Costa Mesa, CA
– Stack’s Bowers Galleries is proud to present an exciting selection of
physical bitcoins and other cryptocurrency
in their Spring 2022 Showcase Auction, the Official Auction for the Whitman
Coin & Collectibles Expo. The sale will feature an array of
Bitcoin
and
Litecoin
from the popular Lealana and Casascius series, all certified and
encapsulated by PCGS. Also included are several unloaded and redeemed coins
that remain very popular as keepsakes of this exciting technology.
This is poised to be the largest and most diverse offering of physical
cryptocurrency ever by a major auction house, confirming Stack’s Bowers
Galleries as a market leader among today’s expanding community of
collectors. The
500% premium
realized by a Lealana 0.1 Bitcoin in the firm’s November 2021 sale
indicated tremendous excitement for this new category, and strong premiums
are expected from crypto collectors and traditional numismatists alike in
this April offering.
The selection of Casascius coins is highlighted by a
2013 1 Bitcoin
and a
2013 0.5 Bitcoin
that were purchased directly from Mike Caldwell, the creator of the series,
as part of original rolls of coins. They are accompanied by two of the
historic 2011 Casascius Error 1 Bitcoin pieces, which are important as the
first funded physical bitcoin ever produced, according to researcher Elias
Ahonen’s Encyclopedia of Physical Bitcoins and other Crypto-Currencies.
Included in this pair is a
MS-66 (PCGS)
specimen that ranks as the sole finest of just five at PCGS.
2013 Casascius 0.5 Bitcoin (BTC).
The Lealana coins are spotlighted by a scarce four-coin set of silver
2013 Lealana bitcoins. The coins will be offered individually in consecutive lots, though an
advanced collector could potentially acquire all four coins and keep the
set intact. Included are a
0.1 BTC
graded Proof-70 Deep Cameo (PCGS), a
0.25 BTC
graded Proof-69 Deep Cameo (PCGS), a
0.5 BTC
graded Proof-70 Deep Cameo (PCGS), and an important
gold-plated 1 BTC
graded Proof-69 Deep Cameo (PCGS). The last is described by specialist
Elias Ahonen as “perhaps the most visually interesting” issue from this
series. Each coin is marked with the serial number 24, making it one of the
earliest sets issued by Lealana creator Noah Luis, aka “smoothie.”
Stack’s Bowers Galleries is also excited to offer their clients the ability
to pay for their purchases with Bitcoin. The firm has arranged with BitPay
to facilitate all Bitcoin payments and a 1% fee will be added to all
invoices for this service. Additional terms and conditions apply, and
bidders are required to contact Stack’s Bowers Galleries before the sale
with any questions relating to payment via BitPay. Clients who would like
to settle an invoice via BitPay must contact the firm’s accounting
department to arrange for a payment request.
This historic offering of cryptocurrency coins will be presented at the end
of the Stack’s Bowers Galleries
Rarities Night
session, which opens for live bidding at 2:00 PM PT on Tuesday, April 5.
The entire Rarities Night session is now available for viewing and
pre-bidding at the firm’s website. For more information about this offering
of physical cryptocurrency or to consign your cryptocurrency to a future
sale, contact Stack’s Bowers Galleries at consign@stacksbowers.com or
800-566-2580.
About Stack’s Bowers Galleries
Stack’s Bowers Galleries conducts live, Internet and specialized auctions
of rare U.S. and world coins and currency and ancient coins, as well as
direct sales through retail and wholesale channels. The company’s 85-year
legacy includes the cataloging and sale of many of the most valuable United
States coin and currency collections to ever cross an auction block — The
D. Brent Pogue Collection, The John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, The Louis E.
Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, The Joel R.
Anderson Collection, The Norweb Collection, The Cardinal Collection and The
Battle Born Collection — to name just a few. World coin and currency
collections include The Pinnacle Collection, The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.
Collection of World Gold Coins, The Kroisos Collection, The Alicia and
Sidney Belzberg Collection, The Wa She Wong Collection, and The Thos. H.
Law Collection.
The company is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, with offices in New
York, Philadelphia, Wolfeboro, Hong Kong, and Paris. Stack’s Bowers
Galleries is an Official Auctioneer for several important numismatic
conventions, including American Numismatic Association events, the New York
International Numismatic Convention, the Whitman Coin & Collectibles
Spring, Summer and Winter Expos, and its April and August Hong Kong
Auctions.