcoins.

Improve this answer
5
  • I believe he's offering a variety of coins, ranging up to a 1000 BTC gold bar.
    – ripper234
    Jan 16, 2012 at 20:07
  • There are a large variety of items available, yes, but the original question (before your edits) only specifically mentioned silver rounds, and so that's all my original answer contained.
    – David Perry
    Jan 16, 2012 at 20:11
  • That's not how I understood it - I'm wondering if some number of bitcoins could be permanently assigned to a coin
    – ripper234
    Jan 16, 2012 at 21:20
  • (i'd plan on about 10 bitcoins impressed into a one ounce silver round). <- this is what he said, and this is exactly what Casascius sells.
    – David Perry
    Jan 16, 2012 at 21:22
  • Well, it's just a comment inside a parenthesis. Anyway...
    – ripper234
    Jan 16, 2012 at 21:32
0

The Casascius coin could result in a coin with no value if the digital bitcoin is not transferred to the holder. It seems to work just as a collectable and may have value just as regular collectable coins do. So the owner of the silver round could have value and the owner of the bitcoin would have value. Interesting concept.

Improve this answer
1
  • 3
    "The Casascius coin could result in a coin with no value if the digital bitcoin is not transferred to the holder. " They are trying to prevent this by means of a tamper-proof sticker that covers the private key whose supposedly only copy is written inside of the coin.
    – Thilo
    Jan 17, 2012 at 7:39

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.