Tasmanian Devil last in Looney Tunes series
![Looney Tunes’ Taz features on a Tuvaluan silver 50 cents, the fifth coin and last coin in this series. (Image courtesy The Perth Mint: TM & © WBEI [s18])](https://www.numismaticnews.net/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700/MTc2MDc4ODU2MjY0NjIzNTI5/tasmaniandevil.jpg)
Looney Tunes’ Taz features on a Tuvaluan silver 50 cents, the fifth coin and last coin in this series. (Image courtesy The Perth Mint: TM & © WBEI [s18])
The fifth and final release of Perth Mint’s Looney Tunes’ 50 cents occurred in early October. This time around, the star is Warner Bros’ short-fused Tasmanian Devil - better known as “Taz.”
As with Bugs, Daffy, Tweety Bird & Sylvester, the new partially-colored coin has been struck for Tuvalu on a 32.60 mm, 15.553 g (0.5 oz) .9999 fine silver flan. Mintage is 5,000.
Taz featured in just five Warner Bros shorts before big screen cartoons ceased in 1964. It was the small screen in the 1990s that saw his popularity soar. Eventually he got his own show, “Taz-Mania,” which ran through four seasons.
His debut came in 1954 in “Devil May Hare,” where his protagonist was Bugs Bunny. The two co-starred again in 1957 in “Bedevilled Rabbit,” where his wife referred to Taz as “Claude.”
In these and all subsequent appearances, he was portrayed as a ferocious, dim-witted, short tempered omnivore with a voracious appetite and little patience.
Only music could soothe this savage beast - just as long as it was never bagpipes.
Copyright: LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WB SHIELD: © & ™ WBEI. (s18)
This article was originally printed in World Coin News. >> Subscribe today.
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