'Precious' features of 50p marking Lord of the Rings film anniversary

A new coin marking 25 years since Peter Jackson's first Lord of the Rings film has some "precious" features, including a golden "one ring", Elvish script and an all-seeing Eye of Sauron "emerging" from its centre.

"Forged not in the fires of Mount Doom but in Wales," said the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, of its tribute to the Academy Award-winning film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

It called the design, which allows the eye of the JRR Tolkien villain Sauron to be seen on some of the 50p collectables, "a UK coinage first".

The Royal Mint said it will release seven coins in the series, marking the 25th anniversaries of the second and third films.

"It's the kind of craftsmanship even the Elves of Rivendell would admire," the Royal Mint added.

British author Tolkien is most famous for writing The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings, a fantasy series that sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and was later adapted into a trilogy of blockbuster films.

The One Ring, a symbol of power and the driving force behind Tolkien's saga dominates the reverse, or tails side of the 50p coin.

Designer Thomas T Docherty included an inscription in Elvish lettering and black speech which the Royal Mint said translates to the verse: "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."

The obverse or heads side of the 50p features the official coin portrait of King Charles III.

A selection of the 50p coins will also include what the Royal Mint called a "groundbreaking caustic feature".

"When light strikes the surface of the coin," it said, "a hidden image is revealed, the all-seeing eye of Sauron, emerging from the negative space at the centre of the Ring.

The feature is designed to "focus light in a precise and deliberate way, projecting the image of the eye of Sauron onto a target surface".

"This is the first time caustic technology has ever featured on a UK coin available to the public making it a truly unique collectable," it added.

"Even the most devoted fellowship of collectors couldn't have imagined a coin quite like this," said the Royal Mint's Rebecca Morgan.

"It's a remarkable feat of British craftsmanship, and one that fans will have to see to believe.

"Whether you're a lifelong fan or a dedicated collector this is one coin you absolutely will want to own."

The first coin in the series goes on sale at 09:00 BST on Wednesday.