9.15.19 - All Trap Coins purchased after September 15th will receive the NEW Booteen box. The new box is considerably lighter and smaller making it easier for shipping and long term storage.
Roman Booteen's Trap Coin with the Golden Bait seems simple enough. It's a Morgan Dollar, domed to accommodate a spring-loaded bear-style trap mechanism, with an ornate carved bezel that holds the device together. Finally, seated atop the trap is a Dos Pesos 1/20oz gold coin. Each piece of the puzzle was specifically selected to tell the Trap Coin's story:
The Morgan Dollar - contrary to conventional hobo nickel carvings, Booteen's preferred canvas is the obverse of the Morgan Dollar. While slightly harder and more difficult to carve than the traditional Indian head nickel, the larger surface affords more space for the Master to etch all that complex detailing we've come to know and love from Booteen.
The Bezel - while serving the purpose of holding the mechanism together, Booteen interwove plenty of symbols and tiny hidden details in the design.
The Dos Pesos - minted from 1919 to 2009, the Dos Pesos is a 0.0482 Troy ounce 90% gold coin minted in Mexico.
The Trap - the hungry jaws of the trap are eager to spring and trap an unwitting victim who should go after the protected gold.
Once we had a designed & functioning trap, it was time to fit it all together.
The next challenge was to design a doming die and block that would accommodate the trap while not leaving extra space for shifting or misalignment. If the Morgan was domed too shallow, the device would stick out of the top. If it was domed too deep, we'd run the risk of the trap not fitting inside the bowl.
After a series of miscalculations, we settled on a dome radius and set to work on designing the tool that would render such a result. And while making a single coin could be done by hand on a simple doming block, we needed something that would hold up for nearly a thousand coins!As luck would have it, we got the formula right the first time! The doming turned out great on our little hydraulic press, putting us one step closer to achieving the impossible.
Unfortunately, the corners of the trap brace were way outside the radius limits. Ghim made the correction, another prototype was printed and cast, and for the very first time, we put all the pieces together.
But with all said and done, the Roman Booteen's Trap Coin with the Golden Bait - the officially licensed Silver Hobo Nickel replica - is a true modern art and engineering marvel. While our team was able to reproduce it - at a cost of more than $20,000 and 18 months of time - it makes one thing abundantly clear:
It's unknown if the lucky buyer who snagged Roman Booteen's record-setting original Trap Coin with the Golden Bait will ever put it up for sale. Our guess is that his prized possession will hold a special place in his collection, and the tale that it tells will be told for generations.
But thanks to Roman's gracious permission to reproduce and our team's unyielding determination, you have one more chance to own the authorized replica. Only 999 replicas will ever be produced so reserve yours now before the opportunity is gone - again, and forever.
