Meet the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) Coin of the Week, a 2012 1000 Casascius bitcoin, the world’s most valuable numismatic item. A gold piece with a face value of 1,000 bitcoins is worth $50 million – its equivalent US dollar value in bitcoin – as of October 5, 2021.
From Forgotten Coin to Top Value
The one-ounce gold coin of the week was bought for $4,905 in December 2011. Forgotten until recently, it was submitted to PCGS by GreatCollections of Irvine, California. The multimillion-dollar treasure was transferred to the third-party coin grading company in nearby Santa Ana, California, under the protection of armed guards. It was graded PCGS Proof-70 Deep Cameo – numismatically perfect.
“This is the greatest return on investment for any numismatic item, a staggering 9,786 times the purchase price in just 10 years. It may be the world’s greatest investment in that time span,” stated Ian Russell, President of GreatCollections. “Its value eclipses classic coins, such as the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle recently auctioned by Sotheby’s for $18,872,250 or the Sultan of Muscat 1804 Draped Bust dollar GreatCollections recently purchased at auction for $7,680,000 on behalf of a client,” he said.
Merging Worlds
This coin of the week is known by many in the cryptocurrency community as the “Gold Cas.” This is a reference to “Casascius,” the company that produced physical bitcoins.
“PCGS sets the standard for grading and authenticating rare coins, tokens, medals, and paper currency,” remarked PCGS Interim President Stephanie Sabin. “As such, we have been entrusted with the encapsulation of the majority of auction-topping items year after year. This coin is set apart in its cultural significance in merging the worlds of cryptocurrency and traditional numismatics. Combine this with the staggering value of the bitcoins it contains, and we have a new Goliath.”
*Images for this Coin of the Week are courtesy of GreatCollections.
