Gavin Andresen - 2010-07-17 20:22:59

@s{quotedtext} @s{quotedtext} If that coin is one of the inputs to a later valid transaction, then it is spent and cannot be spent again.

That later transaction is the record that somebody spent the coin; it is signed with the private key, and that key (which Bitcoin keeps for you in your wallet) should be known only to the owner.