AOCS Bitcoin Collection

AOCS Bitcoin Collection Overview

The AOCS Bitcoin Collection gathers three distinct, AOCS-approved Bitcoin round designs produced under the American Open Currency Standard program. All three share the AOCS-approval framework but are otherwise separate products, from separate designers, struck on separate dies.

The first and largest line is the MJB circuit-board Bitcoin design, credited to designer Michael “Mick” Bruce (MJB). It centers the Bitcoin symbol in a circuit-trace field on the obverse, paired with a reverse chip carrying the designer’s initials and the strike year. The design spans every metal and finish documented to date: copper, gold-plated copper, silver-plated copper, silver proof, silver antiqued, and silver bullion. Only the legend text shifts between obverse and chip, depending on which fineness statement the obverse needs to carry. On the 2012–2013 copper strikes, the obverse rim carries 1 TROY OZ .999 FINE COPPER · MJB MONETARY METALS, and AOCS APPROVED moves to the reverse chip. On the silver strikes, AOCS APPROVED and ONE OZ .999 FINE SILVER sit on the obverse rim.

MJB Monetary Metals was Bruce’s UK-based venture. It is attributed as the producer of the earliest Bitcoin-themed coins, a series of 1-gram silver pieces that preceded the copper circuit-board round. The 2013 copper was launched by Mulligan Mint alongside its silver Bitcoin round, as documented in 2013 press coverage. The 2016 proof and antiqued silver strikes are credited to Osborne Coinage. The 2020–2021 silver bullion strikes were issued under Blockchain Mint and manufactured by Rearden Metals Pte Ltd (Singapore) per the product’s tube label, with an authorized mintage of 100,000. Production partners for each era are detailed on the AOCS Mint (Frisco, TX) page.

The second line is the “Free the Currency, Free the People” QR-code Bitcoin design, credited to designer Adam Kokesh per its Numista listing. It uses a similar overall obverse layout and AOCS-approved framing to the MJB line but is struck from its own die, with a distinct reverse built around a scannable QR code rather than a circuit-board chip. The obverse carries “COMMODITY BANKS & CRYPTOCURRENCIES WILL RENDER CENTRAL BANKS OBSOLETE… FREE THE CURRENCY, FREE THE PEOPLE,” and the reverse QR panel is flanked by “1 OZ .999 AG” and “AOCS APPROVED.” The round is undated. It was produced by Mulligan Mint and launched in 2013, when press coverage described it as the mint’s newest product; its QR code directed buyers to Mulligan Mint’s online store. No example has yet been physically examined for this site.

The third line is the 2014 Decentralized Currency SBSS Silver Round, issued under Rob Gray’s post-split AOCS/Silver Bullet Silver Shield operation and distributed through Silverbulletsilvershield.com. Its obverse pairs a stylized “D” with a circuit-board field and a Bitcoin-logo echo. Its reverse carries the standard SBSS crest rather than a chip or QR code, with “AOCS APPROVED” struck alongside “.999 FINE AG” and the year.

AOCS Bitcoin Collection Notes

These three lines are related only by their shared AOCS approval and general Bitcoin subject matter. They are not the same die family and should not be merged or cross-attributed.
The SBSS round’s obverse legend, “COMMUNITY BANKS & CRYPTOCURRENCIES RENDER CENTRAL BANKS OBSOLETE,” closely echoes the Kokesh/QR round’s “COMMODITY BANKS & CRYPTOCURRENCIES WILL RENDER CENTRAL BANKS OBSOLETE.” The near-identical phrasing is noted as an open research thread; no direct copying or shared authorship is established.
The Kokesh/QR round is frequently listed as “2012” on the secondary market. No dated source supports 2012; 2013 press coverage describes it as a new Mulligan Mint release. Examples are seen in both uncracked and cracked die states (crack near the C and R of CRYPTOCURRENCIES), reflecting progression of a single die rather than separate issues. A later restrike of the design was sold by other dealers as a custom-mint proof.
Iron-core copies of the MJB 2013 design circulate in gold, silver, and copper finishes. Some are struck from faithful copies of the die and carry the full MJB legend, and some are sold in acrylic slabs with holographic labels that are not a grading service. Genuine strikes are solid metal, non-magnetic, and weigh 1 troy oz.
A separate, unrelated “Anonymous Mint” QR-code Bitcoin round exists in the marketplace but carries no AOCS marking and is excluded from this collection.
Generic pickaxe-reverse Bitcoin rounds, including the 9Fine Mint/BitPay silver issue, carry no AOCS marking and are excluded from this collection.
Mulligan Mint also struck 2014 “Bitcoin Specie” QR-code rounds denominated in BTC (e.g., 10 mBTC, 0.25 BTC). These are a separate product; AOCS marking is unconfirmed, and they are not included in this collection.
The 2012 copper, the 2013 plain and silver-plated copper, and the 2020 and 2021 silver bullion strikes are documented from secondary-market and dealer listings but do not yet have standalone catalog entries on this site.
The Blockchain Mint tube product data names the item “Bitcoin 2022 1oz Silver Bullion,” indicating a 2022-dated strike may also exist. It is not listed below pending a photographed example.
The 2023 MJB-die Ethereum-symbol round is a companion piece from the same circuit-board design family but is out of scope for a Bitcoin-only collection. It will need its own catalog entry and its own collection home, either a broader AOCS Crypto grouping or standalone, rather than a row in this table.
The MJB MONETARY METALS name is struck alongside AOCS APPROVED on the 2012–2013 copper strikes, and the 2020–2021 AOCS-approved MJB silver is a Blockchain Mint/Rearden Metals issue. Patriot Coins’ role in later MJB-marked crypto output (Ethereum, Doge) attributed to it in dealer listings remains a held research thread.

MJB Circuit-Board Line — Documented Years & Metals

Year	Metal	Entry
2012	Copper	Not yet catalogued (known from secondary-market listings, including ANACS-graded examples)
2013	Copper	Not yet catalogued (known from secondary-market listings)
2013	Copper, gold-plated	2013 Bitcoin Gold-Plated AOCS Approved Copper Round
2013	Copper, silver-plated	Not yet catalogued (known from secondary-market listings)
2016	Silver, proof	2016 Bitcoin Proof AOCS Approved Silver Round
2016	Silver, antiqued	2016 Bitcoin Antiqued AOCS Approved Silver Round
2020	Silver, bullion	Not yet catalogued (Blockchain Mint issue; known from secondary-market and dealer listings)
2021	Silver, bullion	Not yet catalogued (Blockchain Mint issue; known from secondary-market listings)