Beryllium Bullet
A Bullet Cluster–inspired issue using beryllium’s atomic weight as denomination.
Exactly 200 maximum across all finishes. The original post’s comments and mintage table allocate 25 antique, 75 silver, 70 reverse mirror, 13 gold plated, and 17 reverse-mirror gold plated.
Coin and set specification
| Denomination or variant | Metal / format | Maximum mintage |
|---|---|---|
| Antique finish | 2 troy oz .999 silver | 25 |
| Standard silver | 2 troy oz .999 silver | 75 |
| Reverse-mirror silver | 2 troy oz .999 silver | 70 |
| Gold-plated silver | 2 troy oz .999 silver | 13 |
| Reverse-mirror, gold-plated silver | 2 troy oz .999 silver | 17 |
Set composition
A 9.012 XMR, 2 troy oz .999 silver coin mounted in a 304 stainless-steel housing with tempered glass. White or rainbow steel housings could be paired with any coin finish.
Original offer prices
| Offer | As posted | Historical equivalent | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base package · silver + white steel | 5.5 XMR | 5.5 XMR ≈ 0.03787233 BTC ≈ $671 | |
| Reverse-mirror finish surcharge | 0.17 XMR | 0.17 XMR ≈ 0.0011706 BTC ≈ $21 | Seller also listed 0.0011 BTC |
| Gold-plated finish surcharge | 0.85 XMR | 0.85 XMR ≈ 0.005853 BTC ≈ $104 | Seller also listed 0.0055 BTC |
| Antique finish surcharge | 0.65 XMR | 0.65 XMR ≈ 0.00447582 BTC ≈ $79 | Seller also listed 0.0045 BTC |
| Rainbow steel housing surcharge | 1.7 XMR | 1.7 XMR ≈ 0.01170599 BTC ≈ $207 | Seller also listed 0.011 BTC |
| Serial selection or custom engraving | 0.85 XMR | 0.85 XMR ≈ 0.005853 BTC ≈ $104 | Per coin; seller also listed 0.0055 BTC |
Denomination at the post date
These values describe the loadable face amount, not the price of the metal collectible.
| Item | Face amount | BTC and USD equivalent on 2020-11-28 |
|---|---|---|
| Coin denomination | 9.012 XMR | 9.012 XMR ≈ 0.06205554 BTC ≈ $1,099 |
The release story
Maker statements and surviving thread evidence, organized as one continuous record.
What smoothie added in the thread
Software and celestial references
The coin records v0.13 activation on October 18, 2018, blocks 1,685,555–1,787,999, activation difficulty 1,535,889,547, and depicts the Bullet Cluster celestial object.
Denomination
The exact 9.012 XMR face value follows beryllium’s atomic weight.
Maker clarification
Smoothie said the two-ounce format was not a collaboration with Max and was larger, not smaller, than the comparison raised in the thread.
Construction and customization
Coin and housing
A 47.7 mm, two-troy-ounce .999 silver coin sits in a 304 stainless-steel housing behind tempered glass and ships in a protective TPU case. The private spend key beneath the hologram uses Base64 format.
Mix-and-match formats
Buyers could combine any of five coin finishes with white or rainbow steel. Paid serial selection accepted three preferences; serials 1–5 were held back for possible auctions.
Personal engraving
A custom message of up to 60 characters could be engraved on the housing. The maker selected its font, size, position, and orientation, and warned that engraving added a week.
Physical assembly
The first post states that housing screws were cold-welded with J-B Weld and their heads drilled out after curing. Coin-to-art alignment was performed on a best-effort basis.
Funded and unfunded delivery states
Funded before shipment
The buyer received a PGP-signed address and funded the exact 9.012 XMR denomination before shipment. The seller described the in-transit cryptocurrency value as the buyer’s risk.
Unfunded version
The alternate version carried prominent “UNFUNDED” markings, plainer reverse housing art, and a different hologram. It could not receive a metal certificate.
Certificates
Paper certificates were discontinued. Funded pieces received a PGP-signed digital certificate after delivery; an optional metal certificate had to be ordered before shipment and added a week.
Key and proof workflow
The documented process used an air-gapped computer, view-only wallets, key images, and a degenerate one-output Monero ring signature. Transfer CDs and the retained private-spend-key data were then destroyed.
Archival notes
- Maximum mintage is 200 total, not 200 of each finish. The five stated finish allocations are 25 + 75 + 70 + 13 + 17 = 200.
- The base price excluded the XMR loaded value. Paper certificates were replaced by digital records, with an optional metal certificate.
Recovered photographs
19 image files from the first post were recovered and re-hosted here. Select any photograph to enlarge it.
Sources
- Original Beryllium Bullet sales thread · Bitcointalk topic 5294056
- KIZEKRA series and comics index · Bitcointalk topic 5305356
- Ninjastic archived topic record · smoothie’s posts and later thread replies reviewed
- CoinMarketCap historical snapshot for 2020-11-28