2023 marks 50 years since the death of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit author, J. R. R. Tolkien. To commemorate his work and achievements, a new £2 coin will be issued, featuring his famous monogram on the reverse design. The reverse will also bear the inscription “1892 JRR TOLKIEN 1973 WRITER · POET · SCHOLAR”. The edge inscription will read, “NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST” – a quote from The Fellowship of the Ring.
Edited by Trotter on 2022-12-29 8:39:51 AM UTC Edited by Trotter on 2022-12-29 8:40:11 AM UTC Edited by Trotter on 2022-12-29 8:54:37 AM UTC Edited by Trotter on 2022-12-29 10:54:32 AM UTC
The 2023 commemorative sets will be available in a range of precious metal and base proof finishes, from Jan 3 on the Royal Mint’s website, with prices starting from £50.
A set of silver proof coins will be available for £311 and a gold set can be bought for £7,845.
A platinum set can be purchased for £10,390.
Each of the coins will also be available individually in 2023, the Mint said.
Tolkien passed away in 1973 although, 50 years later, the father of modern fantasy fiction still has a palpable influence on the genre. His trademark monogram, encircled by a runic pattern skilfully created by the artist David Lawrence, will forever grace this commemorative UK £2 coin. ‘NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST’, a quote from the poem ‘The Riddle of Strider’, which features in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, serves as the coin’s edge inscription.
“JRR Tolkien’s monogram is an elegant creation: a mysterious symbol redolent of alchemical signs and magical scripts. It also had a certain gravitas. I quickly saw that this had to be central to the design. Something ring-like and circular was obviously needed to contain and frame the monogram.
“I created several roundels to contain the monogram. Eventually, these were whittled down to abstract shapes; versions containing tortuous intertwined serpents were interesting, but they were somehow distracting and lacked gravitas. I created the abstract shapes from scratch, choosing a couple of fonts that have a slightly quirky, magical look, whilst remaining fully legible.”
David Lawrence
Never heard of the poem officially being called "The Riddle of Strider", don't think it really has a name. He could have used Runes instead of abstract shapes, but I think he has done a very good job overall.
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