Eleking, Ultraseven’s Electric Kaiju, in a 1992 Banpresto Token

Eleking Ultraman Club Collector Token by Banpresto, 1992

A Bimetallic Token From Japan’s Ultraman Club Era

This small metal token from 1992 is one entry in a numbered series produced by Banpresto under the Ultraman Club brand. Roughly one inch in diameter, it carries a two-tone finish — a gold-tone center set within a silver-tone outer ring — giving it the visual weight of a coin or medal rather than a conventional plastic toy. One face is stamped with the code U-009, identifying it as the ninth piece in the series. The design also incorporates the character name Eleking, Ultraman Club branding, and a peace-sign hand motif. A small square symbol appears as well; it may be a game-related marker, though that connection has not been confirmed.

Eleking: The Electric Kaiju of Ultraseven

Eleking first appeared in Ultraseven (1967–1968), the second major production in Tsuburaya Productions’ Ultraman franchise, itself launched in 1966 by Eiji Tsuburaya. In the series, Eleking was dispatched to Earth by the Pit Star aliens as a living weapon, making its debut in episode three, “The Secret of the Lake.” Its design is immediately distinctive: a long, sinuous neck, a body lined with ring-shaped protrusions, and an overall silhouette that calls to mind an electric eel. The name is a direct nod to eleki, the Japanese word for electricity — Eleking’s defining weapon. Among the broader roster of Showa-era kaiju, Eleking maintained a strong presence across decades of merchandise, appearing on vinyl figures, cards, and collector items well beyond its original broadcast run. Its recognizable profile and elemental attribute have made it one of the more familiar Ultraseven monsters among fans outside Japan as well.

Banpresto, Ultraman Club, and the World of 1990s Metal Collectibles

Banpresto — a Bandai subsidiary at the time, now integrated into Bandai Namco Entertainment — was a significant producer of licensed character goods throughout the 1990s. While the company became widely known for arcade crane-game prizes, it also produced collector tokens and medals during this period. The specific distribution channel for this particular token is not documented, but small metal collectibles of this type circulated through toy shops and dagashiya (traditional Japanese candy-and-toy stores) during the early 1990s, often as individually sold or set-packaged items.

The Ultraman Club brand had a close association with a series of Famicom games — three titles released between 1990 and 1992, with Ultraman Club 3 launching in the same year as this token. Whether this token was a direct tie-in to that game line or an independent collection issued under the same brand umbrella has not been definitively documented. What is clear is that the Ultraman Club label represented an active effort to keep Showa-era Ultraman characters — including long-standing fan favorites like Eleking — visible to a new generation of fans, at a moment just before the Heisei Ultraman era began reshaping the franchise.

The U-009 stamping on this token points to a larger numbered set, though the total number of pieces in the series and the full character roster have not been fully documented. For collectors focused on Showa Ultraman merchandise or on the history of Banpresto’s character-goods output, the token stands as a concrete artifact from a specific chapter in that story.