The coins mark the 25th anniversary of Peter Jackson’s Academy Award-winning film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The coin design centres on the One Ring, the driving force behind the entire saga and a symbol of power. Designed by Royal Mint Coin Designer, Thomas T. Docherty, the reverse side of the 50p also features the iconic Elvish lettering and Black Speech inscribed on the Ring, representing the unforgettable 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 side of the 50p features the official coin portrait of His Majesty The King.

A selection of the 50p coins include a UK coinage first. A groundbreaking caustic feature has been included as part of the design. When light strikes the surface of the coin, a hidden image is revealed – the all-seeing Eye of Sauron, emerging from the negative space at the centre of the Ring.

The Royal Mint’s craftspeople have engineered the coin’s surface 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.

Rebecca Morgan, director of commemorative coin at The Royal Mint, said: “Even the most devoted Fellowship of collectors couldn’t have imagined a coin quite like this. To mark 25 years since Peter Jackson first brought Middle-earth to the big screen, The Royal Mint have unveiled a collectable 50p coin to celebrate the anniversary.

“What makes this coin truly special is its hidden secret, our craftspeople here in Wales have used innovative caustic technology, a first on any UK coin, to engineer the surface with extraordinary precision, focusing light to reveal a hidden image of the Eye of Sauron within the One Ring.”