Cook Islands To Issue Detective Conan Coins

“… looking as delighted as a child with a new toy.”

– A Study in Scarlet (STUD)

The government of the Cook Islands announced in late July that they would be striking two coins to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Detective Conan.

In 1994, a Japanese detective manga series called Detective Conan was launched and since that time over 800 television anime episodes and 20 films have been produced.

The main premise of Detective Conan has a teenage Shinichi Kudo who is a detective that sometimes helps the police, especially battling a crime syndicate called the Black Organization. Members of the syndicate attack Kudo and force him to drink a poison. Rather than killing Kudo, the poison transforms him into a child. Kudo assumes the alias of Conan Edogawa and moves in with a childhood friend, whose father is a detective. For more background on Detective Conan, check out the Wikipedia page.

OBVERSE: QUEEN ELIZABETH II COOK ISLANDS / (bust of Queen Elizabeth II, facing right) / 2016

REVERSE: DETECTIVE (keyhole) CONAN (key) / 20th / Anniversary / (Conan Edogawa, wearing a deerstalker cap, sitting) / (filigree) $10 (filigree)

18 mm, .999 gold (1.2 grams), Round, 2,000 minted

The gold coin is packaged in a book-style music box case. The cover features Conan in his Holmes costume. Inside has a picture of Conan and an autograph by Gosho Aoyama, the writer and illustrator of the series since inception. The song featured is the Detective Conan main theme.

OBVERSE: QUEEN ELIZABETH II COOK ISLANDS / (bust of Queen Elizabeth II, facing right) / 2016

REVERSE: DETECTIVE / CONAN / 20th / Anniversary / (Conan Edogawa (front), sitting in a chair with a deerstalker wearing Shinichi Kudo, with London Bridge and a colorized Big Ben in the background) / $2

38 mm, .999 silver, Round, 5,000 minted

The silver coin arrives in a faux leather case. Both coins also come with the appropriate certificate of authenticities.

Prices for the gold coin is 39,800 yen (plus consumption tax), while the silver coin is 19,800 yen (plus consumption tax). There’s also a separate shipping and handling charge (600 yen plus consumption tax). As of September 20th, the complete cost comes to 65,016 yen, which converts to just under $640 USD for the two coins.

Pre-orders are being accepted at this time.  Coins will not ship until November 2016. For those interested in ordering these coins, click HERE.

Thanks to the 13th Garrideb, Peter E. Blau, for alerting us to this new issue.