It is true that our Hobbit heroes bow to no one, but we here at Nerdist must bow to the majesty that has been NZ Post’s collections of coins, stamps, and prints celebrating the various 20th anniversaries of The Lord of the Rings‘ three movies. It has truly been a journey of epic proportions as we went there and back again to The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, and now The Return of the King with creations that can be described as nothing short of precious artworks. But like all good journeys, there must be an ending to this quest, however bittersweet.

Before we sail west, though, NZ Post’s final The Lord of the Rings collection, celebrating The Return of the King is here to take our breath away one more time.

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Commemorative Stamps (Don’t Miss the Hidden Messages)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King always makes me feel emotional. Has there ever been a finer ending to a trilogy? And somehow, NZ Post manages to encapsulate everything powerful and wonderful about the movie in six incredible stamp designs. This time around, we are treated to stamps that depict Arwen’s grief and fading time, Gandalf’s realization of the eagles’ arrival at the Battle at the Black Gate, Frodo’s fight against Shelob with the beautiful light of Eärendil gifted to him by Galadriel, Aragorn calling upon the Army of the Dead with Legolas and Gimli at his side, Eowyn defeating the Witch King of Angmar, and, of course, Frodo and Gollum’s last stand in the heart of Mount Doom.

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Basically, these The Lord of the Rings stamps show all our favorite characters in their most epic moments from Return of the King. Phew, it gives me chills. And, our favorite part—if you look closely at the designs of the stamps, you can see secret messages embedded in the gorgeous artwork by Sacha Lees. For example, if you really peer at Eowyn’s Shieldmaiden stamp, you can see small letters spelling out, “I am no man.” See if you can spot them all below.

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You can order these stamps today.

Return of the King Commemorative Coins

In addition to exquisite stamps, NZ Post has also been creating The Lord of the Rings Commemorative Coins. We know Gollum and dwarves alike would be absolutely entranced by this latest set. There are four Return of the King coins in total, one set of three and one that stands alone. In the set of three, aptly titled “The Lighting of the Beacons,” we see the lighting of the Beacons of Gondor scene come to life in silver and gold. The artistry of these is just beyond incredible. And, in our solo coin is the King of Men himself, Aragorn, being crowned by Gandalf.

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These epic coins are not available to purchase yet but are coming soon.

The Lord of the Rings Art Prints

If you’d like to enjoy this glorious artwork on a bit of a larger scale, some of the concepts for The Return of the King‘s stamps are also available in print form.

But you had better not delay at the Prancing Pony because these are limited edition and selling out. Prints of Gandalf and Eowyn are still available and cost $32.44 each.

About the Artist, NZ Post, and More

Artist Sacha Lees

These gorgeous The Lord of the Rings creations come from the glorious mind and fingers of artist Sacha Lees. A release shares, “The artist behind the stamps and pins is New Zealander Sacha Lees, who began her career at Wētā Workshop working on The Lord of the Rings trilogy as an illustrator, creature designer, and airbrush and concept artist.” What a true talent. You can check out Lees’ other work on her website, here. Trust us, you will not feel sorry you did.

New Zealand and The Lord of the Rings

We also wanted to extend a big round of applause to NZ Post. NZ Post has taken the time to honor The Lord of the Rings because of its incredible relationship with New Zealand. The company shares, “The 2003 release saw a world premiere bring Wellington to a standstill, and scored notable breakthroughs for the local film industry. Held in Wellington, the world premiere of The Return of the King saw a parade begin at Parliament and featured two hundred extras in costume, and demonstrated the growing profile of Aotearoa New Zealand’s film industry on the world stage… As Nancy Swarbrick notes in Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, the film’s stunning financial and critical success further increased international interest in Aotearoa New Zealand as a place to make big-budget movies.”

Of course, New Zealand played no small role in making the films look and feel incredible. We love this symbiotic relationship.

NZ Post’s Collectables

Finally, if you’ve loved NZ Post’s The Lord of the Rings collectibles as much as we have, make sure to check out its Collectables page for more excellent surprises. You never know what you might find. We’d also like to say a special thank you to NZ Post Head of Stamps and Collectables, Antony Harris, for keeping Nerdist informed about the latest in NZ Post news.

We’re crossing our fingers to see a 25th anniversary The Lord of the Rings collection or two someday soon.

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Good news! You don’t have to light the beacons of Gondor to get news across the kingdom anymore. Instead, you can use a Lord of the Rings stamp to send a message… If you’re in New Zealand anyway. But you may want to buy some anyway, just to look at them. In news we first saw on GameSpot, NZ Post has released a brand new set of commemorative Lord of the Rings stamps. And these Lord of the Rings stamps are truly nothing short of breathtaking.

NZ Post

NZ Post Head of Stamps and Collectables Antony Harris shares that these stamps come in celebration of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’s 20th anniversary. He adds that 2001’s original run of The Lord of the Rings stamps proved to be immensely popular. This inspired NZ Post to circle back to the idea. Artists Sacha Lees, who worked on the films and on the original stamps, created the designs.

NZ Post

Harris shares:

Sacha has hand painted the stamp artwork, which depict favourite characters and scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring, such as Gandalf in Hobbiton, the hobbits in the Prancing Pony and Arwen rescuing Frodo, and epic scenes such as Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog and the Fellowship canoeing through the Gates of Argonath.

These scenes jump off the page, or rather, the stamp. Each one of them exquisitely captures a moment from the first Lord of the Rings film. Beyond that, they successfully evoke the sense of adventure and emotion that is at the heart of the franchise. These Lord of the Rings stamps bring the viewer right into the story. We can sense the fear the hobbits face as the Nazgul looms over them. The quiet peace of the shire jumps right out at us. And the Gates of Argonath leave our mouths hanging open. Not bad for a set of stamps! Much like hobbits, they may seem unassuming, but they can really pack a punch!

NZ Post

In making these Lord of the Rings stamps, New Zealand Post also honors the impact the movies have had on the country. Harris shares, “These stamps acknowledge that this iconic film is now a significant component of New Zealand history, culture, and identity.” A truly lovely homage. These stamps are now available. More collectibles, such as legal tender coins, are set to release between October and December.

For those curious, here are the original Lord of the Rings stamps.  The current run of Lord of the Rings stamps, sheets, first-day covers, and more are available on NZ Posts’ website.

As we look forward to Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings series, it’s incredible to look back at the legacy of the franchise.

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The special stamp set features ten images over twenty stamps that “celebrate the science behind NASA’s ongoing exploration of our nearest star.” Some stamps will display “common events” on the Sun. Those events, such as solar flares, sunspots, and coronal loops, are part of the collectible stamps that made their debut this summer.

NASA

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, has been recording images of the Sun and its events for over a decade. Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) was excited about this collection. “I feel that the natural world around us is as beautiful as art, and it’s inspiring to be able to share the import and excitement,” he said. 

SMD is how NASA engages the United States’ science community. They sponsor scientific research and develop and deploy satellites and probes in collaboration with NASA’s partners worldwide. The goal is to answer fundamental questions that require a view from and into space.

Also included in the collection are two images of coronal holes and one image highlighting sunspots. Others include plasmablasts, coronal loops, and different views of a solar flare. The images were taken using equipment to capture images of the Sun in multiple wavelengths. Visible, ultraviolet, and extreme ultraviolet light was captured. Thus, creating many stunning, out-of-this-world, vivid pictures.

This is only one series, but hopefully, we will see more of our biggest and most important star in all its vivid stamp glory.

Yolanda Machado is the West Coast News Editor for Nerdist. Her bylines have appeared in TheWrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Elle, GQ, and many more. 

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