Physical Format Bitcoin Gains Collector Acceptance

PRICE RECORDS CONFIRM MARKET DEMAND

- JAMES MCCARTNEY

Not often does a new category of numismatics emerge out of nowhere. The beginnings of coinage in Ancient Lydia around 600 B.C., the first English penny struck under King Offa circa 785 and the first pattern coins struck for the United States in 1792 all mark the beginning of numismatic legacies that spanned hundreds and thousands of years and contributed to the corpus of what we consider coin collecting today.

In 2011, numismatics experienced a similar milestone with the production of the first physical bitcoins. The digital component of this cryptocurrency had first emerged in January 2009 but remained isolated within a small niche of enthusiasts for many years. The very infrastructure of the currency required an understanding of a variety of novel concepts such as the blockchain, digital wallets, addresses and private keys, which made wider adoption somewhat unlikely. One enthusiast, Mike Caldwell of Utah, was determined to spread awareness about this new economic system using a format that was familiar and accessible.