Rare/Bizarre Merchandise

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

That almost looks like the Batmobile.

I'm going to guess that the two selections on the record are
A: The theme from the TV show
B: Uran's theme.
This record is from the 1980 series, I can tell by the way Uran is dressed.

[Rejoyce]

...But why are there two headless people in the car and only one head?

[Kitty Lue]

.....Good question. O.o
Yet another reason why it belongs in this thread. xD

[jeffbert]

[QUOTE=Rejoyce;241962]So does this person have a headless Astro figure now?...

It's a possibility...

[url]http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w157856538[/url]

[img]http://auctions.c.yimg.jp/images.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/image/dr000/auc0211/users/7/8/3/2/blackbird1006-img337x599-1479602356zvpwh43610.jpg[/img]

Don't know if I can ever top headless Atom or Atom's head on a bicycle light, but here's a a few extra rare/bizarre things...

An old Astro Boy record...

[url]http://page23.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/o163700054[/url]

click for spoiler[img]http://auctions.c.yimg.jp/images.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/image/dr000/auc0211/users/9/0/9/5/amichag007-img600x450-1479684122lhddun18335.jpg[/img]

An Astro Boy projector gun...

[url]http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n174683673[/url]

click for spoiler[img]http://auctions.c.yimg.jp/images.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/image/ra173/users/5/5/2/5/yumerin0105-img273x293-1465140192gimyqz22209.jpg[/img]

[img]http://auctions.c.yimg.jp/images.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/image/ra173/users/5/5/2/5/yumerin0105-img285x380-1465140192fcgk5i22209.jpg[/img]

Atom figure with an alternate color scheme from one of the manga covers...

[url]http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w156784558[/url]

click for spoiler[img]http://auctions.c.yimg.jp/images.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/image/dr184/auc0211/users/9/7/6/8/m32u33o36-img450x600-1352701687cssw4r20679.jpg[/img]

And lastly, a Jetter Mars figure in which you can plug in his chest to make his head and ears glow.

[url]http://page3.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/c578346615[/url]

click for spoiler

taketikahiro2-img600x450-14795505065lwxhp11660.jpg (30.31 KiB) Viewed 3694 times

taketikahiro2-img450x600-1479550530dzcql58769.jpg (25.25 KiB) Viewed 3694 times

taketikahiro2-img450x600-1479550552nvdqd96109.jpg (26.81 KiB) Viewed 3697 times

[/QUOTE]
way cute; especially the JM stuff!

[DrFrag]

I'm going to guess that the two selections on the record are
A: The theme from the TV show
B: Uran's theme.
This record is from the 1980 series, I can tell by the way Uran is dressed.

A
鉄腕アトム - "Mighty Atom" - The opening credits in Japanese
未来に向って - "Towards the Future" - The closing credits in Japanese
B
愛の星 - "Star of Love" - ???
フウムーンのテーマ - "Fumoon's Theme" - From Tezuka's Fumoon anime.

Uran's Theme is ウランのテーマ, so it's not on this record. I check for Astro's joint lines, chest panel, and 5 eyelashes to spot the 80s series.

[Shiyonasan]

Someone on Yahoo Japan auctions is selling a nice-looking 2003 Astro Boy coin set:

http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f201034428

click for spoiler









EDIT: Also, if you have the equivalent of 198,000 yen to spare, someone's selling an original manuscript of a page from the Robio and Robiette story from the Astro Boy manga. Talk about rare!

http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e207930225

click for spoiler

[DrFrag]

Someone on Yahoo Japan auctions is selling a nice-looking 2003 Astro Boy coin set:

http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f201034428

click for spoiler

I have this one as well as the "Proof Coin Set":

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Birth-of-ASTRO-BOY-2003-Proof-Coin-Set-Japan-Mint-inc-SILVER-Medallion-/272249009189

click for spoiler



I don't know much about coins so I don't know why they did two sets, but I remember the Proof one being more expensive. I guess because of the fancy medallion in the middle.

But the strangest Astro Boy coins have got to be the Sierra Leone ones...

Set of 3 $10 silver coins. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2003-sierra-leone-astro-boy-3pc-silver-coins-/172451392273?hash=item2826e76b11:g:ZyMAAOSwcLxYGC0h

click for spoiler

$100 gold coin. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2003-sierra-leone-100-astro-boy-atom-gold-coin-/182395393327

click for spoiler



$150 silver coin that weighs 1kg. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2003-sierra-leone-astro-boy-atom-1-kilo-silver-coin-/172461656230

click for spoiler

$500 gold coin. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sierra-Leone-500-Dollars-2003-Gold-1oz-PCGS-PR69DCAM-Astro-Boy-only-2003-minted-/371794300745

click for spoiler



Sierra Leone is in west Africa. One of those African countries where life is hard - civil war, ebola, blood diamonds. The official language is English so maybe they've seen Astro Boy there? Except their currency is leone and cents, not dollars. Their highest denomination is the 10,000 leone note, equal to about US$1.82. The Astro coins are minted in England. The coins are from 2003 and the civil war ended in 2002 with some assistance from the UK, so maybe it was done as part of an economic stimulus? It just seems like a really odd country for anime coins to turn up in. I'm falling furthing into the depths of Wikipedia, learning about Sierra Leone, send help if I'm not back in a few days.

There's also a $50 Tuvalu coin of Astro wearing a cape that looks pretty cool.

click for spoiler

[AstroAllies]

Can those coins be used to buy something (as a legal)?

[DrFrag]

The Japanese ones can.

The Sierra Leone ones ... I'm not sure. I don't see how they'd be legal tender in Sierra Leone since they're in dollars, presumably US dollars. But in some countries (especially in Africa) people will buy and sell in US dollars anyway because it's a more stable currency (like in Zimbabwe when their currency collapsesd). It's weird because the coins appear to be legit Sierra Leone coins. It'd be like if you got an official Indonesian coin, but instead of rupiah it was in ringgit. It doesn't make sense. What would it be worth?

In practice, people don't spend collectable coins because they cost more than regular circulated currency. Fun fact: the 1kg $150 silver coin contained $155 of silver when it was issued. That amount of silver now costs $533.

[jeffbert]

Thanks for the images!