[Movies] New Hobbit Coins To Become Legal Tender In New Zealand
Posted by Joseph Lee on 10.11.2012
That is no trinket you carry...
NME reports that a special set of coins to celebrate the release of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy will become legal tender in New Zealand. The coins will be released on November 1 and have the faces of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and Gollum. Some were minted from pure silver and pure gold.
New Zealand Post owns the worldwide exclusive rights to mint coins based on the film. They said the coins "reflect New Zealand as the home of Middle Earth, and are destined to be collectables for years to come".
The most expensive coin will be available for NZ$3,695 ($3021), while the cheapest will cost NZ$30 ($24). Their value as legal tender will be much lower, ranging from NZ$1 (0.81c) to NZ$10 ($8.10).
The first film, subtitled An Unexpected Journey, will premiere in Wellington, New Zealand on November 28 with the city being renamed "The Middle of Middle Earth" or three weeks. It will be released in the US on December 14. The second film, The Desolation of Smaug, will arrive in December 2013, and the final installment, There And Back Again will be released in July 2014. The film stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins along with Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Bret McKenzie, Orlando Bloom and Benedict Cumberbatch.
