Scooby Dooby Dooooooo!! Crime fighting mutt hits the Perth Mint with new silver coin

Time for the Perth Mint to launch its first batch of coins for the new year and in amongst the usual stuff (event and premium bullion designs) is a new entrant into the burgeoning popular culture market. Pretty much everybody knows and loves the famous crime fighting dog, Scooby Doo, so it’s little surprise that he would appear on a new silver coin before long – the last one being a half-ounce effort from the Mint of Poland back in 2013.

The design looks decent, if formulaic, and the format is typical Perth Mint fare (1 ounce, 40.6 mm, colour), so a safe release rather than one pushing boundaries. Issued for Tuvalu, the obverse features the usual effigy of QEII by Ian Rank Broadley. Packaging is a favourite of ours – a solid acrylic block almost identical to those used by the NZ Mint. Along with a certificate of authenticity, it’s all wrapped up in an attractive themed shipper box. We have expected this one to turn up in a box shaped like the Mystery Machine van from the series, but fortunately not. Just 5,000 of this $115 AUD coin will be produced and it will be available today.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: The enduringly popular SCOOBY-DOO cartoon series premiered in 1969. It was released in its original form as 25 episodes over two seasons, ending in 1970. The series features four teenagers and their rather cowardly yet always loyal Great Dane, SCOOBY-DOO. The talking dog helps his friends solve “supernatural” mysteries, often with the added incentive of his much-loved cookies, Scooby Snacks.

The friends – FRED JONES, DAPHNE BLAKE, VELMA DINKLEY, NORVILLE “SHAGGY” ROGERS and SCOOBY-DOO – travel around in their distinctive hippie-style green van, The Mystery Machine. In each episode they encounter some “paranormal” antics and decide to investigate. Inevitably the teens and SCOOBY-DOO capture a flesh and blood villain and reveal them as the master of a criminal hoax. The culprit often concludes the show with the memorable line: “And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for you meddling kids!”

REVERSE: The reverse of the coin features the unlikely four-legged hero as he appeared in the original SCOOBY-DOO series. The design also includes a coloured SCOOBY-DOO! logo and The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark.

SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION $1 Tuvalu
COMPOSITION 0.9999 silver
WEIGHT 31.107 grams
DIAMETER 40.60 mm
FINISH Proof
MODIFICATIONS Colour
MINTAGE 5,000
BOX / COA Yes / Yes
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