The time is finally here to get starting planning the 2018 Steem Silver Round! I know there's been lots of questions and excitement out all this project and we once again want to have maximum community involvement.
Background
I'll start with a quick background to get everyone up to speed. Last year in probably around late July or August the idea for a 1oz fine silver steem round(coin) was proposed by @sevinwilson, he was looking for interest, help and guidance for the project. We agreed to help him with the project as we have a small private mint and online bullion shop. We were able to help guide the design process, allow ordering through our website and it really streamlined the process. A design contest was hosted and the amazing design used was created by a community member @bearone and voting by everyone here on steemit. The rounds were created and distributed within around 6-8weeks and the maximum mintage of 1500 was sold out within 2 weeks, they now are hard to find and have a high premium on the secondary market.
The design for the 2017 Round was titled "community" and I'll repost the designers interpretation here;
For me Steemit is all about Community. Whether it's the Steemit community as a whole or the many groups/communities that are forming within Steemit, or what Steemit can do for the World Wide community - When I think of Steemit I think of Community in all those terms and more.
I wanted to represent "community" with the fish swimming together and community written in Latin, French, English and Tagalog (Filipino).
In this design you can see the growth progression from Minnow to Dolphin to Whale. I also like how the small fish are swimming with the big fish. It's a bit more of an accurate representation of the Steemit Eco-System.
I heard sea/marine life references in Steemit will eventually disappear, I'm not sure if that is true, but I felt if it was (or even if it wasn't), it's important to mark this moment in our Steemit history where we refer to ourselves as Minnows, Dolphins and Whales.
Of course there were a few bumps, but we've been actively ironing them all out to be able to proceed with this project. We have successfully integrated a 'pay with steem' feature on our online store and it's working perfectly and do also accept BTC. We would love to offer a full line of crypto options, but have been unable to ingrate other payment gateways with our Shopify store and it would require some manual programming (PS anyone have any experience with this).
So now it's time to start planning the 2018 Round
We're not yet at the design competition phase, but it's time to get you thinking hats on for sure. We have a few preliminary questions to answer and what to make sure we have maximum involvement for the community for this years project.
Die Details
Last year we were restricted to a 2d Die, but this year after the projects success we can certainly use a 3d die if the art requires it. This doesn't mean that art needs to created in a 3d way and in fact there's no real benefit to this. The dies are actually created by hand when a sculptor take the art and carves it into a plaster resin, thus creating the 3d effects and contours. I am going to make a post as well in the next few days explaining the process that goes into coin die creation so please watch close.
We are planning to continue using the original obverse die for the annual release, so this is the one in the one above with the steem logo. This will give the releases some consistency and make them fit better as a set. Once again this is a steem round and not a steemit round, hence the steem logo. The steemit logo is not for public and commercial recreation. (or course in any official storefront like @thesteemitshop is every interested in a project of there own it can be entertained)
Finish Details
We need to decide on a finish type for this years project. The first years release was a brilliant Uncirculated (BU) finish. This means it has the same texture through all fields, while a proof finish would have a highly polished mirrored surface. The price for Proof rounds is a few dollars higher/ coin (approx $5/round), so our preference is the keep this project as BU finish again. We would continue with edge numbering, capsules and COA's we feel this is important to keep the collector appeal of the round and keep the sets consistent.
There is the option to also release a limited run of rounds in a proof finish, but this also depend if the art is amendable to that and that is something we would need to establish when the art is created. If the art doesn't have a flat surface or background surface then proof finishes are not really an option. A proof die is just the BU die that is specially treated and polished. So once the die has been used for the BU run it can then be specially treated for use on a proof round. There is also an option to re-release the 2017 at the same time in a very small proof run, but of course we would want input from everyone. In our minds the proof run would be very small and likely limited to 1-2/customer, thus a run of 100-500Max. This is an idea we wanted to float now since it would affect the art submissions. The proof rounds would be released with a price point around $5 higher than the BU.
Here is an example of a proof finish round compared to a BU finish round. (BU-left/Proof-Right)
Mintage
This is also something we are hoping to get feedback on. We do plan to keep it a limited mintage project, but just how limited is the question. Once again we hope to have everyone's input to make the decision, we want it to be a community project. We feel we will need to increase the mintage as demand was way higher than expected and they sold out within 2 weeks. We are leaning towards the range of 2500-5000, and likely towards the higher end, but really want to know what everyone thinks. Of course the higher amount would be released in 500-1000 unit batches and may be available to purchase over a few months, we would expect the 2500 number would likely experiences a very quick sell out once again.
The other questions about mintage is if we should impose a maximum amount per purchase and if this is required. After seeing the secondary market price from the first release the question is will someone try to corner the market and buy half the mintage. It's highly unlikely but something we want to be cautious of. We did have multiple orders in the 120-200 unit range and think that possibly setting a cap around 200-250 would be reasonable if everyone agrees with this.
Design details/theme
This is another big question; are we creating another 'community' round with a community related design or theme, rr are we just creating a steem round? Thus can the reverse design can be absolutely anything or do we want to offer any guidance to the potential designers.
We are hoping to know what people want to see so we can take this into account when running the design contest.
Other details
We are expecting the price point to be very similar to last year, spot is currently a bit higher, but we are committed to keeping the price point down for everyone. This is a break even project for us and just the opportunity to be a be a part of such an exciting project is reward enough for us. In light of that we are committing the SBD earned from any posts related to this project to help fund the project. We have also started an account called @steemsilverround where the funds will be held and any donation that others want to send would be greatly appreciated. We also encourage others to repost and promote this project and feel free to also commit any post payouts that can be sent to @steemsilverround
We will likely be hosting a presale at some point, but don't want to hold funds for too long this time around. If we do end up proceeding with a 3d design the timeline will likely be around 3 months since there are only a couple sculptors worldwide that create plaster molds for coin dies. So the presale would only likely occurring 2-4 weeks in advance of the release. So please don't start sending any money or asking about commuting to any numbers or making any prepayments at this time.
Please leave any feedback and discussion about any of the questions above, if there is a clear preference from the community in the comment we will proceed with the consensus. Otherwise we may open the decisions to voting in future posts.
Hopefully that answers any questions, but if not feel free to ask. There will likely be other related posts from @sevinwilson and myself over the next few days and weeks so please watch close.
How about @silvergoldbotty on the coin ;-). I am already excited too see the new rounds Keep up the good work! Resteem
The entire time I was reading the post this is what I was thinking. It's a killer design and would look great on the coin
Yeah, We love the idea so much too. It's going to happen for sure. Likely as a separate project once we get this one out of the way.
Sweety-Parts is getting her own coin!!!?
I am so IN!!!
Great choice!
Thanks
Wow I was thinking that too. How cool would she look.
I've been talking about the 2018 Steem coin for months, now. You artists need to get it going. SteemLand is waiting, for its new treasurer.
Yeah, I'm really excited to see the new designs and ideas for next round.
My 8 yo son is keen to watch the process unfold. It's clearly a first draft, but we all have to start somewhere ;)
@mattclarke I like this idea of a more hand drawn and not so symmetrical as all other coins on the market! This kinda goes with the flow that silver and even steemit we leave for our kids future to grow!
That's pretty cool what your son's come up with, very creative. I have seen lots of different edge details on rounds, but last time we asked about doing something custom on the edge like a maple leaf, it was not possible, but if is was there would be an additional fee each time they had to reposition the round in edge engraver.
I love that your son is keen to get in on the silver action! Always encourage youth! (and the design is pretty good, I like the fish on the edging!)
Thanks mate. He was pretty stoked when the last lot arrived.
Yeah, the fish on the edge is also a great idea. Goes with the stacking idea great because when stacked in our huge piles that some of us have(ray) we would easily be able to distinguish which ones are the steem rounds because of the fishes. You could also have a kids contest - have some kids enter and draw up there own impressions of steem and then have four final winners, which then you would pie chart(4 slices) the side with each of the kids winning drawings. Kinda like four seasons of the year, maybe even theme it four seasons for the 2018 round, because I sure expect for steemit to progress as we progress this year
thats very good!
Mate, without a doubt you need to have @goldenarms nipple on this years coin. What would a steemit coin be without his nipples everywhere. Though you would have to be careful as @choogirl might just buy them all up as we know how much she loves @goldenarms nipple pictures.
No. I really wouldn't.
I'm not sure this idea would get much support...lol, but it would be funny.
Time for work but i cant wait to see the comments on this when i back home.
You're so nice for commenting on this post. For that, I gave you a vote!
Thanks again :)
Finish Details: Keep it BU finish
Can do a proof finish limited run of 200 with a cap of 5 per person
Mintage: 2500 - 3000
Staying at this level keeps it interesting and will create more demand for the item.
Cap around 150
Theme:
Two thoughts on this area
1. Growth: A round that shows a progression or growth because that is what this platform is doing and what we are doing on it
2. Connection: Linking up and becoming a unit is what we do thats why we have #steemsilvergold and all the friendships we have built.
I think you guys continuing the capsules and the COAs is the right choice. I also think that you could add an option to get a print of the original artist design (if they approve obviously). Let me know what you think and thanks again!!
Thx for the feedback man, sounds like some interesting design ideas.
I agree with this, but to spread the chances around I'd cap it much lower if we want thousands of folks to have a chance at getting one.
Question: Will we able to purchase with steem? That would be nice.
You will be able to buy them with steem on their mint website. I believe he mentions they also accept bitcoin in the article. I do understand your notion with the capping though. This is very true.
for sure payment with steem will be accepted, we already accept steem payments without issue
Thanks I hope that some of my ideas make it through the process as it is a really awesome way of designing a round around an group of great people!!
Agree with the numbers up above and like the proof finish.
Like the Direction of Growth and Connection. I think it's a great idea to give designers a theme and would be neat to see a new theme every year and try to prevent theme repeats to once every 5-10 years.
Love the idea of the original artist design.
I know you mentioned letting people lock in the under 100 numbers. With these numbers being sold (I bought 10) is this something you're still considering. I would love to lock in the #10 for years to come, but can see this maybe more time and hassle for you then it's worth.
Woudn't mind tipping or paying a small premium to lock in the number 10.
Yeah, the sub 100 numbers will be available for purchase by the current holder annually.
I would buy both the BU and the proof coins. Also as mentioned before would like to be able to buy the original low number I got the first time around for this coin also.
Yes of course, this is still the plan. We will match COA numbers from 1-100, but otherwise the higher numbers would not be matched.
I believe that is still the plan.
I certainly hope so :)
@phelimint I think the strike should maintain as a BU business strike and not a PROOF strike. As far as the mintage I would say 2000 but no more than 2500. You need to keep them Scarce and not raise the mintages that much. I have been around coins since the 70's and I think I have collected long enough to know what I am talking about.
I think that would certainly keep the demand high and have huge secondary market prices, we just worry about everyone not being able to get one, but we'll see how everyone else feels and we will go with the majority.
You're so nice for commenting on this post. For that, I gave you a vote!
My Eyes Are Fixed upon the coin
Our steemit crypto future be
It's best my friend for you to join
A world for which you can be free
Take heart and listen well dear son
While the clock is on your side
For Fiat coins will come undone
Best join the steemit crypto ride.
I wrote this tonight inspired by your post thanks for sharing
Well done man, these crypto days are exciting, but always good to have some physical silver.
Love your poems, Troy.
Never stop :)
It looks like last year's Steem Silver round was beautiful! (and if you do reissue it I would love to order some!)
I'm certainly no artist but I would think that maybe the next issue may show some sort of growth of the platform, maybe a school of fish perhaps? (or a pod of dolphins/whales)
I'll do my best to keep an eye on the developments of the new round, but for sure I'd love to order some when they become available!
I have some available for sale if you are interested in acquiring some!!
I am interested in a round! Where can we talk?
Steemit.chat (@sevinwilson) or discord (sevinwilson#5606)
Thanks for the ideas man, you should be able to get your hand on one this time around this year.
#1448 lives in my pocket.
She's a great conversation starter :)
#115 is always in mine too:)
I’m so freaking excited by this. I don’t have any real input at this stage other than to say that I will definitely be buying at least one of the 2018 coins. 😎
Glad to hear, there's some new interest in this batch of rounds, that's totally what we expected.
Yeah I've been seeing people post pictures of their coins from last year and trying to find out how to get my hands on one.
A 2018 coin would be perfect though since my involvement in Steemit didn't start until late 2017. So 2018 really is my year of going hard on Steemit. :)
Check out @sevinwilson, @ejr or @coolbowser, last I check those 3 are selling some.
I am new to stacking, and would love to add at least one 2018 Steem silver round to my collection. This is cool!
If you can manage it, get 10.
Or 11. One to keep and 10 to sit on and eventually sell.
What do you think a 2018 steem coin will be worth in 2025, when there are billions of users?
Thats not a bad idea! I'll see what I can do when the coins are available.
Hi @phelimint , Since I'm interested in picking up some 2018 coins when they are available, I wanted to aquire a 2017 Steem round first, because thats when I joined Steemit, and if im going to start stacking Steem, I want to start there. Do you have any available? Or, where would be a good source to find some? I'm in Colorado, USA.
Thanks.
Check out @sevinwilson, @ejr or @coolbowser, last I check those 3 are selling some.
Thanks! I'll check them out.
It's beautiful.
So cool.
This time, I need to pay attention and not miss out.
But your the "preparedwombat" how did you miss out.
Lots of new stackers here now.
You're now known to deliver.
Lots of crypto success stories looking for options to diversify.
5000 coins.
Max 200 per order.
Business proof.
Bring.
It.
On.
I detect some excitement here man, We will definitely be Bringing It!
hell yeah 👍
(you hear an engine rev and horn honk)
MEEP! MEEP!
(the window on the humvee rolls down to reveal a warm smiling face)
"Hello! I'm @shadow3scalpel and with the help of my protege, @chairborne, we are actively assisting veterans, retirees and active servicemen and women here on Steemit. We feel it is our 'duty' to support each other. Any questions or comments you may have, simply respond to this comment, thank you!"
(the window rolls up and the engine roars as it drives to the next person on the list)
Comment by @killerwhale. This is a opt-in bot.
Nothing beats working together as community. Together we all achieve more.
Thank you for this informative post.
really amazing information ...
@phelimint Any pre-orders available before the design comes out for say the low edge numberings? It might be a good way for you guys also to get some funds flowing in so you don't have to fork over all your own funds initially.
We will likely do preorders, but not until we're close the the completion of the project.
Would be cool to have Stax on the reverse of the 2018 Steem round, Silvergoldbotty is a big part of the evolution of steemsilvergold and would have more meaning to the stackers on here than whales and minnows. Could keep much of the coin silmilar, the face and the reverse outer edge, the steem symbol in the centre just gets moved from centre to 1 o clock position to accompany the stax design. A running theme could be the steem logo on the reverse gets moved round the edge every year so 2019 is 2 o clock, 2020 3 o clock etc.
Interesting idea man with the moving logo around, or having some sort of continuing design elements.
We are thinking of maybe doing a stax round down the road actually, so I think we may end up releasing that at some point, but unlikely for this community project as I think it's more for the global steemit community.
Or the big fish on the reverse swim round the coin eating the small fish, every year the whale and dolphins move around the coin clockwise and devour all the small fish until the final year where there is just a big ol whale on the reverse.
Or, pay homage to all the great govenment bullion coins out there, have the whale strike a pose similar to libertad (jumping with the mountains in the background) - britannia (jumping out the ocean and the flowing dress of britannia is the waves splashing up) have the steem logo on the reverse look like a privy mark, a maple shaped ocean with the fish swimming round etc..
Or, this type of thing is quite a simple and striking image;
| 
And you could make one part of the design an actual star constilation and change the constilation every year, so start with Aquarius or Pisces (fish obviously):
Can not wait!!! I love the idea of a mini "proof" run but totally get that the main batch (2500 max) should remain BU. I'm looking forward to the designing comp and final design. I'm happy to keep it 2d and make it more affordable for the majority of folks
I'm sure @silverstackeruk will handle the UK end but if he can't I'll happily step up and lend a hand.
Keep capsule and coa the same.
Are we making sure that we keep the same number coin we got last year?
Yes, we will definitely be matching the first 100, but after that we will not be able to do any matching.
No that works for me. @raybrockman kindly sent me number 93 😂
Sorry to anyone who had their own Ideas, but I think this has been decided for some time now. This was a drawing from a while back and I think it is even more relevant today...
So that's the design process over, let's move on to making this beauty!
I like the idea of keeping the round BU, but also like a more limited proof Version. But a combo option would be cool with a dual display case. I would keep the mintage to 500 for proof and no more than 2,000 for the BU. If you would consider a set. Maybe 200 total sets. Thats my 2 cents.. Question: would paypal be an option for payment when these go for sale?
we do accept paypal on our site
I like the BU finish for sure.
A 200 unit max on a 2500 coin mintage seems like it would be sufficient.
Keeping the rest close to the 2017 would be great so we can have nice sets with cases, coa, and edge numbers.
I love my low # COAs!!
Hard to but I am saving funds for this release. Can't wait to see what design comes out of the process.
Thanks man, it is alot of fun to watch the process unfold and be a part of it.
Maybe we can have a botty privy mark \o/ and i think the design should have a #steemsilvergold inscription somewhere maybe:)
I think there are a lot of good ideas here already! I think for the mintage it should be around 2500-3000 BU and if there is a demand for the proof to due just a couple hundred of them. I think most people would be more interested in the BU rounds, so I think most of the emphasis should be there. Then for the cap I agree that it should be somewhere around the 200 range.
I agree that the front of the coin should remain the same and that they include coa's/numbers in the capsules. As for the design on the back, I like the idea of keeping it a community theme. Then it will have the greatest appeal to more individuals.
Thank you for continuing to create these masterpieces. I think as we continue to grow as a community that these will become higher in demand. I hope I was able to help add to the discussion!
Yeah, we really appreciate the feedback, thanks so much for adding to the discussion.
The 2017 version was beautifully crafted. But besides polishing up on the fonts and year, we should keep the consistency on the front and back of the coin that best represents steem community. You’ll find the same logo and design year after year on the Maple Leaf, American Eagle, and Buffalo.
Way excited for this! And much more ready to be a participant in the purchase phase than I was for the 2017 version! Experience one year translates into knowledge for the following year!
So when I tried to think what would be a good image for the newest coin, I kept seeing an image in my mind, so I will copy it here. It goes along with the Connection idea @dwingsworld mentions. I think having artists do their own version of this image:
I think that image from Steemfest really speaks to community and connection.
Will be looking forward to how this processplays out!!
Wow, look at everyone there, that's a really cool shot for sure, seeing lots of support for the connection idea.
oh damn I am excited. I am getting my own this time. count me in. I am not a designer but I do love reading all your guys's ideas for the coin. This will defenitely be awesome. can't wait to start to see some prototypes.
My idea is some kind of knot tied tight because we are a tight knit group
Cool, this fits with the connection theme I've been hearing.
no matter the design it will be awesome
You have received an upvote from STAX. Thanks for being a member of the #steemsilvergold community and opting in (if you wish to be removed please follow the link). Please continue to support each other in this great community. To learn more about the #steemsilvergold community and STAX, check this out.
there is a lot of great feedback here and its wonderful to see all the excitement!!
To maintain some consistency from last year I think its a great idea to continue with the steem logo as well as capsules, coa's and edge numbering. It's a nice clean and professional presentation.
I really like the design idea that's floating around about progression and growth of the community. I think @bearone nailed it her 2017 design by capturing what was happening then and I think this thought should be carried forward to this design.
Certainly, the max mintage for the 2018 needs to be increased from last year. Maybe 5000 could be too big of a jump? Maybe double last year, so 3000? i agree with some cap of around 200-250. I really like the idea of a very limited proof run, 2pc cap. Maybe do something like: limit them to the total number of unique BU purchases plus 5-10% eg. 100 different people bought the 2018 BU, then 110 Proofs are made.
Can't wait to see the progression of this project!
I want them,cant wait!
Very nice I need a steem coin in my stack!!!
Damn, just saw this...
Keeping the same obverse for continuity sounds awesome!
Looking forward to seeing what gets settled on for the reverse...Lots of great ideas already posted!
Way to kill it dead man!
Bravo!!!
This is actually really cool. I like the design with the whales and dolphins on the community coin. Is there any way to purchase the 2017 coin still?
Check out @sevinwilson, @ejr or @coolbowser, last I check those 3 are selling some.
Well you know I’m in on this! 😁. Definitely same finish, but I would be up for some proof ones and even some antique finish ones. I think I saw @pit-bullion making the 2017 with an antique finish. I’m gonna have to see if I can get that done on some of my 2017 coins. Mintage I’m cool with whatever. But do need a limit on amount each can buy cause I might buy a whole green monster box full this time!🤗
Haha, that would be the entire mintage in that thing man....You can't be the only one with some...lol
this is sick i wanna get me one of those
The anticipation is already building!
Why make more than last year?
Minting silver coins! Wow, the thrill of being a newbie here.
So whats the deal with the 2017 coin why is the small steem logo in the middle shiny if its BU? been wondering that from the start but keep forgetting to ask :)
Please do NOT do another "community" round as there are many "communities" here on steemit and even the people not in the "communities" or ones that dislike them and want to be an individul want nothing to do with this word people are trying to use as a cover for "hive mind" or even "collective" are still part of this whole experment we call steemit.
In all honesty it is the onlle reason i have not gone out of my way to pay the premium to own one of thoes coins. I want nothing to do with the people that play this "community" game of your with us or out of the group and then anything done to that person is justified by simply saying well its "hurting the community" or some generic statement basically saying they were guilty of wrong think according to a small fraction of the users on this platform that think what they say and whant is the all in all because of "MUH COMMUNITY".
IDK, just my personal opinion. Leaving out cult like mentality from the coins would be something i am interested in. Focus on steemit, blockchain, what it is going to do for the world and stuff like that. dont focus on the cult like mentality that consumes so many on this platform.
Cheers and look foward to seeing what the new coins look like.
:D
This is so cool.. @owenwat noticed me on this a little while ago! Such a cool project! I'll follow this with a keen eye! :)
love it.. as much as I want the 2017 edition.. this year I want to have one for sure... Steem is part of my life now.. so I want one to put on my desk so I can see it each day in the morning... If you could spare a 2017 version I would be so happy...
Wouldn’t it be cool to have the coin linked to a SMT. No freaking idea how you’d do it But where there’s a will there’s a way.
Please email [email protected] with all the information related to this, I am VERY interested in this project. @phelimint Thank you. 1 XAG =0.00133184XBT = [ 2.455 SBD @ ฿0.00054231 STEEM] Here is +3.000 SBD for 1 Silver Steem Coin ! Email me for my shipping address. See https://steemit.com/steemit/@darkflame/2018-steem-silver-rounds-darkflame-canada-wants-in For the transaction proof post!
https://steemblockexplorer.com/tx/c8e7485f56c097689c27e9701ecfde3821a78d47