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ABOUT YOWIES

Last Updated on 14th October 2001

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Thanks goes to Rowan for the Information about Yowies.
To Visit his NZ Yowie Collectors Site. Click Here

YOWIE HISTORY

Very simply, Yowies are Cadbury's answer to Kinder Surprises. The actual Yowie concept was invented about 4 years ago by Bryce Courtenay and Geoff Pike, who are both well-known writers. They wanted to create a collectable toy which would also teach children (and their parents, for that matter) about the importance of looking after the environment. And so they came up with Yowies, six mythical Australian creatures named Rumble, Crag, Ditty, Nap, Boof and Squish. "Legend", according to Messrs Pike and Courtenay, has it that Yowies live on the other side of sunset in a magical world where everything is clean and green, and the Yowies try to keep it that way. However, every now and then they have to do battle with some rather nasty characters called Grumkins who regularly "yuck up" the environment. Invariably, the Yowies, using their special brand of magic called "Yowie power", win and teach the Grumkins (and us) important environmental lessons along the way. And so everyone (except perhaps for Grumkins!) lives happily ever after. Incidentally, the Yowie Kingdom is presided over by Lord Balthizzar the Bunyip, who lives deep inside the Yowie Mountain, and who I must say gets some great lines! These then are the main characters in the land of Yowie, along with all the animals of the world.

Yowies first got off the ground in 1995 as Courtenay and Pike succeeded in selling their idea to Cadbury, but it was not until May 1997 that the first Yowie chocolates actually went on sale. Before the first Yowies were sold, a small number of prototypes were made, including the Striped Possum, Platypus and Green Tree Frog. These prototypes are extremely rare and worth $500-1,000. Any collector with even one of these is very fortunate indeed. The initial target market was Australia and New Zealand. Yowie chocolates were shaped like a Yowie and to start with contained replicas of Australian and New Zealand animals, which came in capsules with a paper, a la Kinder Surprise. And like Kinder toys, they had to be assembled. They have also had solid figurines of the six different Yowies, and another six solid figurines of the Grumkins, the bad guys.

In just two years, Yowies have become a huge success on both sides of the Tasman. There have been four full series to date. The first three each have 50 replicas of Australian and New Zealand animals. The fourth series includes "international" animals for the very first time. This signals a desire by Cadbury to capitalise on its initial success in the Down Under market and introduce Yowies to the rest of the world. Already, Yowies have been introduced to the United Kingdom and Ireland. This happened in April 1999. The UK Yowies, as they are known to collectors, also come in a capsule inside a chocolate egg. But you do not assemble these; they are solid. So far just one series of 50 animals (all Australian and New Zealand ones) and six Yowie men has been produced for the UK market. A second series is in production, with the first 16 released in mid-June 2000. They are attracting a growing following in Great Britain, and UK Yowies are also very popular indeed with seasoned Yowie collectors Down Under.

Now an all-new series has begun, called Lost Kingdoms. This has prehistoric and extinct creatures from Australia and New Zealand, with a couple of modern-day animals thrown in. This is a separate line from the regular series.

Following the success of Yowie toys, other Yowie items have appeared such as books, soft toys, T-shirts, yada yada yada (as they once said on Seinfeld). A recent follow-up to Yowie chocolates has been Mega Yowies, which were first sold in Australia around March 1999. Mega Yowies are a little similar to Kinder Surprise Maxi Eggs. A Mega Yowie is basically a giant chocolate Yowie with a large capsule containing four Yowie toys. The first Mega Yowies contained three Series Three animals and a Grumkin, all of which came in its own special sealed plastic bag. In September 1999, new Mega Yowies went on sale which contained two Series Four animals from the first 20, one from the next 10 and a new Yowie figurine which had to be assembled. These have been the most popular Yowie marketing concept yet, and will no doubt continue to play a big part in the Yowie hobby in the years to come.

While Yowies might have started out as a children's toy, it did not take long for adults to get seriously interested. Indeed, these days there are probably as many, if not more adults collecting Yowies than children! Cadbury has certainly succeeded in reaching all ages with their environmental message. Adult collectors of Yowies have become interested in a number of things, most notably, papers and variations. As the Yowie hobby has grown, so has the number of dealers, with the result that some Yowies, especially early variations, have become very expensive.

The Internet has had a big influence on Yowie collecting. There are numerous Web sites for Yowies, though as yet about 95% of them are based in Australia, with only a very small number based in other countries like New Zealand or the UK. Many Yowie collectors swap or deal through the Internet, which is a great place to learn (or get confused about) Yowies, meet fellow Yowieholics and build your collection.

YOWIE PAPERS

The papers which accompany every Yowie animal have become collectors' items in their own right. So if you're new to Yowies, don't throw away those papers! Also, don't cut off the tokens, as a Yowie paper with its token cut off is worthless. Anyway, with that advice dispensed, I shall now guide you through all the different papers. As you shall see, each series has its own different papers.

Prototype Papers

These, naturally enough, accompanied the prototype animals, and there are thus prototype papers for the Green Tree Frog, Platypus and Striped Possum. These had a different texture to the regular papers that would follow, and the tokens had a very different look, not featuring any of the Yowie characters. The word "YOWIE" appears above the number, with the word "TOKEN" below the number. The number itself is in a circle. The prototype papers are worth almost as much as the actual prototype animals, and are very highly sought after by serious Yowie collectors.

Series One Papers

As with all Yowie papers, Series One papers are divided into three sections. One side of a Series One paper has the following (from left to right): name and photo of animal, assembly instructions and a Yowie token. (The token symbolises the rarity of the real animal. The Yowie characters are now featured on it, the number is in a half circle and the words "YOWIE TOKEN" appear below the number.) The other side (again from left to right) has a Yowie logo and ad for the Yowie Power pack, a warning and information about the animal. This second side is very important, because now we come to the major Series One paper variations: green papers and black papers. With green papers, the Yowie logo and ad, warning and info about the animal is in green ink. With black papers, all this is in black ink. Green papers were the original papers, and are more prized by collectors than black ones. Major Series One Yowie variations should be accompanied by a green paper.

But wait, there's more, much more. Green papers are divided into two variations, as are black papers. The key green paper variation is the words "Non-Toxic Paint" in the warning section, something the Prototype papers also had. Only a very few papers had this, and a "Non-Toxic Paint" green paper may be almost as highly prized by a Yowie collector as an orange Dingo or multi-coloured Kookaburra. With the black papers, a new version was released in 1999 in which the animal info section contains the animal's scientific name and animal type, a la Series Two and Three papers. Also, the Yowie logo is smaller (again following Series Two and Three papers) than on the original black papers, and the Yowie Power Pack is advertised at $2.00 (NZ$2.50) instead of $4.00 (NZ$4.50). These new black papers appeared with some Series One Yowies in around February or March 1999 and are already quite sought after by Yowie paper collectors.

We should not forget the papers for the solid Yowie figurines. Your basic solid Yowie paper has a picture of the Yowie character, info about it and a Yowie token on one side, and a Yowie logo and ad, warning and the Yowie character's "Rules of the Kingdom" on the other. There are green papers, with the Yowie logo, warning and Rules of the Kingdom appearing in green. These are prized like the green papers for the animals, and are pretty hard to find. There are also two types of black papers, one with a large Yowie logo and the Power Pack advertised for $4.00 or NZ$4.50, and one with a small Yowie logo advertising the Power Pack for $2.00 or NZ$2.50. Both kinds seem to be pretty easy to find.

One more thing: there are two types of papers for Nap the Honeygum Yowie. One says that Nap is the "old, wise Yowie of the pack", while the other says "Nap is the dreamer of the Yowie pack". As far as I am aware, the "old, wise" paper is the original Nap one.

Now, there are a few particular Series One papers collectors should be on the lookout for. In particular, the papers for the Desert Mouse, Corroboree Frog, Eastern Quoll, Common Ringtail Possum, Koala, Tuatara, Short-Beaked Echidna, Spiny Lobster, Little Penguin, Grasshopper, Black Field Cricket, Eastern Snake-Neck Tortoise, Jewel Shield Beetle, Green Christmas Beetle and Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo. Some of these variations are not particularly well-known.

The Desert Mouse paper can show one or two female pins in the sides. The paper for the Corroboree Frog has the pins barely showing or sticking up a long way from the belly. Eastern Quoll papers either show the figure with two round pins or no pins. With the Common Ringtail Possum paper, the tail can point either up or down. The Koala paper shows either solid or hollow pins. With the Tuatara paper, the head is either one piece or split in two. The Short-Beaked Echidna paper shows two pins initially, changed later to one. It's a little more subtle with the Little Penguin paper, where the wing in the middle can point either left or right. The Eastern Snake-Neck Tortoise paper was changed to show two extra holding pins. With the Jewel Shield Beetle paper, the pins go across the width in one version, and down the length of the body in the other. The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo paper initially showed double slots for the wings, but this later changed to single slots.

But the paper variations for the Spiny Lobster, Grasshopper, Black Field Cricket and Green Christmas Beetle are the most well-known and sought-after. Early papers for the Spiny Lobster show the head section split in two, with the feelers attached. Later versions, much more common, show the head section whole, but the feelers need to be attached separately. The common Grasshopper paper shows the head and tail pieces linked, and the instructions are generally confusing. A rarer Grasshopper paper, which came out with the "scientific" Series One papers, has clearer assembly instructions and shows the head and tail pieces separated. Also, the dotted line can be either green or black. The Black Field Cricket paper shows the middle part either whole (correct) or split (incorrect). The paper showing the split centre piece is the earlier one. Finally, the Green Christmas Beetle paper shows the head and antennae together, or split. The one showing the head and antennae together is the one to watch out for.

An additional variation to watch out for is the Wombat paper, which, at the time the "scientific" Series One papers were released, had the name changed to Common Wombat, probably to differentiate between it and the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat, which of course had not been released when the Wombat first came out.

Series Two Papers

For Series Two, Cadbury redesigned the papers. One side (left to right) has a photo and name of the animal, info about the animal and a Yowie token. The animal info section now included the animals' scientific name and type. The other side (again going from left to right) has the Yowie logo and Power Pack ad, warning section and assembly instructions. So, the assembly instructions and animal info were switched around, while everything else stayed in the same position. There are two main variations of Series Two papers. With the first ten Series Two animals, some papers have a large Yowie logo advertising the Power Pack for the old price of $4.00 (NZ$4.50). But Cadbury soon switched to the common small Yowie logo and Power Pack ad for $2.00 (NZ$2.50). As with green papers in Series One, Series Two papers with the large Yowie logo are relatively rare, though not as sought after currently as Series One green papers. But if you have a Series Two paper with a large Yowie logo as opposed to a small one, I'd advise you to hang on to it.

A new Series Two paper variation I've found out about recently is one with a small logo, but still advertising the Yowie Power mag for $4.00 (NZ$4.50). I'm not sure exactly how many animals these appeared with, but they probably came out during the transition from large-logo to small-logo papers. So definitely keep an eye out for those. Chances are, you've probably got one or two in your collection already.

A couple of recently-discovered paper assembly variations are for the Stripe-Faced Dunnart and Sydney Funnelweb Spider. The Stripe-Faced Dunnart paper can have an extra little bit on the tail, while the Sydney Funnelweb Spider paper variations show two different pin types.

Series Three Papers

These are basically the same as Series Two papers. However, the "Animal Type" info was expanded a little. Instead of just describing an animal as a "Fish" or "Insect", the Series Three paper says "Fish of the oceans" or "Insect of the grasslands" and so on. If you're not sure whether a paper you have is for Series Two or Three, this is the main way to differentiate between them.

Note that there are two different Weigel's Toad papers for the two different moulds. Other than that, there are not too many Series Three paper variations, at least not for the animals.

Grumkin papers are pretty similar to Yowie ones, but instead of "Rules of the Kingdom", there's another ad for the Yowie Power magazine, along with the words "SAVE THIS TOKEN". There is one very important variation here: on some Munch papers, the word "GRUMKIN" is misspelt as "GRUMPKIN". Cadbury issued about 5,000 of these before realising their mistake and issuing a paper with the corrected spelling. So if you get a Munch accompanied by a paper with the words "MUNCH THE MEAN EARTH-MUNCHING GRUMPKIN", go out and buy a Lotto ticket.

Series Four Papers

These have been redesigned and are quite distinct from what has gone before. The Yowie token looks decidedly different, and the token value is actually explained, briefly on the token itself, and in more detail underneath the usual warning. The Yowie Power logo has been changed and made even smaller. The word "PACK" has now been dropped. The Web site addresses of Cadbury Australia, Cadbury NZ and Yowie Power are now given. Also, the type face in the Yowie Power and warning sections is different, though the animal info uses the same type face as always.

Some of the international animal papers have a new "Yowie World" logo. The exceptions are the Meerkat and Fennec Fox. If the "Yowie World" logo is later applied to the papers for these, then the Meerkat and Fennec Fox papers without the "Yowie World" logo will become sought after.

The papers for the new limited edition Yowie men found in Mega Yowies are perhaps the most colourful and attractive yet. On one side is the usual Yowie Power logo, warning (with explanation of token value underneath) and assembly instructions (for you have to assemble these Yowie men). On the other side is a picture of the Yowie in question, a photo of one of the animals that the Yowie is responsible for and a Yowie token of 5. In the segment with the Yowie man and animal photo, the word "CONGRATULATIONS" appears three times at the top and bottom. In between comes the words, "You have found a limited edition (name of Yowie)". The Yowie character then introduces itself and mentions a few of the animals it looks after, then invites you to visit the Yowie Power Web site.

Lord Balthizzar has a special paper all of his own. One side has the words "LORD BALTHIZZAR", two pictures of the Yowie King and a description of him, plus a token to the value of 10. The other side is like any Series Four paper.

The Crystals also have their own special papers. On one side is a picture of the Yowie character on the left. Alongside this are the words "CONGRATULATIONS - YOU HAVE DISCOVERED A VERY RARE [NAME OF YOWIE] YOWIE CRYSTAL!". This is accompanied by an explanation of the Crystal, which is the same on every paper. Then comes a token to the value of 20. The other side is slightly different in that there are no assembly instructions (they're not needed). Instead, there's an ad for the Yowie Power Magazine "And Other Great Yowie Stuff!". A similar ad appears on the Series Three Grumkin papers.

Series Five Papers

These are very similar to Series Four papers. However, the ad for the Yowie Power magazine has been replaced by an ad for the Yowie Power Web site. It is this which distinguishes Series Five papers from their Series Four predecessors. Once again, International animals have a "Yowie World" logo in the section containing info about the animal.

Christmas Yowie Papers

The Christmas Yowies were first released in 1999, and another set of six was issued in 2000. The 1999 Christmas Yowie papers feature a rhyme for each character and a game or puzzle. They also have a token, and, in the usual fashion of the Yowie characters, are Christmas Yowies are worth five Yowie tokens. The 2000 papers are yellow instead of white. The rhymes have been replaced by riddles, but there is still a puzzle in each paper. The puzzles are reasonably sophisticated. Once again, the Christmas Yowie 2000 papers have tokens to the value of 5.

UK Series 1 Papers

Your typical UK Series 1 paper has, on one side, the name of the animal above a photo of it (the photos are often identical to those found on equivalent Australian papers), CE section, puzzle and Yowie token on one side, and an explanation of the token value, list of UK Series 1 and animal info (all in black ink) on the other. There are two types of UK Yowie papers. The second type, which now outnumbers the first, gives the Yowie UK Web site address. Underneath the puzzle section are the words, "CHECK OUT THE CADBURY LAND YOWIE WEBSITE AT: www.yowie.co.uk". These new papers are thus known as "Web site" papers, while the papers without this wording are generally called "original" papers. In addition, some of the "Web site" papers have completely new photos, though most retain the original photo. The "Web site" papers with new photos are: Clark's Anemone Fish, Angel Fish, Trapdoor Spider, Moray Eel, Jabiru, Scorpion and Salt Water Crocodile.

The Yowie men also come with original or "Web site" papers. Unlike the animal papers, these do not have puzzles. On one side, from left to right, iis a picture of the Yowie man with his name, a CE section, a "close-up" of the Yowie man with his name again, and a Yowie token. The reverse side is identical to the animal papers, with explanation of Yowie token value, Series 1 list and info about the Yowie man.

There is also a rather unique variation of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo paper, in which the squiggly lines in the puzzle are completely absent. At least four of these papers are known to exist, and I am fortunate enough to have one of them.

UK Series 2 Papers

For the second UK series, the papers for both animals and Yowie men have been completely redesigned and made over. Gone are the puzzles, replaced with a "Yowie Facts" or "Yowie Teaser" section introduced by one of the Yowie characters. As with Australian Series Two, the animal info section now features the animal's scientific name. Another, more regrettable absence is that of a list of the animals in Series 2. The Yowie men have been issued with new papers too, which on one side (from left to right) show the specific Yowie character, then all six men, then and ad for the UK Yowie Power magazine, and finally a Yowie token to the value of 5. The other side (left to right) explains the value of the token, has a CE mark and warnings, ad for the Yowie Power mag, and finally some info about the Yowie man.

Lost Kingdoms: Series A Papers

These are the first Yowie papers not to have a numbered token. They are also the first - at least released Down Under - to have the animal's serial number on the paper. On one side of the paper, left to right, there is a picture of the animal, then a section with the animal's name, info about the animal, the scientific name and pronunciation thereof, the type of animal and the period it's from. The middle section also has a "Yowie and the Lost Kingdoms" logo, underneath which are the words "IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM". Running across these sections along the bottom is a time line, with a blue mark indicating the animal's period. The right-hand section has the words "LOST KINGDOMS", "SERIES A", the animal's serial number, the animal's name and the words "50 exciting prehistoric miniatures to collect!", followed by the Yowiepower.com Web site address.

On the other side, from left to right, there is a section with a Yowie character explaining about their particular Lost Kingdom, a section with some environmental info and an ad for a Yowie Collector's Album, then a section with assembly instructions including the words "PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER" above the actual instructions, and on the far right, a warning section.

Lost Kingdoms Skulls Papers

Now that I finally have a couple of Skulls, I can tell you about the Skull papers. On one side is the Yowie Power logo above pictures of the six Yowie characters. Then come the words, "CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DISCOVERED ONE OF 6 LIMITED EDITION SKULLS". Between the word "CONGRATULATIONS!" and the rest is a picture of the six Skulls. The relevant Skull has a circle round it. Further along is the Lost Kingdoms logo and the words "IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM". At the far right are the words "LOST KINGDOMS LIMITED EDITION SKULLS" and a larger picture of the relevant Skull. The other side of the paper has a picture of the animal on which the Skull is based, and info about the animal. To the right are the words "You have discovered a [name] skull!", followed by some standard information about the Lost Kingdoms, looking after the environment, a reference to the Yowiepower.com Web site and warning about small parts.

YOWIE VARIATIONS

As with just about any collectable, Yowies have variations that serious collectors chase after. The first series in particular has many variations, some of which are highly sought after and expensive. The second and third series also have their share of variations, though not as many as the first series. As yet, no variations have really emerged in Series Four, but they will come in due time. UK Series 1 animals either have a B next to the number on their base, or they don't. (The originals are the ones without the "B", and they are becoming known as "A" animals.)

Variations are actually a pretty controversial issue within the Yowie hobby. Everyone seems to have their own idea of what a variation is, with the result being there is no one definitive variation list. My own list, while being pretty comprehensive and containing many recognised variations, is not totally complete, and there are probably a few variations missing or ones which should be excluded. But I reckon it's just about as good as any, though I'm always striving to improve it. Anyway, what one person may call a variation, another may term an oddity. How can you tell? Well, I'll try my best to answer, though as I say, variations are a rather subjective issue in Yowies.

Within the Yowie hobby, there are two main types of variations: mould variations and paint variations. Mould variations include things like a change of pin style (more on pins later), addition or alteration of the C.S.P.L. logo and animal name, or even size change (e.g. large versus small Sea Lion). Paint variations are simply a change of colour, like the Golden Shouldered Parrot with light or dark tail, or Tasmanian Devil with pink face or brown. It is the paint variations that are a particular sticking point with many collectors. Some paint variations are really very minor, such as lighter or darker shades, while others are more significant. The problem some collectors have with paint variations is that they can be forged. It is naturally much more difficult to forge a mould variation. Sometimes, paint variations only came with a particular mould, which makes it easier to identify fakes, provided you know which mould variation matches which paint variation.

Some mould variations go unnoticed, because they are on the inside. Originally, Yowies were made with what are known as small or stepup pins. A point to note about the most sought-after Series One variations is that they have these small pins. However, the small pins were discontinued in most Yowies because they proved fragile and easily breakable. Cadbury replaced these with large, or cylindrical pins. They are somewhat longer than the stepup pins. Series One Yowies with small pins are generally sought after, bar one or two like the Green Tree Frog whose pins never changed. The cylindrical pins continued in Series Two and Three, but interestingly, the stepup pins are now making a comeback in Series Four.

An important point to note about variations is the first version of an animal released usually becomes the most sought-after. For example, the Emperor Gum Moth with small wings was released first, but only had a pretty short run before the much more common version with large wings was released. A lot of the most sought-after Series One variations were among the earliest released. They had short runs before Cadbury changed their design. So, if a new version of a Yowie animal comes out, don't rush to buy it at a high price, but wait until it becomes common and hang on to any spares of the original that you may have, because chances are that will be the one collectors will start to seek after.

The Cairns Birdwing Butterfly is a case in point. At first, the version with writing on the wings was common, and when the version without writing on the wings was released, everyone was keen to get it. But now Birdwing Butterflies without any writing on the wings are becoming more numerous, and the version with writing on the wings is starting to become harder to find. The version with writing on the wings is the original, you see, and now it looks set to become the variation collectors chase, because Cadbury is not producing it any more.

But at the end of the day, what's worth bothering with, and what isn't? Well, mould variations are certainly worth bothering with, because they can't be forged and are indisputably different to what has gone before. Paint variations which only come with a particular mould variation are also worth bothering with, because it's easier to detect forgeries. Paint variations which are produced in sufficient quantities are, in my view, worth collecting, even though there is a greater risk of fakes. For instance, it probably wouldn't be that hard to paint the tail of a Golden-Shouldered Parrot a little darker and pass it off as the rarer dark-tailed version. The pink-bottomed Major-Mitchell Cockatoo is a genuine paint variation, but some people have been known to scrape the paint off grey-bottomed M.M. Cockatoos and pass them off as pink-bottomed ones. There are no mould differences between the grey-bottomed Major Mitchell Cockatoo and the pink-bottomed one, so it takes an expert eye to tell whether a pink-bottomed one has been forged. However, as with the dark-tailed Golden-Shouldered Parrot and other paint variations, enough of this version have been produced to warrant it being classified as a variation, and something worth collecting as such. But with pure paint variations, beware of fakes.

However, something like a Numbat with no stripe on the tail (which I have in my own collection) is an oddity, not a variation. My Numbat without the tail stripe doesn't have it because someone forgot to apply it. In other words, it was a result of human error. This is essentially the difference between a true variation and an oddity. A true variation is a result of a deliberate change in production at the Cadbury factory. An oddity is the result of someone's mistake. It may be fun to have in your collection, but will never be worth anything except as novelty value to the person who has it. So it is with my Numbat with no stripe on the tail. Quite frankly, it isn't worth jack, but I like it because it is kind of unique.

I hope this has been of help to people just starting out in the Yowie hobby, or perhaps even experienced collectors who are still struggling to define for themselves what a variation is. As I said before, everyone has their own idea of what a variation is, but if you stick with the definition in the preceding paragraph, you probably won't go too far wrong.

YOWIE CAPSULES & USE BY DATES

Yes, even the capsules Yowies come in can become collectors' items, though these are not generally regarded in the same light as variations or the papers. Still, there are quite a few different capsules to keep if you want to get into those. Yowie capsules come in many colours. Not only that, but they have different textures: smooth or "woodgrain", which has a more "natural" look. There are regular capsules, and then there are Mega Yowie capsules. The capsules in the first Mega Yowies were smooth, while those in the new Mega Yowies have the "woodgrain" style. The "woodgrain" capsules were first introduced with Series Three, and are continuing with Series Four, though the smooth capsules are still in use. The latest capsules, while still being in the woodgrain style, are a bit like salt and pepper shakers, and are blue and orange. Christmas Yowies have their own special capsules, which are a festive red and dark green, also in the "woodgrain" style.

All Yowie capsules have the words "MADE IN CHINA" and the CE logo at one end, while on the other end there is a Chinese character of some sort. Actually, it looks a bit like a fork and drinking glass, so maybe it's meant to be a food symbol. UK Yowie capsules are a bit different. These are somewhat bigger than their Australian counterparts. So far, all UK Yowie capsules have been smooth and Cadbury UK hasn't yet adopted the "woodgrain" style. On one end is the CE logo, "MADE IN CHINA" and the Chinese character or food symbol. On the other are the words "Cadbury Land "YOWIE". So, between the regular Aussie Yowie capsules, "woodgrain" capsules, Christmas Yowie capsules, Mega Yowie capsules and UK Yowie capsules, and all the different colours of each one, there are probably 40-50 different Yowie capsules that you can collect!

As far as I am aware, the capsules don't have too much monetary value, and are almost never used as bargaining chips. Like animal oddities, they are more something to be collected for a bit of a laugh. But if you are into collecting everything to do with Yowies (including all the paraphernalia like books, stuffed toys, keyrings and all that), you shouldn't overlook the capsules.

Now for a quick mention of use-by dates. You'll find these on the bottom of every Yowie. Yowie collectors are very interested in use-by dates, not because the indicate the freshness of the chocolate, but because they give some indication of what may be inside. For example, Series Four animals first appeared in Yowies with the 12 JUN 00 use-by date. That means all Yowies with this and subsequent UBDs will have Series Four animals. Another thing to watch out for is the batch code (something like 4L or 2R), which you'll find next to the UBD. In any given UBD, some batch codes are better than others, that is, you'll have a better chance of finding something new. There are never any guarantees, of course, but some batch codes do seem to be better than others for new stock.