A new series of silver coins pays tribute to the beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. The first issue, featuring the movie poster motif, commemorates the film subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring.

When Old English literature professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien began writing fiction, it was purely for personal enjoyment and for the amusement of his children. He certainly had no idea then that a major work of 20th century literature was being born under his hands. After the fairy tale The Hobbit, he embarked on a trilogy more sophisticated in language and thought, which was called The Lord of the Rings. Although his writing was based on medieval myths and Norse sagas, he created a whole new world with its own history, language and legends. His fictional Middle Earth was so imaginative and complex that many judged it impossible to convert it to the silver screen. Tolkien himself was of the same opinion, and it was only financial strain that forced him to sell the film rights... Nearly half a century later, however, a miracle happened. The unfilmable story was taken up by New Zealand director Peter Jackson, who wiped out all doubters. The first part of his film trilogy, subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring, enchanted the whole world - those who knew Tolkien's work inside out, and those who heard about it for the first time. The book's famed idyllic and deliberateness had to give way to a spectacularly paced plot, but the film nevertheless exuded a pious reverence for the source material. What readers could only imagine - from a walk in the Shire to a fight with a Balrog - became a real, physical experience thanks to the music and imagery...

The unusual rectangular coin takes the form of a movie poster. The vivid colours, achieved by colouring technology, show the valley of the Anduin River, where the members of the Fellowship of the Ring sail. The silver relief is then dominated by two majestic statues of the kings of Gondor guarding the Argonath Gorge. As the issuer of the coin is the island of Niue, its obverse side bears its attributes - the portrait and name of Queen Elizabeth II, the year of issue 2022 and the nominal value of 2 DOLLARS (NZD). The design of the officially licensed coinage is the work of the New Zealand Mint's art collective.

Each coin is stored in a special box that enables its display.