Hello Kitty's Limited-Edition 50th Anniversary Gold Coin Releases for Preorder

Via Sanrio's official Japanese website, Hello Kitty is receiving a new gold coin commemorating her 50th anniversary.

Hello Kitty is getting a limited-edition gold coin to celebrate her 50th anniversary in style, and it's up for preorders now – for an eye-watering sum.

Announced on Sanrio's official Japanese website, the new Hello Kitty coin will be released to commemorate her 50th anniversary. The large coin features an image of the Hello Kitty Shinkansen train seen in Japan, with pink details and other Sanrio characters like My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin, Kuromi and Little Twin Stars. According to Sanrio, the coin is made of 99.99% pure cold, with a diameter of 5 cm. Despite having a physical value of just $100 (Cook Island/New Zealand dollars), the coin is priced at 657,800 yen, or around US$4,573. Preorders are set to open on Sep. 19 at 10 a.m. JST.

The coins can be ordered via the Premico Online Store site, meaning fans overseas will need to use reliable proxy shipping services. It was revealed that just 500 coins would be released alongside an acrylic stand to display them. Shipments are set to begin sequentially from early March 2025.

“A large gold coin has been released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty! It features a fun design depicting the 'Hello Kitty Shinkansen' currently running between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, and Kitty in a cute pose,” reads the teasing description of the coin. “Also, take note of the characters wearing matching headbands. It is made of the highest quality .9999 pure gold, and is a large coin with a diameter of 50 mm. Only 500 coins will be issued by the Cook Islands, which are famous for their art-class commemorative coins. Enjoy displaying it on the included acrylic stand inspired by the 'Hello Kitty Shinkansen.'”

Hello Kitty has partnered with many of the world's biggest brands and institutions for her milestone 50th-anniversary year, from the United Nations to McDonald's toy releases, Uniqlo clothing collections starring Kitty and Kuromi, and more. The brand recently welcomed a new Sanrio Smile Shop and Hello Kitty Cafe at Universal CityWalk, which follows its continued franchising in North America, including its first Hello Kitty Cafe in Canada this year.

Hello Kitty was designed by Yuko Shimizu in 1973, who recently shared that her first appearance came "on a small purse -- a small purse released on sale along with six other different characters." She continued, "However, as Hello Kitty far outsold the others, the company decided to focus on developing it further, and it was then that the character was given a name." She's since transformed into one of the world's biggest IP, worth several billions of dollars.