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Rare and unusual YubiKeys

This is my catalog of rare, unusual, and hard-to-find YubiKeys. This includes Yubico OEM keys with custom firmware (such as the Gnubby and Mt. Gox keys), prototypes, discontinued colors, and limited-edition variants.

[Pre-Yubico] PIN-on-Card prototype wanted

Described in interviews with Stina Ehrensvard as a prototype that was never released, predating formal launch of the Yubico company itself.

Yeah, it's a long shot — but one can dream!

Availability

N/A (prototype only, late 2006 and/or early 2007?)

USB ID

N/A

USB Name

N/A

Firmware

Unknown

No photo yet

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YubiKey Spin wanted

The very first YubiKey design, based on a commodity USB storage stick. Likely a low-volume production run.

A guy can dream!

Availability

May 2007 – ?

USB ID

1050:????

USB Name

Unknown

Firmware

Unknown

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YubiKey Ultra-Thin / YubiKey Touch / YubiKey Standard "v1" (black disc) wanted

The first unibody YubiKey. Note the irregularly spaced USB contacts. A different plastic is used from later keys, so the key is slightly lighter and makes a different sound when dropped on a surface.

I have one, but they are rare enough that I want to rescue as many from the landfill as feasible.

Availability

2007-08-31 – ?

USB ID

1050:0010

USB Name

Yubico Yubikey Touch

Firmware

? – 1.3.5 – ?

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YubiKey Ultra-Thin Card / YubiCard wanted

Described in interview with Stina Ehrensvard and mentioned on the Yubico site in 2007.

Availability

2007 – 2007?

USB ID

Unknown (does have a USB interface)

USB Name

Unknown

Firmware

Unknown

No photo yet

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YubiKey RFID wanted

Note that the radio symbol is larger than on the YubiKey NEO, and has two radiating lines instead of three.

Availability

2009-11-30 – ?

USB ID

Unknown

USB Name

Unknown

Firmware

2.2+ ?

Reference

Wayback Machine 2011-08-29

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OATH YubiKey (unconfirmed) wanted

No confirmed appearance information, but likely to look like the early YubiKey Standard "v2" (gold contact disc, no black dot). May have been a marketing/announcement name without a separate, physically different model.

Availability

2009-12-07 – ?

USB ID

1050:????

USB Name

Unknown

Firmware

Unknown

No photo yet

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YubiKey Standard "v2" / YubiKey II, including alternate colors wanted

Full gold disc with four connecting lines, and no black dot. Note that this model precedes the more common YubiKey Standard "v3" (that has a black dot in the middle of the gold disc). Even the default black version of this model is relatively rare these days.

Wanted: all colors (black, blue, green, red, white)

Availability

? – 2016?

USB ID

1050:0010 ?

USB Name

Unknown

Firmware

Unknown

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The Gnubby — multiple variants wanted

The "Gnubby" series are Yubico OEM hardware with proprietary Google firmware, for internal Google employee use. Fewer features than the equivalent full YubiKeys, perhaps to reduce attack surface / complexity. These keys were reportedly later replaced internally with Google's own Titan keys.

You can learn more about some variants of the Gnubby on Neil Sabol's Gnubby page.

Availability

~2012? – ? (internal to Google only)

9 known variants (click to expand):

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Symantec YubiKey VIP for trade

Specialized variant of the YubiKey Standard, in partnership with Symantec. Probably quite a few in the wild, but they don't pop up very often anymore. OATH OTP only. Different firmware from regular YubiKeys, so it's more than just a branding variant.

I have a couple for trade.

Availability

2011 – 2017?

USB ID

1050:0010 ?

USB Name

Yubico Yubikey II

Firmware

? – 2.4.1 – ?

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Mt. Gox YubiKey wanted

Specialized variant of the YubiKey Standard (gold disc with black dot), in partnership with the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange. At least 17,138 were manufactured. Different firmware from regular YubiKeys, so it's more than just a branding variant.

Availability

August 2011 – ?

USB ID

1050:????

USB Name

Unknown

Firmware

Unknown

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YubiKey Standard, alternate colors — yellow, others? wanted

Model/type is unknown, but note the lack of metal inner surface of the keyring hole — this places the model earlier in the release history.

Availability

Unknown

USB ID

1050:????

USB Name

Unknown

Firmware

? – 4.2.1 – ?

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YubiKey Plus alternate colors — red, white, green, orange wanted

Differentiated by the obvious "plus sign" symbol on the contact surface. OATH OTP, with introduction of FIDO U2F support. There were at least two different "pack" variants — a general one that includes the orange key, and a "Happy New Year" / holiday one that includes the red key.

Wanted: orange (and the lighter green shown with the orange may also be different)

Availability

2014 – 2015?

USB ID

1050:0410

USB Name

Yubikey Plus

Firmware

4.0.1 – 4.0.2 ?

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YubiKey BLE wanted

It's not clear if this Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) YubiKey development model ever got past the concept/prototype stage, beyond "released into specific pilots" in 2016.

Availability

2016-06-15? – ?

USB ID

1050:????

USB Name

Unknown

Firmware

Unknown

Reference

Yubico blog post

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Low-volume branded YubiKeys

This page lists YubiKeys with significant physical or functional differences (including specialized firmware). A number of branded YubiKeys (that are otherwise functionally ordinary) are also hard to find — see my Wanted Security Keys page.

References

• Identify your YubiKey
• Validate that your YubiKey is genuine
• Download YubiKey Manager — identify, configure, and factory reset your YubiKey
• Yubico innovation history
• Yes, standard YubiKeys can survive the washing machine
• Jakob Ehrensvard on the launch of the YubiKey

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