“The Appraisal”
11″ x 15″ watercolor
Overview
A modern-day alchemist, artist Steven Minnaar turns his art into money – Minnaar money. Each Minnaar artwork is a currency in and of itself because it can be traded straight across for any other Minnaar made available now or in the future.
These artworks are “created to be traded” the the total number of Minnaars will be limited to a total of 10,000. Additionally, each Minnaar contains a clue to a Hidden Bitcoin Treasure containing over one full bitcoin.
The Bitcoin Treasure
The private key to the bitcoin address below was created with a randomized 24-word passphrase. Each Minnaar contains one or more of these words. Collect and trade Minnaars to pick up all the words and then see if you can put them in the right combination to generate the private key. If you are successful, you can take the following bitcoin:
1LJUoadJQnEPf6G8u76KFesWJs1MA4S1hA
Current Balance:
1.00224628 BTC
Current Value of One Bitcoin:
This treasure is 100% community funded by Collectors, Traders and Treasure Hunters. You can collect or trade Minnaars to pick up more words.
Exchange Value
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One Minnaar = One Minnaar
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One Minnaar always equals One Minnaar which means each Minnaar can be traded straight across for any other available Minnaar now or in the future.
2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor and pencil
Fractional Minnaars
A Fractional Minnaar is one of multiple pieces that make up a complete Minnaar and they are sold individually at a fraction of the price.
Each Fractional Minnaar contains 1 of the 24 words that can unlock the Bitcoin Treasure when arranged in the right combination.
Rarity
10,000 original Minnaar Money artworks will be created and released over a 10-year period beginning June 6, 2021 and the price goes up by $1 with each new release – arriving at $10,000 per Minnaar when the final piece is completed.
Stats
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CURRENT PRICE OF ONE MINNAAR
$1,315
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FRACTIONAL MINNAAR STARTING PRICE
$25
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TOTAL SCHEDULED SUPPLY
10,000
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SOLD TO DATE
1,425
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RELEASED TO DATE
1315
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How To Get Your Minnaar Money
You can choose from available inventory or you can pre-order now to lock-in today’s price and make your selection later as new releases become available.
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Q & A with Steven Minnaar
Steven Minnaar – Self Portrait
30″ x 22″ watercolor
What is Minnaar Money?
Minnaar Money are a collection of original artworks that I create and release weekly. I call them “Minnaar Money” because each Minnaar can be exchanged for any other Minnaar that I have available now or in the future. Each contains a clue to a hidden bitcoin treasure and total supply will be limited to 10,000 artworks created over the coming years.
What is your story?
I am just a guy who loves freedom and art!
“CD” 15″ × 18″ watercolor.
Tell us about your art…
The Minnaar Money Collection is a real-time diary of my creative journey. Through this collection, I challenge people to examine their perceptions of art, money and value. My work is mostly whimsical, sometimes serious, and quite often just odd.
I want people to not only trade and experience as many of my artworks as possible but to also interact and connect with one another. To incentivize this I created the 1 to 1 exchange value and added the clues to the hidden bitcoin treasure. Now, for the price of one Minnaar Money, a person can experience and enjoy as many artworks as they can trade while meeting new and interesting people along the way.
When I begin each day I may only have a basic idea what I am going to create. I set the intention and then let the universe tell me what it wants. The only constants are that Minnaars are exchangeable one-to-one and each artwork is physical and tangible.
There is a world of difference between experiencing a work of art in real life compared to viewing a picture of it on a 3-inch screen. You cannot experience the true scale, color, texture and impact when looking at a tiny digital reproduction through your phone or computer. This is why I created the bitcoin treasure. Collectors must trade and experience my art in order to pick up the clues to the hidden treasure.
You once said that Minnaar Money is a “cryptic” currency as opposed to a “crypto-currency” – why is that?
Minnaar Money is a “cryptic” currency because many people don’t get it at first. Once they realize that the collection is one giant conceptual piece, they become enthusiastic about it.
Minnaar Money even has its own blockchain (see #’s 00404 thru 00413) and it is secured by “proof of artwork”. I create only a handful of artworks each week so supply is extremely limited and naturally regulated.
“Artist’s Blocks” forming a “blockchain”
You have a broad range of styles, mediums and sizes ranging from large pieces all the way down to very small pieces which some collectors have called “miniature masterpieces” and “rich man’s trading cards”. What can you say about the range of work that you create?
I believe one of my strengths is the ability to see things in a different way and to then translate these ideas into a variety of sizes, mediums and surfaces. I enjoy creating small works just as much as I enjoy creating large works and they each have their own appeal. I paint every day and I find that changing it up allows me to stay fresh as I can move freely between various sizes and mediums.
There is nothing more satisfying to me than to start with an idea and then turn it into something tangible. To grow, imagine and create – that is the essence of life in my opinion.
18″ x 22.5″ watercolor
Tell us about the Bitcoin Treasure…
The Bitcoin Treasure is a private key that controls over 1 full bitcoin. Each of my artworks contains one of 24 words that can generate the “private key” when arranged in the right combination. It was created using a special randomization script so no one – including myself – knows the correct order. It is funded by collectors and traders and anybody can add to the balance.
The odds of getting the right combination are incredibly remote because there are so many possible combinations. Nevertheless, all it takes is the right guess and it can happen on the first try or the billionth try once you have collected all 24 words.
Imagine what the bitcoin will be worth generations from now if it remains unclaimed. Can you see your great grandkids having fun trying to crack the code with their supercomputers?
30″ x 22″ Watercolor
Which Minnaar Money are you most proud of and why?
Ah, there are so many! Here are just a few (click on the images to magnify):
00108 – “The Cure” – Historically significant, I painted this soon after the pandemic started and the lockdowns were put into place. The audacity to declare some jobs “non-essential” was an insult to humanity. This painting came to me in a dream and it was born out of this frustration. It represents the heavy-handed response that caused far more harm than good. I actually carried this painting in several lockdown protests in Southern California. 00378 thru 00381 were also in response to the lockdowns.
00124 – I love this one due to its sheer eroticism. The expression on the lips, the posture, the hand…and the marbling texture of the breast. Charcoal is such a sensual medium to work with because you are able to blend and shape it with your hands.
00531 and 00550 I love these for their overall mood – they are both quite large and amazing to see in real life.
00356 thru 00367 – “Secrets of The Universe” I love this series because it truly does contain the secrets of the universe. They came to me through divine inspiration but I have not figured out what they mean yet…
00439 and 00438 – I love these two for the colors, composition, and the expressions. Similar yet different.
00377 – “Pleasure and Pain” – Freud would have something to say about this one…
01029 “Walking Around Money” These are my smelly, old Converse shoes. They have served me well and I turned them into money – Minnaar Money #01029.
They are size 10.5 and could use a serious deodorizing. I wear them frequently and will continue to do so until someone trades me for them.
00556 – “The Pursuit of Happiness” – This one also came to me in a dream. I think it is self-explanatory…
If you could summarize, what makes Minnaar Money valuable?
Each collector has their own reasons for acquiring my art and there are as many reasons as there are collectors. For some it is aesthetics. For others it is the conceptual themes that surface throughout the collection. For many it is the community. Then there are the treasure hunters and speculators. I am always interested to see what inspires people to own a Minnaar. For me, an artwork must stir something inside which causes the inescapable desire to possess it.
How To Get Minnaar Money
You can choose from available inventory or you can pre-order now to lock-in today’s price and make your selection later as new releases become available.