MDM Wholesale have quite the vibrant range of franchised media coins in their portfolio, probably second only to Agoro if you include sporting events, and one of those is The Lord of the Rings. The latest addition to that range is this striking domed ‘Eye of Sauron’, complete with some intense colouration on the reverse face.

Apart from the One Ring, the Eye of Sauron is probably the most recognisable item in the whole movie sequence, and the coin has done a fantastic job in bringing it to numismatic reality. That reverse face is almost completely free of intrusive inscriptiions (except for the tedious copyright stuff the franchise holders insist on), so we have a prominent rim, doing double service as the lip of the eye, inside which is the glorious eye. Simple, but very effective, especially with that high-relief and the convex strike.

The obverse has also had much effort expended upon it, dominated by a very high relief portrayal of Sauron wearing the gilded ring, that extends onto the border in two places. The raised rim is replete with Middle Earth script. A good looking coin, with a strong theme, I can imagine this being a hit with the endless legions of LotR fans. It will come boxed with a COA (we haven’t seen images yet), and is available to pre-order now.

This new issue from The Royal Mint is part of a growing trend of commemorating not just the original work, but a film or television series based on it. This is most common in the fantasy and science-fiction genres, and here we have the prefect example. The Lord of the Rings was published by English author J.R.R. Tolkein in 1954, but these coins mark the 25th anniversary of the premiere of the Peter Jackson directed film, The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s a valid idea as likely more people have seen the films than read the books.

The mint has inevitably leaned on its famous heptagonal fifty pence format for these, one that is constantly served with a new queue of literary and entertainment themed issues, and has been for years. I actually considered putting together one of our Thematic Guides on them, but the sheer numbers put paid to that. Indeed, this pair are just the first in a seven-coin series.

The first of this pair feature portrait views of Frodo Baggins and Samwell Tarly (oops, wrong franchise) Samwise Gamgee. They’re actually really well done, and instantly recognisable as the actors/characters. There’s some coloured text (not gilded), but otherwise, we’re pleased to see they haven’t gone the lazy route of a colour printed image. The second coin, Sauron is similarly well done.

As is usually the case with these 50p releases, there are sterling (0.925) silver variants of 8.0 grams weight, that come in very nice, solid acrylic block display frames. The only perennial is the half-ounce 22kt (0.9167) gold coins that eschew the colour, and come in a more traditional gloss finish wooden box. Both are very pricey for what they are, but not more so than other Royal Mint issues. Overall, a surprisingly good debut for this series, and one the fan will probably like. There are bas-metal BU offerings as well.