Within the unique world of rare satoshis (sats), the Rodarmor Rarity Index can be thought of as the starting point of it all. It resonates deeply with collectors, as this set of satoshis is defined in the specifications of the Ordinals Protocol itself. Named after its creator, Casey Rodarmor, this index is based on the order in which satoshis are mined, in a way that each bitcoin block produces one type of rare sat. The first satoshi mined in a block is an uncommon sat, while the first sat of a block setting a new difficulty adjustment period is a rare sat. The difficulty adjustment happens roughly every two weeks. The Halving Every four years, bitcoin’s issuance per block halves –– an event known as the halving. The first sat of the halving block is an epic sat. Every six halvings, the halving and the difficulty adjustment coincide –– a conjunction marking a cycle. The first conjunction should happen sometime in 2032, and that block will produce a legendary sat. The Mythic Sat Lastly, there is the mythic sat, the first sat of the genesis block and the rarest of all sats. Now, due to the properties of that block, this sat is unspendable and as such impossible to be transferred or acquired.

Within the unique world of rare sats, the Rodarmor Rarity Index can be thought of as the starting point of it all.

Rodarmor Rarity Index Sats

Sat names are allocated using an algorithm that iterates through nearly every combination of letters, with a limit of up to 11 letters. By pure chance, given the massive supply of satoshis, some receive names that make up multiple words and have a meaning. Within the set of Sat Names, there are Rodarmor Names. These relate to the fact that when bitcoin developer Casey Rodarmor invented Ordinals Theory and wrote its accompanying Handbook, he postulated the existence of 12,450 satoshis –– out of 21 quadrillion –– which received a human-readable name. All sat names are unique, and as such provide a remarkable canvas on which the artist can craft its creation.

Sat names are allocated using an algorithm that iterates through nearly every combination of letters, with a limit of up to 11 letters.

Sat Names

Black sats take a spin on the classic Rodarmor Rarity Index by representing not the first sat but rather the last sat of each bitcoin block. Therefore, a black uncommon sat is the last sat of each block; a black rare sat is the last sat of the last block before a difficulty adjustment; and a black epic sat is the last sat of the last block before the halving.

Black Sats take a spin on the classic Rodarmor Rarity Index by representing the last sat of each bitcoin block.

Black Sats

The infamous darknet market Silk Road was, albeit controversial, the world’s first marketplace where Bitcoin was used as the base currency. As such, the market Ross Ulbricht created in 2011 will be forever etched onto the history of the world’s first cryptocurrency. Silk Road quickly became popular, driving many users across the world to use Bitcoin (BTC) to buy a myriad of things on the internet. Just as Bitcoin, Silk Road was fully permissionless. Consequently, the goods and services being sold in exchange for bitcoin was quite diverse, and as such the illegality of some of them started to pique the interest of law enforcement officers. Eventually, Ulbricht’s identity was uncovered, and the then-young man was sentenced to life in prison. As a result of his arrest, law enforcement also seized thousands of bitcoins from the Silk Road marketplace, which it would then put up for auction in 2014. VC investor Tim Draper acquired the lot of 3,000 BTC for an undisclosed amount. Today, these bitcoins are in circulation, and became known as "Silk Road sats" –– a unique piece of bitcoin history. Out of billions of Silk Road sats, only 829 are uncommons and 870 are black uncommons, none of which have been inscribed on to date.

The infamous darknet market Silk Road was, albeit controversial, the world’s first marketplace where Bitcoin was used as the base currency.

Silk Road

Satoshis mined in Block 9 were used by bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto in the first ever peer-to-peer transaction in bitcoin’s history, when he sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney. Nakamoto sent Finney 1 billion satoshis in that transaction, but the first 100 million satoshis are particularly special because they represent the first full bitcoin to ever be put in circulation in the bitcoin network. Those sats, ranging from sat number 45,000,000,000 to 45,099,999,999, will forever be bitcoin’s pioneering sats –– which were used at a time when only two people in the whole world were using bitcoin.

Satoshis mined in Block 9 were used by Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto in the first ever peer-to-peer transaction in Bitcoin’s history, when he sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney.

Block 9 450X

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Sotheby's is thrilled to present Bitcoin Ordinals: Sat Hunting, curated by SatRepublic, const_quary, btcsplitter and Rare B.TC by Bitcoin Magazine. This special curation will be a deep dive into the world of rare satoshis (sats), featuring the most notable categories of these fascinating digital collectibles on the Bitcoin blockchain. A market that blossomed out of the invention of Ordinals, rare sats introduce a layer of uniqueness and rarity to otherwise fungible and ordinary bitcoins, transforming them into collectible, historical artifacts. From rarity rankings idealized by Ordinals inventor Casey Rodarmor to categories organically spun out of the bitcoin community, rare sats stand as more than just a component of Bitcoin's blockchain; they are a new form of digital asset, combining inherent monetary value with historical significance.