I am 100% against selling 1 btc coin with seals without actually have the listed btc in them (that's actually committing fraud) or allowing buyers to apply the seal themselves( for obvious reasons ). Both horrible horrible ideas.
I am actually more likely to just have the hologram say "ZERO BTC" to make this clear. I already have used holograms of this sort for the bars etc. I had originally considered "SELF FUND" but I'm not at the point where I'm irreversibly committed to the text, and "ZERO BTC" twice, next to the address, is probably more likely to send the right message to a broader audience. The word "SELF" might be misinterpreted (who's self? myself? yourself?), and so might "FUND" (verb? noun?)... but "ZERO" has a pretty clear meaning, and so does "BTC".
All such holograms will still be applied by me, not by the buyer, and self-applied Casascius holograms have never been proposed or offered.
And this probably doesn't need to be said, I don't agree with your argument that offering an unfunded version of a coin is fraud.
If that's how it's going to be going forward, please use a different design and don't call them casascius coins.
I will definitely use a different design, but let's be clear: Casascius is a word that identifies me as the origin of the item, and is not an indicator of anything else.
OK, Thanks for the clarification.
I'm glad that you'll be applying the stickers.
The term "zero bitcoin" is confusing. If the coin has been funded, then the "zero btc" designation is immediately obsolete.
I agree with the comment that if you issue self funded Casascius coins you'll create confusion and risk devaluing the Casascius coins that are already out there.