Costa Mesa, CA Collectors turned out in force for Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ latest Physical Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Auction over Labor Day weekend, pushing the sale to $676,984 in total prices. Combined with the $596,930 realized in the firm’s June auction, Stack’s Bowers Galleries has sold more than $1.27 million in physical Bitcoin and cryptocurrency collectibles this summer. (All prices include the buyer’s fee.)
Leading the Labor Day sale was an exceptional 2012 Casascius 1 Bitcoin graded MS-68 by PCGS that sold for $91,500, earning a collector premium of nearly 15%, or approximately $12,000, above the value of the underlying Bitcoin at the time of the auction. Casascius Bitcoins were created during the early years of cryptocurrency and contain access to actual Bitcoin embedded within physical coins. Today, surviving examples are collected both for their cryptocurrency value and as artifacts from an important period in Bitcoin’s history. Several other pieces also brought strong prices in the September 5 sale, including a 2013 Lealana 1 Bitcoin that sold for $88,450 and a rare 2016 BTCC Poker Chip 0.5 Bitcoin that realized $43,920.
The auction also showed considerable demand for unfunded physical cryptocurrency collectibles, which have no cryptocurrency value attached and are collected purely for their rarity, design and history. A three-note set of Polymerbit x Artikando Bitcoin Banknotes brought $5,858, while a rare Kialara Bar sold for $2,806.
“These summer sales show just how far the physical Bitcoin market has come,” said James McCartney, director of consignments and numismatics at Stack’s Bowers Galleries. “Collectors are increasingly focused on the rarest and highest-quality pieces, particularly those connected to the early years of Bitcoin produced circa 2011 to 2016. We’re proud of the selection we’ve been able to bring to market and, just as importantly, the strong premiums we’ve achieved for our consignors.”
McCartney was recently recognized by the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) for his article Physical Bitcoin Coins Come of Age, published in the February/March 2026 issue of COINage magazine.
Since 2021, Stack’s Bowers Galleries has been a leading resource for physical Bitcoin and cryptocurrency collectibles, a category that brings together elements of cryptocurrency, technology, investing and traditional collecting.
For more information about the firm’s recent physical Bitcoin and cryptocurrency auctions or to consign to a future sale, contact Stack’s Bowers Galleries at 800-458-4646 or Info@StacksBowers.com. Stack’s Bowers Galleries is now accepting consignments for its November 2026 Showcase Auction, which will feature in-person previews alongside the Whitman Fall Expo in Baltimore, Maryland, November 12–14. Specialists will also be available to review consignments at the Great American Coin & Collectibles Show in Chicago, Illinois, September 30–October 3 and the PCGS Trade and Grade Showcase in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 21–23.
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 90+ 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; The Sydney F. Martin 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 Salton Collection, The Wa She Wong Collection; the Augustana Collection of gold rarities from across western Europe; the Richard Margolis Collection of world coins and medals and The Thos. H. Law Collection. Recent, the firm was awarded the privilege of bringing the most valuable world coin collection to auction: the L. E. Bruun Collection.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, which is also the location of Griffin Studios, the firm’s custom-built, broadcast-ready auction and event facility. In addition, the company has galleries in New York, Boston, Miami and Philadelphia, as well as offices in New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Paris and Vancouver. Stack’s Bowers Galleries hosts a Global Showcase each summer as an Event Auctioneer Partner of the ANA World’s Fair of Money, a sale that features United States coins and currency, ancient coins and world coins and currency. They are also the Official Auctioneer for several important numismatic events, including the New York International Numismatic Convention; the Whitman Spring, Summer and Winter Expos; the Spring and Fall Hong Kong shows and the Maastricht Paper Money shows.
