New Zealand just keeps on giving. It was enough that it brought us Flight of the Conchords. But now Hobbit coins? That can be used as legal tender? Stop it!
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| A spoof of Lord of the Rings in an episode of Flight of the Conchords. Brett McKenzie (left) actually appeared as the elf Figwit in the LOTR films. |
A set of coins featuring Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and other characters from The Hobbit, the 1937 fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, are now on sale in New Zealand. More than collector's items, the coins are real currency, although their face value is only a fraction of what Tolkien enthusiasts will pay to possess them. According to ChannelNews Asia, the coins range in price from NZ$3,695 ($3,020) for one that's pure gold to NZ$29.90 ($24.68) for one that's made of aluminum and zinc.
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| A set of coins featuring characters from The Hobbit. Image source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com |
The coins have been released to coincide with this month's premier of The Hobbit film series, directed by Peter Jackson. Part 1 of the series will open in Wellington, New Zealand's capital, on November 28. (It will hit theaters in the United States on December 14.) International orders for the coins can be made through the website of the New Zealand Post, which "has worldwide exclusive rights to issue official legal tender commemorative coins celebrating Sir Peter Jackson's trilogy of films based on 'The Hobbit,'" according to its home page.
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