So... in the midst of all the packing, I came across this batch of OG NFTs! Well... these and a few more. For those who don't remember, the Austrian Post office is pretty cool with trying out new things... they have embroidered stamps and stamps made from glass... it has a long tradition of releasing stamps that are made of something distinctly more interesting than thin pieces of paper!

So, it was no real surprise that they were the first Post Office (perhaps still the only post office) to release Ethereum NFT stamps! The original run were these these unicorn themed stamps that had a physical stamp to it... but also included private keys to an Ethereum address with the digital NFT plus enough ETH to move the digital stamps once. What is pretty interesting is that this was done about 2 years ago... so obviously the ETH that is in the wallet addresses are worth a little bit more than when they were first deposited... that said, given that Ethereum gas fees are denominated in ETH anyway (and not fiat) it doesn't really make much difference.. given the higher gas fees on main-net compared to that time, it is likely that the ETH is still unreachable and only fit for the original purpose of moving the NFTs one single time.

The stamps themselves are not that remarkable... the physical stamps all look very similar, with the unicorn having a sheen of colour and the public address being viewable as a QR code... meanwhile the private key is hidden under a single scratch covering. Digitally, they aren't that much more remarkable either... you are linked through to a hosted version of the Unicorn in varying degrees of rarity depending on colour. I have some few nice rare ones, and some of the most common ones as well.

The most interesting thing about these OG NFTs is the fact that they were one of the early adopter versions.. long before NFTs went viral as a proof of purchase of digital artwork. Plus, the fact that they were issued by a governmental authority was also quite a splash.

The initial run sold out incredibly quickly online... I picked up mine mostly from eBay and by asking friends who lived in Austria to run to down to the Post Office for me! Yes... I'm that nerdy, and it got some strange reactions from my musician contacts there! A random request for a favour... that they could walk down to the local post office and purchase as many of these non-descript stamps as possible? Okay... weird guy, but sure...

More recently, the Austrian post office have released different runs of NFT stamps... mostly featuring other blockchains. However, the original version of the Ethereum unicorn will always hold a special place in the crypto community's hearts! These are definitely coming in person with me... not trusting these nerdy little playthings to the vagaries of ship bound transport!

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Handy Crypto Tools

Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
Kucoin: My second choice in exchanges, many tokens listed here that you can't get on Binance!
FTX: Regulated US-based exchange with some pretty interesting and useful discounts on trading and withdrawal fees for FTT holders. Decent fiat on-ramp as well!
MXC: Listings of lots of interesting tokens that are usually only available on DEXs. Avoid high gas prices!
Huobi: One of the largest exchanges in the world, some very interesting listings and early access sales through Primelist.
Gate.io: If you are after some of the weirdest and strangest tokens, this is one of the easiest off-chain places to get them!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
Stoic: A USD maximisation bot trading on Binance using long-term long strategies, powered by the AI/human system of Cindicator.
StakeDAO: Decentralised pooled staking of PoS assets.
Poloniex: One of the older regulated exchanges that has come into new ownership. I used to use it quite a lot, but have since stopped.
Bitfinex: Ahhh... another oldie, but a goodie exchange. Most noted for the close affiliation with USDT and the Basic "no-KYC" tier!