Today's reveal is a very exciting post for me on a personal level. Recently, we released the inaugural batch of Strenue Mint Mark fractional .999 gold buttons and bars. Each button and bar has been melted down from larger .999 fine gold bars.

I have teamed up with a very talented group who make the magic happen behind the scenes in their workshop. I provide the .999 gold bars, then it is over to the very talented team get to work melting, moulding and stamping the buttons and bars.

Below is a photo of the graphite moulds that get used measure the buttons and bars. The rectangular moulds in the foreground of the photo are for the 10g bars, the other moulds are used for the 1g and 5g buttons. The team are meticulous and ensure that they weigh each button and bar multiple times to make absolutely certain the weight is accurate. Each button and bar is actually slightly over its designated weigh. This is done as we would rather the buttons and bars be a fraction over in weigh than risk them being under weight.

Once the gold has been melted and moulded, it is then ready for the stamping process. The photo below was taken while the Strenue Mint Mark stamp was still being developed, manufactured and tested.

There are two different Strenue stamp sizes, the smaller stamps are used for the 1g and 2.5g buttons, while the larger stamps are used for the 5g button and the 10g bar.

What is Strenue?

At this point in the post, you might be asking yourself, what is Strenue, what is the back story and what is the design of the Strenue Mint Mark.

Well, Strenue is actually the motto from the coat of arms during my school days. The word strenue is Latin and it means 'to strive' or 'to be active'. Throughout my school days and subsequently throughout my life, I have endeavoured to live by this motto. In every thing I do, I strive to be my best and make sure that I am actively moving forward towards my goals, dreams and aspirations.

My time on HIVE and my many years of silver and gold stacking are testament to my life's motto. Being active every day on HIVE and in silver and gold stacking is the foundation that I need for me to be able to attain my goals and desires for both of these endeavours.

The Strenue logo is a Black Swan which correlates with my contrarian world view of always being prepared for the black swan event that could shock the world economy. Gold and silver are the tried and tested wealth preservers and insurance hedge against a Black Swan event and have been for centuries. Cryptocurrency appears to be a great modern alternative insurance hedge and in my opinion, HIVE is one of the best cryptocurrency platforms that I have come across, plus it still have so much upside potential.

On a more personal level, the Black Swan logo also represents the beautiful black swans that live in the lake near our house.

And finally, the Swan has been designed to be a stylised 'S' to tie it into the Strenue name.

1g, 5g buttons and 10g bars

For the first batch of Strenue Mint Mark buttons and bars, we decided to pour 1g, 5g buttons and 10g bars. We are already in the planning stages for the second batch in which we will introduce a 2.5g button to the Strenue family of .999 gold bullion items.

The photo below shows the 10g bar alongside the 1g and 5g buttons.

10g, 5g and 1g displayed together

For people who are not that familiar with the size of gold buttons and bars, I have included a photo below that shows the buttons and bars alongside a 1937 Silver Crown coin.

I am also working an a future post where I will talk in more detail about the dimensions of each of the bars and buttons.

1937 Silver Crown in photo to provide context for size

I love the photo below, because it makes me feel like a mini millionaire, with my stack of gold bullion. Unfortunately, the gold stack in the photo is not worth anything near a million dollars, but it is nice to pretend.

10g .999 gold bars are a really great size to have in your stack and they are a lot more affordable than buying a full 1oz .999 gold coin or bar. The other great aspect is that you do not have to be too precious with them, like you need to be with gold coins in capsules. Although I always use cotton gloves when working with my bullion, these little bars are great to hold and look at up close.

10g gold bars

The 5g gold button is also a great size and is even more afforable than the 10g gold bar. I have also found these to be extremely popular and tend to sell out very quickly.

5g gold button - front

5g gold button - back

The little 1g gold buttons are very cute, if that is a description you can use to describe precious metals. They are tiny and the 1g gold buttons really do give you an appreciation of the value of gold. One of these 1g buttons currently sells for between the AU$90 - AU$100 on the secondary market, but when you see how small they are, it kind of makes your jaw drop.

One day when inflation is running rampant and the zombie apocalypse has taken of the world, having a bag of these little babies will be very handy to trade for goods and services... hahaha. Although, there may never be a zombie apocalypse, we are almost guaranteed to have very high inflation in the years to come, so there is a strong likelihood that these buttons and bars will be a useful trade item to have in your possession.

1g gold button - front

1g gold button - back

The last few photos are just a bit of fun, because it is almost Christmas, so I used the gold buttons and bars to make some Christmas patterns. We have a Christmas star, a Christmas wreath, a Christmas snowflake, a Christmas tree and a fresh batch of gingerbread cookies.

The last photo is to be a bit cheeky, we could not leave out the New World Order, their symbolic Pyramid with an all seeing eye, now could we.

Conclusion

It has been a long road getting these buttons and bars to this point, but we are very happy with the result and very excited about their prospects.

Although we have only done a very conservative and soft launch of the Strenue buttons and bars, so far the support and excitement for them has been great. I will continue to keep you updated and write more posts about these little beauties, sharing how they are doing in the secondary market.

I would really love to hear your feedback on the .999 gold buttons and bars. Any feedback is good feedback. Our regular customers have already shared some of their feedback, some of that feedback is already being incorporated into our next batch of buttons and bars.

Keep striving and being active out there folks. Always remember your goals and dreams are totally achievable when you actively do what is required to make them a reality.

Post authored by @strenue