A forgotten chapter of Bitcoin’s past suddenly resurfaced this week when access to two ultra-rare physical Bitcoin artifacts — each tied to 1,000 BTC — was finally unlocked.
What sat untouched for more than 13 years, worth only a few thousand dollars when created, now represents roughly $179 million.
Key Takeaways
Two ultra-rare Casascius pieces holding 1,000 BTC each have been accessed after over a decade.
One dates to 2011, when Bitcoin traded below $4; another to 2012 at under $12.
Casascius coins were physical Bitcoin collectibles sealed with hidden private keys.
These pieces trace back to the early 2010s, an era when Bitcoin enthusiasts experimented with turning an entirely digital asset into something tangible. One of them emerged in late 2011, when a single BTC cost less than a cup of coffee. Another followed in 2012, still long before mainstream finance acknowledged the asset’s existence.
Relics from Bitcoin’s Primitive Age
The coins belong to a series known as Casascius coins — a quirky project by Utah entrepreneur Mike Caldwell, who wanted people to experience Bitcoin as physical money. He embedded real BTC into brass and gold-plated coins behind holographic seals. Peel off the sticker and you could access the private key inside; leave it intact and the coin became a collectible curiosity.
These items came in sizes ranging from 1 BTC tokens to thousand-Bitcoin giants. They became cult artifacts, not only because of their embedded value but because Caldwell was forced to cease production after regulators suggested his minting model looked too close to unlicensed money transmission. Scarcity instantly made them more than novelty pieces — they became time capsules.
Activation Doesn’t Mean a Market Dump
Whenever one of these “sleeping” artifacts wakes up, speculation erupts: Will the Bitcoin be sold? Will price plunge?
Not necessarily. Many owners redeem Casascius coins simply so the funds are safer or easier to manage — not to liquidate. Earlier this year, one collector known as “John Galt” moved 100 BTC off his coin into a hardware wallet and made it clear he wasn’t rushing to cash out. After holding it so long, the motivation was security, not profit-taking.
With only 16 of the bar-format units and just six 1,000 BTC coins ever produced, each movement is a window into Bitcoin’s origin story — a reminder that what is now digital gold was once small enough to fit under a tamper-seal on a brass coin.
