TechFlow news, July 2 — According to Cryptoslate, a collector who goes by John Galt on the Bitcoin Talk forum recently redeemed over $10 million worth of bitcoin from a solid gold Casascius bitcoin bar purchased in 2012 for $500. Casascius physical bitcoins, first minted by Mike Caldwell in 2011, are among the most iconic collectibles in cryptocurrency history. These gold bars and coins embedded with actual BTC have face values ranging from 0.1 BTC to 1,000 BTC. Each Casascius bitcoin is a collectible coin containing real bitcoin inside, with its own bitcoin address and a printed "private key" that can be redeemed.
However, production of the coins ceased in 2013 after the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) classified Caldwell's operation as a money transmission service. Nonetheless, the monetary and historical value of these coins continues to rise. According to casasciustracker.com, more than 10,000 Casascius coins have been redeemed so far, while over 18,000 remain in circulation or unclaimed.
