Trailblazing NGC-certified Casascius Bitcoins offered in first-of-its-kind Heritage Auction

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An early November sale showcases numismatic rarities tied to the digital currency.

Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) has certified 250 Casascius Bitcoins that are being offered in an upcoming Heritage Auctions sale. Bidding is underway for these trailblazing brass coins in The Otoh Collection of Physical Cryptocurrency, Part I Platinum Session Signature Auction, which will be held on November 3, 2023.

Bitcoin, the most popular option for cryptocurrency, was created in 2009. Many investors were interested in the digital currency but felt more comfortable owning it in a physical form. Innovator Mike Caldwell saw an opportunity and began striking his Casascius Bitcoins. Each one includes a key: a string of numbers and letters on the back hidden behind a tamper-evident hologram.

The Heritage Auctions sale includes 150 brass coins that are denominated one Bitcoin and 100 brass coins that are denominated as 0.5 Bitcoins. Using its 70-point grading scale, NGC certified 54 of them as NGC MS-68, 122 as NGC MS-67, 53 as NGC MS-66, and 21 in other grades.

This represents Heritage’s first auction dedicated specifically to physical cryptocurrency. These unredeemed Casascius Bitcoins were acquired directly from Caldwell, according to Heritage Auctions. Because of their connection to the infancy of Bitcoin, they hold special appeal to collectors.

Press release courtesy of the Numismatic Guaranty Company

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