Welcome back to the largest online archive for Japanese Pro-Wrestling merchandise on the web.
In this blog, you will find thousands of product photos and information associated with the
fascinating world of Puroresu and beyond.
Today, we'll be taking a look at another obscure piece of merchandise from the mid
to late 1990's. Blog #145 is all about the New Japan Pro Wrestling Coin Banks
(Heavyweight and Junior Heavyweight versions).
We'll start with the Heavyweight class:
The coin bank features four of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's top stars from the era (from left to
right): Shinya Hashimoto, Masahiro Chono, Kensuke Sasaki and Keiji Mutoh.
From the top of the packaging, you can see glimpses of Jushin Thunder Liger and
Shinya Hashimoto.
The right side of the packaging contains great photos of Masahiro Chono, Satoshi Kojima and
Keiji Mutoh.
The concept of the bank itself is based on the four presidents depicted in the famous
American monument Mt. Rushmore.
I believe Toukon Shop were responsible for creating this piece as the four heads look similar
to the individual busts Toukon Shop also released around the same time of these Wrestlers.
The base reads "新日本プロレスリング" (New Japan Pro-Wrestling).
Like many figures from the late 90's and early 2000's, the coin bank was another unfortunate
casualty to a special type of gold paint that discoloured into a green hue from over the years.
Even when removed fresh from it's packaging (which also included plastic shrinkwrap).
The back of the coin bank includes a coin slot and an imprinted NJPW Lion logo.
The majority of the discoloration trickled down to the bottom of the base. Having the
bank shrinkwrapped for 20 something years probably didn't help either.
The coin bank stands no more than 5 inches tall and is very light-weight. I suspect the bank
may be made out of plastic or (more likely with Japanese figures) PVC material.
The second coin bank in the series is the Junior Heavyweight division.
Packaged examples of both weight divisions.
The Wrestlers featured in the Junior Heavyweight version are (from left to right):
Koji Kanemoto, Jushin Thunder Liger, Shinjiro Ohtani and Kendo Kashin.
The green discoloration was a common theme with the golden coin banks. As seen in the
above photo.
Both classes had two variants: silver and gold (four banks in total to collect).
Overall, a unique and interesting addition to the line of New Japan Pro-Wrestling merchandise
that was presented in the 1990's. They make great display pieces and serve a practical function:
save up your coins for more Puroresu figures!
Stay tuned for more Japanese figure reviews coming your way!
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