Roman Booteen - Gold Bug - Mechanical Hobo Nickel

No subject is off limits, no topic too boring for his wild imagination.

After completing the most epic hobo nickel ever, Roman wasted no time in raising the bar once again with his next masterpiece – the Gold Bug.

Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s almost forgotten tale of the same name, Booteen’s Gold Bug features an intricately carved Morgan Dollar, concealing a button that activates the beetle’s wings, exposing a tenth ounce of solid gold. One lucky collector scooped it up at auction in December 2017 for a whopping nine thousand two hundred dollars.

Roman’s Gold Bug and its hidden secrets are a nod to Poe’s story, which is considered the first nonfiction work of its kind to include cryptography; hidden elements readers must decipher to make sense of the story.

The Gold Bug at a glance

• Authorized, licensed reproduction of Roman Booteen’s original Gold Bug
• One-of-a-kind working wing mechanism
• Includes original Morgan Dollar
• Includes 1/10 Troy ounce 24kt gold body
• Wings & Body cast from 20 grams of 925 silver
• Includes certificate of authenticity & collector’s box
• Limited to only 999 replicas
• Individually laser-etched with serial number
• 1 year manufacturer’s warranty on the moving parts