Moʻo Ekolu Helium Hydra

A three-headed hydra design tied to the Helium Hydra software release.

Production record

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.

Historical market snapshot · 2020-12-17

1 BTC = $22,8051 LTC = $101 ≈ 0.00442707 BTC1 XMR = $160 ≈ 0.0070256 BTC

CoinMarketCap daily snapshot; approximate and not an appraisal. Rate source

Recovered photographySelected views

Choose any image to enlarge it

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 4.0026 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 ≈ 0.03864082 BTC ≈ $881
Reverse-mirror finish surcharge	0.17 XMR	0.17 XMR ≈ 0.00119435 BTC ≈ $27	Seller also listed 0.0011 BTC
Gold-plated finish surcharge	0.85 XMR	0.85 XMR ≈ 0.00597176 BTC ≈ $136	Seller also listed 0.0055 BTC
Antique finish surcharge	0.65 XMR	0.65 XMR ≈ 0.00456664 BTC ≈ $104	Seller also listed 0.0045 BTC
Rainbow steel housing surcharge	1.7 XMR	1.7 XMR ≈ 0.01194353 BTC ≈ $272	Seller also listed 0.011 BTC
Serial selection or custom engraving	0.85 XMR	0.85 XMR ≈ 0.00597176 BTC ≈ $136	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 2020-12-17
Coin denomination	4.0026 XMR	4.0026 XMR ≈ 0.02812068 BTC ≈ $641

Reconstructed narrative

The release story

Maker statements and surviving thread evidence, organized as one continuous record.

Chapter

What smoothie added in the thread

Software history on the piece
The maker recorded v0.11 activation on September 15, 2017, blocks 1,400,000–1,546,000, activation difficulty 1,503,046,577, and the relevant release and commit references.
Atomic-weight denomination
The 4.0026 XMR face amount is helium’s atomic weight; “Moʻo Ekolu” names the three-headed hydra/dragon character.
Possible Bitcoin counterpart
Asked about a Bitcoin version of the format, smoothie said it could be a future possibility but announced no such issue in the thread.

Chapter

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.

Chapter

Funded and unfunded delivery states

Funded before shipment
The buyer received a PGP-signed address and funded the exact 4.0026 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.