The Royal Mint has launched a new £2 coin to commemorate the life and work of J.R.R. Tolkien, with 2023 marking 50 years since his death.

As an accomplished scholar, philologist, father of modern fantasy fiction and maker of Middle-Earth, Tolkien is best known for creating the seminal fantasy novel The Hobbit in 1937 and the immensely popular The Lord of the Rings in 1954 to 1955.

The coin’s reverse, created by David Lawrence, draws inspiration from Tolkien’s prominent career as professor of English language and literature at Oxford, in which role he brought the world of the Dark Ages to life in his teaching, writing and studies.

Combining traditional minting techniques with modern technology, the Royal Mint’s craftspeople faithfully recreated Tolkien’s monogram at the center of the coin’s reverse design.

The monogram is encircled by an intricate runic pattern, “an aesthetic reflective of Tolkien’s love for Anglo-Saxon scripts,” according to the Royal Mint.

All of the coins carry the Martin Jennings effigy of King Charles III.

The words NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST, from the poem “The Riddle of Strider,” in The Fellowship of the Ring, serves as the coin’s edge inscription.

Versions, specifications

Four versions of the coin have been issued: Brilliant Uncirculated copper-nickel-brass, Proof .925 fine silver, Proof .925 fine silver Piedfort, and Proof .9167 fine gold. The Brilliant Uncirculated coin is a ringed-bimetallic issue, while the Proof coins mimic that look with specific gold-plating.

The BU coin has unlimited mintage and retails for £12.

The Proof silver coin is limited to a 5,160-coin mintage, with 4,500 available individually for £77.50.

The piedfort (double-thick) coin is limited to a 2,410-coin mintage, with 2,000 pieces available individually for £127.50 each.

The gold coin is limited to a mintage of 385 pieces, with 225 examples available individually for £1,250 each.

For more information, visit the Royal Mint website, www.royalmint.com.

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