In 2017, we fell in love with Roman Booteen's Trap with the Golden Bait, and set out to recreate a licensed replica of the masterpiece. It took years, and we finally made it available to Booteen fans in 2019. Shortly thereafter, we replicated Roman Booteen's Gold Bug. We set out to start our 3rd major project - Booteen's BANKSY - right when COVID shut down the majority of life as we know it. We thought the project was dead.

We had to leave the project sit for a long time - more than 3 years. We took some time to recover our business, finish raising our children, setup a new coin factory in USA, and get caught up from the catastrophe.

Now, we are READY to bring you, our valued collectors and fans - the long awaited Roman Booteen BANKSY.

Join our team on the last few steps of this incredible journey as we travel back to Thailand, connect with our beloved silversmiths, and put the final finishing touches on this beautiful tribute to master engraver Roman Booteen. We'll keep you updated on Instagram and email every step of the way. Share our adventure, connect with us, and most important of all, get ready to hold in your hands the incredibly exciting Banksy Authorized Replica!

Check out some work-in-progress images:

#1 - The UPDATED expected ship date for Booteen's Banksy is 15 February 2024. We will be in Thailand working directly with our team to ensure our top quality creations are ready to ship on schedule.

#2 - This coin is expensive. As you know, the cost of EVERYTHING has gone UP UP UP since we first launched. As much as we'd like to sell these for less, it's just not possible. However, we have TWO HUGE DISCOUNT COUPONS for current Booteen Collectors. If you own BOTH the Trap and Gold Bug, you can save $1000 on Banksy. If you own one or the other, you can still save $500. Check your email or contact us for coupon codes.

#3 - Many of you ask for special serial numbers. This is a total pain in the neck, and this time, we are charging a premium for special numbers. See the above pricing for number reservations and contact us to see what we still have available. Otherwise, all numbers are assigned to customers IN ORDER.

#4 - As always, orders over $999.99 will ship worldwide at no additional cost. However, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for any import costs imposed by your local government. We will TRY OUR BEST to accomodate specific import requests, but ultimately, you must plan ahead for these costs.

#5 - Booteen's Banksy will include a custom box, special stand, certificate, and a few other bonuses that we may decide to include with your final product. Expect the quality to be as good as anything else you have acquired from us in the past!

#6 - If you would like to meet in Singapore or Thailand to collect your Banksy in person, please contact us and we can make arrangements to deliver your collectible to your hotel locally. We love to make new friends and would love to connect!

#7 - Contact us directly for wholesale inquiries or bulk purchases.

Again, THANK YOU for your patience and patronage. We look forward to updating you regularly with the progress!

The Mystery of Banksy

Though no one is quite certain if he’s a man or a team of street artists, Banksy has mesmerized audiences, shocked the masses and befuddled law makers through three decades of graffiti, vandalism and other creative forms of activism.

The line he paints between art and vandalism is so blurred, in fact, that politicians are unsure if Banksy’s creations should be preserved as public art or condemned & removed like any other criminal eyesore.

One theme consistently depicted in Banky’s work is that of the rat. Besides being an anagram of art itself, the rat theme holds special meaning for Banksy:

“On Painting Rats, and the Glorification of Them. They exist without permission. They are hated, hunted and persecuted. They live in quiet desperation amongst the filth. And yet they are capable of bringing entire civilizations to their knees. If you are dirty, insignificant, and unloved then rats are the ultimate role model.” – Banksy, Wall and Piece

But rats were more than just a metaphor for Banksy. In fact, their frequent appearances may point to one of Banksy’s few inspirations: Blek le Rat, a French graffiti artist, often credited as the father of stencil graffiti, who was active in the 80’s and 90’s just as Banksy was breaking onto the scene. Of le Rat, Banksy is quoted as saying “every time I think I’ve painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek le Rat has done it as well, only twenty years earlier.”

Girl with Balloon Love Is In the Bin

Girl with Balloon first appeared in 2002 on London’s Waterloo Bridge. Over the years, the work has been used to represent various social causes, from protesting the West Bank Barrier to the attempted swaying of the 2017 UK election. A recent poll ranked Girl with Balloon as the UK’s most beloved work of art.

Over the years, several authorized reproductions were created, including an initial 25 signed prints made in 2003, and an additional 150 signed prints the following year.

In 2018, one of those prints was put up for auction at Sotheby’s and sold for £1,042,000 – a record high for the artist. Moments after the auction’s close, Girl with Balloon seemingly began to self-destruct by way of a shredder Banksy himself built into the bottom of the frame.

Roman Booteen

Boasting an equally unrivaled talent on a different canvas, Hobo Nickel Master Engraver Roman Booteen’s creations set the gold standard for other aspiring coin engravers. The designer of The Trap with the Golden Bait, Gold Bug & The Holy Grail – unbelievably intricate works of art etched onto a tiny round metal canvas – pays tribute to one of his admired inspirations with his latest creation, Banksy.

Like Banksy, Booteen is incredibly private in his fame, and few details are known about the life of the artist and his work, especially as it relates to influencing future projects or even acquiring an existing creation. Booteen repeatedly refuses to make his creations available to the public, partially due to the questionable legality surrounding the defacement of circulating coinage, as well as the restrictions surrounding the sale and transport of precious metals. But maybe the reality is more like the mystery surrounding Banksy, best summarized in Brad Pitt’s characterization:

Authorized Dealers