Ruby

Ruby

Rarity tier	Common
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)

{
    "title": "Ruby",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "Common",
            "label": "(link to Rarity article, displayed as Rarity tier)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes (64)",
            "label": "Stackable"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [
        "Ruby"
    ],
    "images": [
        "Ruby.png"
    ]
}

The Ruby was an item planned to be added in Java Edition 1.3.1 as a currency for trading with villagers, but was replaced with emeralds to make it more visually distinct from redstone.

Obtaining

Rubies were obtained from mining ruby ore and from trading with villagers, in the same way as the emeralds that replaced them.

Usage

Rubies were used for purchasing items from villagers, and would presumably have been craftable into blocks of ruby.

History

Rubies were intended to be the original currency used for trading. They could be seen in a screenshot released by Jeb on 21 May 2012, in which the trading system was first being tested. While it was later decided that emeralds would take their place as a currency, a ruby texture was still in Java Edition 12w21a's items.png file alongside the emerald. The unused ruby texture which was present in the game differed from the version shown in the screenshot.

Alongside emeralds, 12w21a also implemented emerald ore as a method of obtaining them. However, the texture used for emerald ore was accidentally set to a texture seemingly intended for ruby ore, and translation strings in the game's language files included references to rubies and ruby ore:

• item.ruby.name=Ruby
• tile.oreRuby.name=Ruby Ore

Java Edition 12w21b was swiftly released to give emerald ore its intended release texture, and the translation strings were removed in the full release of Java Edition 1.10.

Emeralds were decided upon over rubies as Dinnerbone stated he had red-green color blindness, and had difficulty distinguishing between ruby ore and redstone ore.

Despite being completely unused throughout its existence in the game files, it, like the quiver, inexplicably survived the splitting of items.png and remained in the game as an unused texture file for much longer than expected. It even beat the quiver in longevity, remaining unused in the game for close to a decade prior to its removal in Java Edition 21w13a.

The texture was added to Pocket Edition in Pocket Edition v0.8.0 alpha build 2. It was eventually removed in the first v0.14.0 build, but later re-added and is still present in the vanilla resource pack. The texture was also added to Xbox 360 Edition in TU9, and remained in the console editions until TU54 and equivalent versions, in which it was replaced by one of the textures used for bed items.

The name "Ruby" was reused for a currency in the now-discontinued game Minecraft Earth, using completely different textures from those present in the main game.

Rubies were reimplemented as a joke feature in 23w13a_or_b snapshot, where they could replace the Emerald item model via a specific vote.

Java Edition
May 21, 2012							Jeb shares a screenshot of rubies.
1.3			12w21a				Added textures for rubies and ruby ore.
			12w21b				Removed ruby ore texture.
1.17			21w13a				Removed ruby texture.
23w13a_or_b							Rubies can replace emeralds through the "rubies" vote.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.8.0			build 2				Added ruby texture.
Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU9	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added ruby texture.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Removed ruby texture.

Gallery

• 

  Jeb's screenshot showing rubies.

• 

  The unreleased ruby texture as seen in Jeb's screenshot

• 

  The unused ruby texture present in released Minecraft versions

• 

  Emerald ore in its first iteration, using the "ruby ore" texture

• 

  Emerald ore in its second iteration, using its intended texture

• 

  An alternative design for rubies, in the form of a recolored programmer art emerald.