Mintage: 2,960
Composition: Nickel Brass
Overview: The Lealana Litecoin series was first released to collectors and investors in June 2013 as a counterpart to the Casascius physical bitcoins introduced in 2011. It was invented and issued by Noah Luis of Honolulu, Hawaii, who is perhaps better recognized as “smoothie.” This popular LTC series was intended to be a “friendly competitor” to the Casascius BTC series produced by Mike Caldwell.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries Auctioneers is the Leader in
Physical Cryptocurrency & Physical Bitcoin Auctions
Litecoin (LTC) is a decentralized cryptocurrency that is open to developers and the public alike. It is free from censorship and offers low-cost private transactions. Being that it is a borderless payment system, you can make payments to anyone, anywhere, and at any time.
Since Litecoin’s founding in 2011, there have been billions of dollars passed through its system. These physical Litecoins represent a rare opportunity to own an otherwise intangible asset. Physical Litecoins tend to appear in higher denominations than their Bitcoin counterpart since the currency has a lower peak value. The main LTC brand is Lealana, with other smaller companies making up a small percentage of physical coins.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries, the leader in Cryptocurrency Auctions, is delighted to offer your physical cryptocurrency at our next major auction. To have your coins evaluated, graded, or included in the sale, please contact our In-House Cryptocurrency Expert James McCartney at jmccartney@stacksbowers.com with an inventory of what you have. Since pioneering the physical cryptocurrency auctions in 2021, Stack’s Bowers Galleries has quickly become the most trusted digital currency expert in the industry. At the conclusion of the Winter 2022 Showcase Auction, we will have sold nearly 200 coins in the span of one year.
What Types of Litecoin Does Stack’s Bowers Galleries Auction?
Mintage: 2,000
Composition: Nickel Brass
Overview: This Black Address, Non-Serialized “First Run” variety is an historic issue, representing a pivotal experiment in physical cryptocurrency that served as a prototype for the varieties to follow. Many of these have been peeled and redeemed. In many ways, it is comparable to the scarce “Casacius Error” 1 BTC from the Casascius series. These are generally the most sought-after by collectors.
Mintage: 5,000
Composition: Nickel Brass
Overview: This is an exciting example of the transitional Buyer Funded variety first issued in May 2014, indicated by the green address on the hologram. This type was produced in response to federal requirements from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Under the new Buyer Funded format, buyers of these Lealana coins were responsible for sending the currency to the coin’s address themselves at a later time.
Mintage: Unknown
Composition: 1/4 Troy Ounce Silver
Overview: Notable as perhaps the most approachable manifestation of physical crypto, these 5 LTC are struck on a 25 mm planchet of 1/4 ounce of .999 fine silver and minted by Northwest Territorial Mint. These coins almost always come with a Certificate of Authenticity. Boldly struck above the hologram on the reverse is the denomination of 5 LTC with the words “Original” stamped above.
Mintage: Unknown
Composition: 1/2 Troy Ounce Silver
Overview: Issued on a 30 mm planchet of 1/2 ounce of .999 fine silver and minted by Northwest Territorial Mint, the obverse features the Litecoin symbol, date, and denomination while the reverse features a holographic sticker with the firstbits address visible near the center and the serial number above. Fully loaded and unpeeled, it carries an intrinsic face value of 10 LTC. Originally issued in a 4 coin set.
Mintage: 495
Composition: 1 Troy Ounce Silver
Overview: Issued on a 39 mm planchet of 1 ounce of .999 fine silver and minted by Northwest Territorial Mint, this is the largest Litecoin produced by Lealana creator Noah Luis of Honolulu, Hawaii, who is perhaps better recognized within the crypto community by his internet handle “smoothie.” The binary code on the edge syas “IKAIKA I HELU NUI”, translating to “Strength in Numbers”.
Mintage: 300
Composition: Base Metal Alloy
Overview: The Fresh LTC series is an elusive series borne from the grassroots effort of a team of physical cryptocurrency luminaries. These were first publicized on the influential Bitcointalk.org forum in August 2020 as a collaboration between forum members wheelz1200 , minerjones, and buckrogers. These were loaded directly from freshly mined blocks of LTC.
