New Zealand Announces Release of 'Hobbit Coins'

As New Zealand gears up to become Middle Earth once more for the release of the first of the three highly anticipated 'Hobbit' films, New Zealand Post is issuing official stamps along with the only official legal tender commemorative coins from the movies.

The coins will become available November 1st and are expected to sell for way above their face value to collectors across the globe. The most expensive coin, made from one ounce of pure gold, will cost fans $3,695, or $10,995 for a set of three. The face value of the coin is roughly eight dollars. The cheapest of the coins, with a face value of about eighty cents, will sell for $23.90.

New Zealand Post stamps and coin spokesman Simon Allison is confident that these items will be a success. The original Lord of the Rings coins are still selling at more than triple their original value. One of these 24-carat gold LotR coins originally sold for $1500 and was recently listed on eBay in the United States for over $5,000.

Allison says of the project:

“It's about new Zealand Post representing The Hobbit and New Zealand as Middle Earth around the world.”

After enjoying a huge tourism boost following the original films, New Zealand is launching a new “100% Middle Earth” campaign to repeat this success with the Hobbit films.

The coins feature characters from the films including Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the wizard, and Thorin Oakenshield, and feature the words “Middle Earth New Zealand” in both English and Dwarvish. Ian McKellan, the British actor who plays Gandalf in the films, said this week that “to put Gandalf on these splendiferous coins is a wizard idea."

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in the trilogy of hobbit films, and is set to premiere in New Zealand on November 28. New Zealand Post says it will release more stamps and coins for each film.

Images courtesy of New Zealand Post

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