Journal · Collector’s Guide
The Bitcoin by Korth: A .357 Revolver in a Cryptex
The Bitcoin by Korth is a .357 Magnum revolver that comes locked in a cryptex, and the code that opens the case is the gun’s own serial number. Korth limits the edition to 210 worldwide, a nod to the 21 million bitcoin that will ever exist, and the frame and barrel are covered in circuit-board lines of 24-karat gold inlaid by hand. Ours is No. 30 of 210, and it is part of our own collection.
Why Korth limited The Bitcoin to 210
Korth is a small German maker of high-end revolvers and pistols. Willi Korth, a railway engineer, founded the company in 1954 and started out with gas revolvers before moving on to firearms. Since 2009 its headquarters have been in Lollar, near Giessen. According to Wikipedia, a standard Korth revolver takes about four months to build and is roughly 70 percent hand work.
The Bitcoin protocol caps the total supply at 21 million coins. Korth set the production run at 210 revolvers worldwide, and Nighthawk Custom, which carries Korth revolvers in the United States, says just a few dozen of them are coming to America. By our own arithmetic, 21 million divided by 210 is 100,000 coins per revolver.
Korth also says it will destroy the tooling and the software used to make the gun once all 210 are produced.
The cryptex: a case that opens with the serial number
A cryptex is a cylinder locked by a row of lettered dials, best known from Dan Brown’s 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, where one hides a message that can only be reached when the dials are lined up correctly. The Firearm Blog calls Korth’s case Da Vinci Code-inspired, and it works the same way: set the right code and the inner case slides free; any other setting and it stays shut.
Korth designed and built this one in-house. It was machined from 185 pounds of raw aluminum and is made of 84 precision-machined parts. It opens only when the code matches the revolver’s serial number, so we don’t print our serial here.
We counted six wheels on ours. Each one is engraved with the letters A to Z and the digits 0 to 9, 36 positions per wheel. Six wheels of 36 positions give 36 to the sixth power, about 2.18 billion possible settings.
When the wheels line up, the inner case slides out of the cylinder. Inside, the revolver rests in a quilted, hand-stitched leather pouch.
Gold circuit lines, inlaid by hand
According to Nighthawk Custom, the frame carries 1.7 ounces of 24-karat gold, inlaid by hand into precision-cut engravings, then mirror polished and finished in Korth’s deep bluing. Laid end to end, the gold inlay would stretch nearly 20 feet.
The pattern reads like the traces on a circuit board: thin parallel gold lines that run along the barrel and cylinder, turn corners around the frame and end in small round pads.
One side of the frame carries a gold-colored Bitcoin medallion. The other side carries a gold-colored Korth medallion in the same place.
On the barrel, the name is lettered in gold: THE BITCOIN by KORTH.
The hammer, trigger, sights and screws are gold-colored as well.
Deep bluing and the grips
Around the gold is Korth’s deep bluing, mirror polished. While filming we found that bright light made the polished frame throw back a silver sheen that washed out the color, so we chose the shots taken under softer light.
The grips are a dark resin with gold wire and gold-colored flecks set into it.
Why we don’t work the action
We don’t operate the action on this revolver. We don’t swing out the cylinder, cock the hammer or dry-fire it, to keep the risk of handling and wear marks on a mirror-polished, gold-inlaid finish as low as we can. All the motion in our video comes from the case: turning the wheels and drawing out the inner case.
So this article describes the gun at rest; we have no trigger or lockup impressions to report.
Specifications
| Item | The Bitcoin by Korth |
|---|---|
| Maker | Korth, Lollar, Germany |
| Type | Revolver |
| Cartridge | .357 Magnum |
| Finish | Korth deep bluing, mirror polished |
| Inlay | About 1.7 oz of 24-karat gold, inlaid by hand, nearly 20 ft laid end to end |
| Markings | Gold-colored Bitcoin medallion on one side of the frame, Korth medallion on the other, THE BITCOIN by KORTH on the barrel |
| Grips | Dark resin with gold wire and gold-colored flecks |
| Production | Limited to 210 worldwide; a few dozen for the US, per Nighthawk Custom |
| Barrel length, weight, capacity | Not published by Korth or Nighthawk Custom |
| Ours | No. 30 of 210 |
| Case | Korth cryptex, 185 lb of raw aluminum, 84 parts, six wheels of A–Z and 0–9 |
On the floor at OSA
The Bitcoin by Korth in these photos is part of our own collection. For another Korth, see our engraved Korth revolver with Wall Street’s history in steel and gold. If a fine revolver is your kind of gun, these pieces in our case share something with it:
- Colt Python .357 Magnum, 5 inch, blued, with factory box: the other famous .357 Magnum revolver known for its deep blued finish.
- Smith & Wesson 586-2 .357 Magnum, 8 inch target, South Africa export: a blued .357 Magnum revolver with a long target barrel.
- Nighthawk Custom Lady Hawk 1911 in 9mm: from Nighthawk Custom, which carries Korth revolvers in the United States.
- 1917 Webley Mark VI revolver: a British service revolver, for the opposite end of the revolver story.
The grid below updates by itself as pieces come and go.
1917 Webley Mark VI Revolver .45 ACP Conversion British WWI Service Revolver$849.00
Colt Python .357 Magnum 5 Inch Blued Like New with Factory Box$1,200.00
Smith & Wesson 586-2 .357 Magnum 8 Inch Target South Africa Export 95% Blue$1,049.00The short version is on our Instagram. Watch it on Instagram.
General information for collectors, not legal advice. Production figures and build details come from Nighthawk Custom and published coverage; serial number details are deliberately withheld.
Common Questions
What is The Bitcoin by Korth?
It is a limited-run .357 Magnum revolver from the German maker Korth, finished in deep mirror-polished bluing with circuit-board lines of 24-karat gold inlaid by hand, and delivered in a cryptex case that opens with the revolver’s serial number.How many Bitcoin by Korth revolvers will be made?
The edition is limited to 210 worldwide, which Nighthawk Custom calls a nod to the 21 million bitcoin that will ever exist. Nighthawk says just a few dozen are coming to the United States.How does the Korth cryptex case open?
The case is a cryptex with lettered code wheels. It opens only when the wheels are set to the revolver’s serial number; then the inner case slides out. Ours has six wheels, each with A to Z and 0 to 9, which gives about 2.18 billion possible settings.How much gold is inlaid in The Bitcoin by Korth?
According to Nighthawk Custom, about 1.7 ounces of 24-karat gold, inlaid by hand into precision-cut engravings and then mirror polished. Laid end to end, the inlay would stretch nearly 20 feet.What caliber is The Bitcoin by Korth, and who makes it?
It is a .357 Magnum revolver made by Korth, the German revolver maker founded by Willi Korth in 1954 and based in Lollar since 2009.Will Korth make more after 210?
Korth says it will destroy the tooling and software used to make the revolver once all 210 are produced.Sources
- Nighthawk Custom, “The Bitcoin Revolver” — https://www.nighthawkcustom.com/revolvers/the-bitcoin-revolver (.357 Magnum, deep bluing and mirror polish, Korth revolvers carried in the US, 210 worldwide for the 21 million cap, a few dozen for the US, cryptex designed and made in-house by Korth from 185 lb of aluminum with 84 parts, opening on the serial number, hand-stitched leather pouch, 1.7 oz of 24-karat gold inlaid by hand and polished, nearly 20 feet, tooling and software to be destroyed)
- The Firearm Blog, “Wheelgun Wednesday: The Bitcoin by Korth” — https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wheelgun-wednesday-the-bitcoin-by-korth-44820703 (circuit board pattern, Da Vinci Code-inspired cryptex with six code wheels, interior case slides out)
- Wikipedia, “Korth” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korth (founded 1954 by Willi Korth, railway engineer, gas revolvers, Lollar from 2009, about four months and 70 percent hand work per revolver)
- Wikipedia, “Bitcoin” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin (supply capped at 21 million)
- Wikipedia, “The Da Vinci Code” (redirect from Cryptex) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptex (2003 novel by Dan Brown; cryptex with lettered dials that unlock when lined up correctly)