I by chance swiped my bitcoin right into a watching solely pockets in electrum … from a paper coin
The way in which you describe this makes it troublesome for me to work out what occurred however I’m unfamiliar with Electrum so it might make sense to somebody accustomed to Electrum.
Watch-only
A Watch-only deal with is a bitcoin deal with for which the pockets has no report of the private-key from which the deal with was generated.
A Watch solely pockets can be a pockets that incorporates a watch-only deal with (with out the corresponding non-public key).
Sweeping
Whenever you “sweep” bitcoin from one “place” into one other, I consider that normally means making a Bitcoin transaction on the blockchain which transfers management of the cash from one pockets to a different. The goal pockets can create this transaction when you give it the private-key of the donor pockets. Nonetheless, there isn’t any means this transaction ought to end in a watch-only deal with – the place the goal pockets doesn’t know the non-public key of the goal deal with.
Importing
The choice course of is to import the non-public key from the paper pockets into the goal pockets. Once more there isn’t any means the goal pockets might find yourself not figuring out the non-public key which controls the cash.
Recovering management
I might dig out the outdated paper pockets (which you known as a paper bitcoin), create a brand new pockets and import the non-public key from the paper pockets. I might do that on a brand new PC or first rigorously back-up the present pockets (and ideally check the backup could be recovered).
If you need extra detailed recommendation, it will in all probability require you to say how the paper pockets was obtained – e.g. “it was printed by an Acme-coinomatic BTM, in Idaho in June 2017”.
You probably have disposed of the paper pockets, your Bitcoin are in all probability misplaced endlessly.