Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap

Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle cap is an uncommon miscellaneous item in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background
Some time after the Courier finds at least one of these caps, a man named Malcolm Holmes, a retired collector of these prized caps, will approach the player and warn that the caps are highly sought after by collectors who will kill for them. He says sometimes people can be so crazed that they will attack strangers if they simply believe they have any. He also warns to steer clear of a man named Allen Marks, who is said to have killed at least six people for the caps and is somewhat of a professional collector.

The caps are thought to be very valuable, according to a legend they allow access to a secret treasure guarded by a man named Festus. When asked about Festus, Malcolm says he has been guarding the treasure since before the Great War, which he says, "Would make him pretty damn old." He states that he has met a few people who claim they have actually seen Festus, and that these people "aren’t the lying type". The treasure’s contents are unknown, although Malcolm hints that it could be money, technology, or other pre-War items whose actual value is unknown. They are apparently still occasionally found, as the treasure's guardian still distributes them.

Characteristics
Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle caps are a rare variant of the Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle cap, featuring a blue star on the underside of the cap. The star glows blue, though dimly. These caps have a 1-in-20 (5%) chance of being found when drinking a bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla, and otherwise can be found in various locations throughout the Mojave Wasteland. These caps are part of the quest The Legend of the Star and thus cannot be sold. Once the quest is completed picking up a Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle cap will simply add to the player's total bottle cap count.

Associated prize
After finding at least 50 Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle caps, the player can approach Festus at the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters, which will initiate the directly associated quests, The Legend of the Star and A Valuable Lesson. Completing these quests will lead the player to the prize for collecting these rare caps. About 1500 regular bottle caps, 319 toy deputy badges (which have no monetary value), and Pew Pew, a unique laser pistol.

Variants

 * Sunset Sarsaparilla - In terms of game items they are considered a separate item; however, picking up a Sunset Sarsaparilla cap simply adds to the player's total bottle cap count.
 * Bottle cap - Standard Nuka-Cola bottle caps featuring 21 crimps and ridges, used as the basic form of currency throughout the wasteland.
 * Counterfeit bottle caps - Can be found inside the Cap Counterfeiting Shack. These "fake caps" appear identical to standard Nuka-Cola bottle caps, but have no trade value and cannot be used for any monetary purpose.

Locations
The following is a list of locations of the 100 star bottle caps that can be found throughout the Mojave Wasteland. Additionally, these caps can occasionally be acquired from non-player characters or by drinking Sunset Sarsaparilla. Also killing or, if you don't care about negative karma, pickpocketing Malcolm Holmes (the man who approaches you) can reward you with 6 caps from the start. Tomas and Jacklyn (found near Nipton), can net the player 9 more.

Random locations

 * 7-9 star caps can be found between Nipton and the Nipton Road Pit Stop, where the player will find Tomas and Jacklyn embroiled in a gunfight. If Tomas dies, the player can talk to Jacklyn and confront her about the Sarsaparilla star bottle caps, at which point she will attack. Killing her will enable looting 2 star bottle caps from her body, then 5 - 7 more from Tomas' body. If Tomas kills Jacklyn, he will not attack the player, and acquisition of all nine caps will involve pickpocketing, killing, or convincing Tomas to give up his caps with a Speech skill of 50. In either scenario, the victor in the scuffle may loot the star caps off their fallen opponent, enabling the player to gather all 9 caps from one person.
 * 6 star caps can be found on Malcolm Holmes.
 * Norton, the leader of the mercenaries attacking Jacobstown, has 1 star cap.
 * The player can initiate the mini-game encountered within dialogue with Festus, which will randomly award star caps. The mini-game can be played ad infinitum, enabling the player to rack up a star cap every 5–10 minutes.
 * A wastelander may appear fighting some scorpions when the player is travelling to Scorpion Gulch. He will be carrying a Sunset Sarsaparilla star cap on his body should he die during the confrontation. The wastelander will respawn after three days, at which point another star cap can be acquired from him.
 * Sergeant Daniel Contreras at Camp McCarran occasionally sells some.

Behind the scenes

 * According to JE Sawyer, the star is a reference to the Tootsie Pop urban legend, i.e. being able to redeem 100 wrappers depicting a young Native American shooting a star for a free Tootsie Pop.