Topic: Bitcoin Specie Project sponsored by the makers of New Liberty Dollar - page 14. (Read 88462 times)

Thank you!


Logged this.  It should be editable by entering numerals, but the slider control we were using is not good with all browsers so we are swapping it out for an easier way to switch.

The premium amount should be changeable.

Currently cannot change the number of Troy ounces on the site.

Now that we have started shipping (pre-paid pre-orders only so far) and are about to formally launch into production mode for phase 1 of this project.  It is time for some feedback from you all on our QR link.

For those of you with smart phones, please provide comments on http://ColdHardCa.sh
The page is going through some rapid changes so it may disappear for short periods of time as things are being updated.

Again, many thanks to Preev, and Mike, and Edgar, and Reichart who have all been lynch-pins on the wheels that are making this phase a success.

The goal is to have it facilitate transactions.  Currency must flow or it has no purpose...
Any comment is welcome, what do you love, what do you hate?  What currencies do you want added?

We had some fun working out the possibilities and experimenting with the specular vs diffuse reflective properties of silver at different wavelengths to create enough contrasting difference for a QR code reading with enough reliability to be workable (but you still have to consider your lighting and smartphone focal points a bit when the pieces are new and shiny)
Gold has some slightly different characteristics, but we are pretty sure we can make it work without having to resort to enameling or inlay or such like that.  And the experimenting will be fun.

We like the look, and the feel, of gold on its own.

Gold!

There aren't any pictures yet of the gold pieces, as none have yet been minted. With the delays we were suffering with the silver pieces, we have focused on turning those around first as we had gone ahead and accepted BTC for them and don't like to keep folks waiting too long once they have paid.

If demand for the gold stays strong, it will be the next on our list, otherwise it would be the BitDime (2/5 ozt Ag).  I'll take your questions as a vote for the gold next.

Are there any pics of the upcoming gold coin? Or did I miss-read something?

YES.  YES.  YES.

I am working on getting Ripple involved as well.
I submitted my application to join them at Money2020 in Vegas to see if we can play well together.  Waiting to hear back yet.  Put in a good word for me will you?  

But... as of now, Bitcoin is the only global currency actually backed with a circulating specie.  The only others I've seen have been collector pieces, and bitcoin deliver pieces, both of which are awesome... but they aren't made to circulate so I saw a need to get the "Liberty Dollar Philosophy" involved.

Further, I expect to reach out to all the local meet-up groups to see if they want to organize any group deals.  These are designed to be as affordable as possible, and get more so with quantity.

Also..

I agree that some may be reluctant to "speculate" on the value of silver and gold.  They have been money for a few millennium but everything changes.  That is why we found it necessary to include the real-time pricing mechanism into the specie pieces with the QR code.

The idea is that you shouldn't have to hold vast quantities of silver and gold (unless you want to).  It is meant as pocket change for bitcoin, and one that is more easily acceptable globally than any national fiat.  It also provides a valuable means of introducing folks to what it means to have a backed currency for a change.

When working out a trade using bitcoin with someone new to it, I often get asked "What is it backed by?"  Now I have a ready answer for that.

When working out a trade using bullion pieces, I often get asked "What is it worth?".  This provides the answer for both of these.

Thirdly, all the pre-paid pre-orders are now shipped out.  So those of you adventurous folks who risked some precious bitcoins helping to get this new phase of sound money off the ground, look in your PM soon for details (as well as an exclusive offer!).

What I'ld like to see is these traded at the local Bitcoin meetups and Satoshi Square-type trading events.

One problem, though, is that the party willing to sell these may not be the same person willing to speculate on the exchange rate for silver bullion -- so that person might not be willing to invest in any significant inventory of the pieces.

After seeing the Ripple DYM issue (in which the issuer holds a silver dime for each 1.0 DYM voucher unit out there) I'm thinking there is a solution to this.  Essentially this lets this trader acquire a larger inventory of the pieces by selling the vouchers to buyers on Ripple.  But then as each piece is sold that seller buys back one of the voucher units issued through Ripple.

I guess it is no different from a consignment store concept.

The advantage to doing it through Ripple is that the person who bought the voucher unit issue on Ripple is that that voucher can be sold, so the funds aren't locked in until the trader (issuer) holding the physical piece backing the voucher sells it.

Open Transactions could be used for this as well, but this has already been done through Ripple (in DYM).

On our list of "to do" items for the coldhardca.sh site, is the ability to find folks local to you who buy in quantity and can make these available to you locally worldwide.

We may also have them available at some of our favorite Bitcoin-accepting online bullion retailers.

Getting ever closer...



Still working on the landing page for the QR, this is a mockup of what we are working toward now.  Many of the more common currencies are integrated now and more will be added soon.  The first pre-ordered pieces will ship out in the morning (shipping out as they come off the press).
Thank you all for your support and encouragement.

Official release remains at the http://theconference.eu at end of Sept.

Bitcoin will soon be the only global currency with asset backing specie pieces.  Bitcoin will then be redeemable for these bullion pieces on demand.  As this project rolls forward, bitcoin price should not again fall below the value of 4 troy ounces of silver (as we and our supporters will continue to be redeeming it, at that value, if it declines to that).

Also, the QR on the specie pieces will also display to the bearer the current value of Bitcoin Specie in all the fiat currencies.  Since these pieces may be bought at LESS than a quarter bitcoin (but a bitcoin should always be able to buy at least 4), this project should put a price floor on bitcoin going forward.

Future years we expect we may have to revalue at ever higher rates of bitcoin to silver ratio, so while there will always be a redemption value for bitcoin in silver (and soon also gold), the amount of silver and gold you can get for your bitcoin may improve over time.

The usefulness of the bitcoin specie pieces in commerce, especially at point of sale, can also resolve the wait-time for confirmations for in-person high-transaction environments.

Production minting started today.  First ordered pieces should start shipping after the weekend!
Thank you for your patience.  Giving birth to these has been a wonderful adventure so far and I am grateful for your sharing it with me.

I am also still busy at this time shoring up the web part of these.  A lot has changed since I was cobbling HTML using vi on Sun Micros in the dungeons of Disney in the early 90's (apologies to you EMACS lovers).  I am more than a little rusty, and the CSS bits are giving me headaches because of juggling a lot of things and trying to remember to sneak in some rest when the brain stops working the way it is supposed to.  I am starting to think that all-nighters are for the younger folks.

...but, it is all starting to come together, and some dear friends are offering to help and that is making a huge difference.  (Thanks Mike, doing this is WAY better than shoveling code into the Citibank machine ever was, isn't it?)

Would probably be in on that, Hopefully there will be...

As we are waiting on the different elements of this to all come together (thank you for your patience), a friend pointed out this to me:
https://recalescencecoins.com/coins/

At 1.65BTC each, they are about 7x as expensive.

It occurs to me that there may be enough collectors to support collectible editions, and I have a lot of ideas about that.  We are already offering a few things for that.  The First Strike pieces, but those are earned rather than sold.

We are also likely to offer some special items to our high-volume purchasers for the pre-order. 

And a third offering, a hand-stamped edition for the 5th anniversary of the Satoshi White Paper.

These pieces will have a hand stamped mark, in celebration of our wise founder's publication on Oct 31 2008.  The end of next month will be the fifth anniversary and in celebration of that, we will mark a few with a stamp to commemorate this.



The first opportunity to get one of these will be at the formal release announcement at the Bitcoin Europe conference in Amsterdam in 2 weeks.  Details will be made available as decisions are made

 

We've been testing scanning the QR with different phones, so far there have been two phones that were problematic, an old blackberry and an iphone in a white case which seemed to interfere in the reflection of the mirror-like back.  So black phones (or phone cases) will likely work better.  We will have more test results ahead of the 2014 issue so we will build on this, and a 1 ozt gold piece coming as well.

We very much wanted to get this in hands in 2013.  We will have a collectible hand stamp issue coming for the Oct 31, 5th anniversary of the Satoshi Whitepaper from '08 for those that are interested in collector pieces.

We also expect to continually invest in the destination site for the QR.  Consequently this is not likely to be a profitable enterprise for years to come, but we are in it for the long haul with more produced to stay ahead of demand each year going forward.


We thought so as well, but then again we are biased.  Their design seems strikingly USA focused, and in English only.  The piece is priced in dollars rather than in Bitcoin, and the QR points to their general store rather than to a conversion tool.

Bitcoin is the global currency, it sees no borders so we used a borderless globe as the background and a gracefully curved BTC and a nominal value dated for 2013 to show future generations what a bitcoin was worth in 2013 as well as what it is worth at that future time.  The conjunction of these should show a stark mind-opening awareness for what inflation-proof currency can mean to those that use it.

i would be interested as long as the scan code works correctly. I hate faulty technology   

I cannot wait to buy one of those at the BitCoin Convention!

From a visual or reputation perspective, I don't see much competition.

Thanks for that.  Most all of the design elements were coalesced from the words and ideas of this community, so we owe a debt of gratitude to you all for your contributions in words, ideas and feedback.

We also owe kudos to the folks attending the Bitcoin Foundation's convention in San Jose where we were "asked" to make these.  (Actually it was more like "why the fuk haven't you done a Bitcoin piece yet, you slacker?")  We took it to heart and let the ideas percolate and mix, but there are a lot of you who contributed in ways that are less easy to identify than Pheonix1 who just happened to say just the right thing at just the right time as we were looking to finalize the motto.  It cinched it.

"Think outside the box"... Outside the QR code, outside the computer, outside all the boxes, that is the domain of Bitcoin and also especially the Bitcoin specie pieces we are producing, which are not made to be boxed, but pocketed and exchanged.

And in Latin, rather than English, as both Bitcoin and precious metals are international and timeless.  A lot of heart went in to these, and not just ours but many of yours as well.  There is a lot more meaning in the design than can be easily explained.  It is sort of a treasure map of our collective experience with it.

Thanks again for your contribution.