Hello Kitty goes on euro

Tokyo - Hello Kitty, the mouthless cat turned global icon of cuteness, will make a foray into the currency market with gold and silver euro coins showing her having the time of her life in Paris.

Order-taking will start Monday for a total of 4,000 coins in five different designs to be minted in Paris, according to Hello Kitty's maker Sanrio and Japanese firm Taisei Coins.

The designs are drawn on "the dreams and admiration for Paris that Kitty has," Sanrio said on its website.

The most expensive one-ounce gold coin is priced at 168,000 yen (1,400 dollars, 1,200 euros) each, compared with a face value of 50 euros.

The coin has a color image of Kitty in a ballroom gown dancing with her boyfriend Daniel in their "Versailles Debut."

A smaller gold coin, priced at 52,500 yen, is titled "Kitty Becomes an Opera Singer" and shows the feline heroine in a black floor-length dress.

Three types of silver coins, each priced at 8,400 yen, are also on sale, featuring Kittys taking in a Parisian cafe, flying over the city with an umbrella and shopping on the Champs-Elysees.

The coins, each fit in a special miniature handbag, can be purchased at Taisei coin shops in Japan or through the two companies' websites.

Hello Kitty, which started in 1974 in Japan as a moonfaced cartoon cat on a coin purse, has spread to 60 nations appearing on 50,000 different products. -- Agence France Presse

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