Here's How Collectors Got Signed Beeple "GM" Prints For Free

Alright, time to take yourself back in time. It’s 2021: crypto is hot, NFTs are hotter. Your grandma is calling you on the phone asking how to buy bitcoin, and Times Square is full of ads for the latest coin launches.

It was a weird, profitable time. If you were an active reseller or coin trader, we probably don’t need to explain.

Out of all the artists that blew up in the early days of NFTs, Beeple is probably the most recognizable. Even if you’re not into NFTs, you’ve probably seen some of his memey, shitpost-adjacent digital art at some point or another.

And 2021 was an explosive time for him. In March, his collage artwork “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” sold through Christie’s Auction House for 42,329 ETH, worth more than $63 million at the time. It remains the most expensive digital artwork ever sold.

For NFT collectors, it was a moment of vindication. The following weeks would a see a score of longform thinkpieces from “serious” minds in the art community, opining on the true value of the piece and largely dismissing Beeple and the fandom that surrounded him.

But money talks, and it was clear that the NFT was worth paying attention to. Following the sale, Beeple would continue to produce and sell valuable digital artwork. At the same time, his community Discord became a popular hangout for anyone within the space.

And it was that same Discord that would soon host one of the most lucrative giveaways of 2021. Beeple directly teased the opportunity on his Twitter the day before, but no one was quite sure what was about to happen.

On the morning of September 22, 2021, Beeple sent a message in his Discord saying “OKKKKK!!! GM EVERYONE!! the next 69 to people to say GM back will get a signed print!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

You can probably imagine the response. Beeple got back far more than just 69 GMs, but only the earliest replies would get a reward.

Following the message, the members with the fastest fingers were invited to a private channel and presented with five different artworks to vote on. In the end, the community chose his “SPACE EXPLORATION” Everyday, first posted in December 2020.

From there, the winners would have a print signed and shipped directly to them. The best part? They never had to pay a cent, not even for the shipping.

Alright, cool enough, but why bring it up now? Crypto and NFTs are definitely resurging in 2024, but these prints shipped years ago. Are they still relevant?

Last week, we sat down with RC Elite member Stroopwaffle, one of the original winners of the 2021 giveaway. Not only does he still have his print, but he shared some interesting facts about the drop, and is now looking to sell his print to the right buyer.

“I first found out about Beeple through Monstercat” Stroopwaffle said, “Some time around 2012. He was doing artwork for the label, and I liked it. I got into crypto in 2017, and had been following Beeple since.”

The opportunity to grab one of these prints was understandably very exciting for Stroopwaffle, and the rumors ahead of the giveaway and Beeple’s teasing tweet were on his mind the morning of the drop.

“I actually quit my job to get one these prints. It was 7 A.M. and I was getting ready for work, but I was also in the Beeple Discord just waiting to see what would happen. I was one of the first to say ‘GM’ and get a print, but I was about an hour late to my job that day”

“So that, along with some other stuff, made me leave that job pretty quickly afterwards. No regrets.”

“I really like this print, and I think it’s a good representation of that ‘GM’ culture that was popular at that time in crypto. You know, you were waking up every morning, saying ‘GM’ and getting it back from everyone. It was a fun time, and I think this print is a reminder of it.”

We asked Stroopwaffle what he could tell us about the original giveaway, and got some interesting information that collectors might not know.

“So first, there were 100 winners. The message said 69, but when Beeple added us to the separate channel we could see how many people actually won.”

“After the prints started shipping, a lot of people started reporting issues with the packaging. They were sent in thin tubes, no real protection, and a lot of people’s prints ended up super damaged. So Beeple paused the shipping after that, and said they would replace the damaged prints.”

Stroopwaffle received one of these early prints that came with slight damage, and received a second from Beeple free of charge. As of today, he still owns both.

This means that there are around 150 total signed Beeple “GM” prints floating around out there. Immediately after the giveaway, Stroopwaffle was offered half an ETH for his, or around $2,000 at the time.

He chose to hold onto it, and was never in a rush to sell. Since then, he’s seen at least one other person sell theirs for about $5,000, and another seller currently has their print listed on eBay for $18,000.

Stroopwaffle has decided now is the right time to sell, and has begun to take offers for his signed Beeple “GM” print. This is the second, undamaged print that was sent to him, and it was professionally framed immediately after he received it.

If you’re interested in owning a signed piece of NFT history, you can reach out to him directly on Twitter or through Discord at stroopwaffle1203.

For the rest of us, it’s an insightful story about the value of right place, right time. Sometimes all it takes to get your hands on something truly valuable is a little luck, and the willingness to wish someone else “GM”.

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