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New Zealand Turning Hobbits Into Actual Cash 89

Posted by timothy from the phase-two-is-to-revive-smaug dept.
Curseyoukhan writes "With its economy struggling, New Zealand hopes to cash in on 'The Hobbit' by turning it into actual cash. The nation is releasing special commemorative coins depicting characters from J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved book. The coin release coincides with the premiere of the first installment in Peter Jackson's film adaptation of the book. It is also part of a publicity campaign aimed to rebrand the country '100 percent Middle Earth.'"
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New Zealand Turning Hobbits Into Actual Cash More

New Zealand Turning Hobbits Into Actual Cash

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  • Future historians will be confused (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 11, 2012 @10:12AM (#41619583)

    As they find the ancient coins, they will no doubt believe New Zealand was ruled by Hobbits.

    • Well, considering that they have already released coins of poorly dressed older men in dire need of a shave (hobos?) and rabbits, seems to make sense that a hobbit had to be coming sooner or later.

    • I'm just glad New Zealand finally found an industry more lucrative than sheep herding.

      • I'm just glad New Zealand finally found an industry more lucrative than sheep herding.

        Are there sheep on their coinage?

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by ShieldW0lf ( 601553 )

        the value of New Zealand's currency has doubled, hurting exports and making it more expensive for tourists. Some 15 percent of the offices in Wellington's business district are empty.

        Maybe they should quit trying to structure their society into an amusement park and rely on others to handle the practical concerns that keep them alive, and instead take a hint from the likes of, say, North Korea, who actually face the problems that life puts in front of them and address them with their own hands instead of p

        • Maybe they should quit trying to structure their society into an amusement park and rely on others to handle the practical concerns that keep them alive, and instead take a hint from the likes of, say, North Korea, who actually face the problems that life puts in front of them and address them with their own hands instead of passing the buck to someone else like a little bitch.

          That way they could also enjoy a quality of life simimilar to those who live North Korea! Oh... wait... are you serious?

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by jemmyw ( 624065 )

          We've been looking for an office in Wellington over the last few weeks. I'd say the reason so many offices are empty is due to their state (earthquake prone, in serious need of refurbishment, etc) rather than demand.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by rtb61 ( 674572 )

          I know it can be a little embarrassing for you country to alter it coinage something that'll last for hundreds even thousands of years over something so meaningless as a single movie but everyone makes mistakes, they oversee something rather insignificant as big and important, when it really isn't especially when it's involved in something as shallow as the movie industry. Suck it up, laugh at the idiot's that made the mistake, make fun of them and as you got modded turn it into a joke. It is silly and tha

      • > I'm just glad New Zealand finally found an industry more lucrative than sheep herding.
        It's called beef. There are still plenty of sheep about but the numbers have gone down as more cows have been raised - since milk solids and beef are worth more than lamb and mutton at the moment. Yes, I'm from New Zealand so we do hear about these things.

        Part of New Zealand's supposed "struggling" economy is the fact that our public debt (eg that of the government and people) is relatively low as a proportion of

        • You are wrong.

          OUr "public" debt is enormously high and is in fact one of the highest in the OECD per capita. (like iceland's was)

          Our government debt is low.

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by rjmnz ( 165487 )

            Actually grandparent is right. Our public debt is our government or sovereign debt. This is the debt that the government and all of us collectively are responsible for. This is low.
            Our private debt is high. This is the debt you and I chose to take on (credit cards, car finance mortgage etc) and are individually responsible for.
            Fortunately for us this debt does not have as much impact on national credit ratings and perceptions of financial stability.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by sootman ( 158191 )

          > I just took the opportunity to bring up some tidbits you'd never hear
          > otherwise - not that anyone is particularly interested, but the New
          > Zealand economy is not often its own slashdot topic.

          This is why I come to slashdot. Random cool stuff, written right now by actual humans (MS VB ShillBots aside) that I never would have heard about any other way. Good post, thanks. :-)

          • Thank you very much. It makes it worthwhile to post knowing that some people enjoy learning about all sorts of random stuff (as I do too :) ).

            Lol, you are so right about the MS shillbots, but I think they're mostly about how Visual Studio (VS) is supposed to be the shizzle (no thanks, I'd rather be truly cross-platform).

            Cheers!

          • This is why I come to slashdot. Random cool stuff, written right now by actual humans (MS VB ShillBots aside) that I never would have heard about any other way. Good post, thanks. :-)

            You make it sound like details of the NZ economy are some exotic pieces of information you'd never have come across otherwise.

            Don't you ever read newspapers or look at internet news sites beyond the first couple of headlines?

        • The growth rate isn't 1%, it's 2.6% (Statistics NZ, quarter ended June). Also, the NZ dollar isn't as strong as many make it out - historically we were fixed against the $US (until the mid 1980s), and that's still what people seem to quote as "the" exchange rate. We are up against some currencies like the US and UK - because their economies are in the toilet and their central banks are debasing their currencies as fast as they can. Against other major trading partners (eg Australia, our biggest) the NZ doll

    • Re:Future historians will be confused (Score:5, Funny)

      by Big Hairy Ian ( 1155547 ) on Thursday October 11, 2012 @10:53AM (#41620001)
      I've been short changed before but this is ridiculous!

      • I've been short changed before but this is ridiculous!

        Next time you come up short you'll have an excuse.

    • Re:Future historians will be confused (Score:4, Funny)

      by Glothar ( 53068 ) on Thursday October 11, 2012 @12:15PM (#41620719)

      Forget future historians, in 600 years, when Hobbitism rises as the worlds newest major religion, the coins will be used by fundamentalists as proof that Hobbitism is the One Truth, and encouragement for the furthering of their grim beliefs.

      A large sect of Hobbitics in Western Europe will base their entire world view on the belief that there was no allegory or symbolism in the Lord of the Rings, and thus Balrogs do have wings, foxes are sentient, and that if you become suitably evil, you'll turn into a floating eyeball. They'll lobby the Grande Bankocracy of America to force the teaching of Ainuism as an alternative to Evolution. In late November, they will gather together in a large field with a bucket of these coins, separate into five groups, and then murder each other until someone spots an eagle. Then, the group with the shortest individual gets all the gold.

      Why don't people think about consequences when they make commemorative coins like this?

      [/far-too-much-tolkien-knowledge]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sootman ( 158191 )

      On a related note, I thought Toy Story was great because they did such an incredible job of mimicking the styles of certain types of toys. Now when kids see the movies, they just think "Hey, it's a movie about those toys I have."

  • Soylent Green (Score:5, Funny)

    by thomasdz ( 178114 ) on Thursday October 11, 2012 @10:13AM (#41619589)

    Personally, I'd grind my hobbits into a paste and sell it as health food. I'd make millions!

  • turning hobbits into cash? (Score:5, Informative)

    by hamburger lady ( 218108 ) on Thursday October 11, 2012 @10:16AM (#41619619)

    is that like turning smurfs into gold? cause remember you need six of em.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sootman ( 158191 )

      > is that like turning smurfs into gold? cause
      > remember you need six of em.
      > Score:4, Informative

      I <3 /.

  • Why is it called Middle Earth?

    Middle of what? Is it a region in the middle of the known world, with Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Earth on the sides? Middle era? Some aspect of the native's religion, viewing it as the middle ground between their versions of heaven and hell? Because I havn't the faintest idea, and I care not enough to google.

  • Miss opportunity. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Dyinobal ( 1427207 ) on Thursday October 11, 2012 @10:23AM (#41619685)

    They really missed an opportunity here, they could of minted coins that are meant to appear as if they had come from Smaug's Horde. I'd pay for a coin that was cast to look as if it had come from the lonely mountain.

    Maybe I'm just a big nerd but I honestly don't think commemorative character coins are all that interesting. Give me something that is anchored in the story

    • And just imagine what they'd get for the Arkenstone....

    • Hoard! (and this comes from a cheese eating surrender grammar nazi monkey)

    • Maybe they should try their hands at rings. They have a volcano or two around there, do they not?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by pjt33 ( 739471 )

        They're late to the party. I saw the One Ring for sale in a souk in Muscat about seven years ago. In fact, that shop had at least two of them...

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Macgrrl ( 762836 )

          Weta workshop had a number of 'One Ring's for sale that were made to the same specifications as those used in the film. I bought one for my husband a few years back. At the time they were out of gold rings in his size and we bought a silver ring. He recently got it electroplated with gold, it kept the engraving beautifully.

  • This is one of the oldest investment scams in the world. Who would be stupid enough to buy these...oh wait...

    • The ones that just have face value are only have "collectable" value, yes, but the one that's pure gold could probably be classed as an actual investment.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mcgrew ( 92797 ) *

      A Brit gave me a coin (I believe it's legal tender but I don't remember) commemorating Charles and Diane's wedding back in the early eighties, is it worth anything?

  • Forged in Mount Doom! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by KatchooNJ ( 173554 ) <Katchoo716 AT gmail DOT com> on Thursday October 11, 2012 @10:26AM (#41619717) Homepage

    I can already envision the corny TV commercial hawking these things. If they showed the orcs producing the coins like they were churning out weapons in the movies, that would be pure perfection.

  • How about a Most Dangerous Game Show? I'd buy that for a Sackville!

  • The nation is releasing special commemorative coins depicting the actors who played the characters in the movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved book

    FTFY.

    • depicting the actors who played the characters in the movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved book

      That's how they get around paying Tolkien's estate. Otherwise the licensing would definitely make NZ come out in the red from the project.

      • depicting the actors who played the characters in the movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved book

        That's how they get around paying Tolkien's estate. Otherwise the licensing would definitely make NZ come out in the red from the project.

        Wait a second. The actors control their own image for commercial purposes also. Why is there cut necessarily smaller? If Tolkien's estate wants some more scratch they can negotiated a deal that keeps NZ in the black also. Now they are getting 100% of nothing.

      • That's how they get around paying Tolkien's estate.

        How so? As The Hobbit is not illustrated, NZ coin designers would otherwise have to create the characters in their own vision, which would be considered an independent work, and thus, not subject to royalty.

        Or I haven't had nearly enough caffeine today and thus, am way off base. So it goes.

  • Is this like Settlers of Catan, only instead of a sheep port, you have a hobbit port? "I'll get wood for two hobbits," indeed.

  • That Gargamel was finally successful replacing smurfs with hobbits...

  • "Current Length of Copyright Allows Authors to Print Own Money (from beyond the grave)"

  • Are these official New Zealand currency (typically minted by the Royal Mint in the UK or the Royal Canadian Mint), or commemoratives produced by the New Zealand Mint, a private company which doesn't produce New Zealand's currency?

    • I thought NZ Currency was minted in Australia.

      For the longest time NZ had the exact same coins as Australia.

      • Dunno about the coins but the 'paper' (plastic) notes get printed in Singapore, although may have moved to Hong Kong now.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rossdee ( 243626 )

        "For the longest time NZ had the exact same coins as Australia."

        When was this? The 19th century

        NZ coins had their own designs way back in the days before decimal currency. I remember there was a Tui on the Penny
        You could find them as radding in the back of D cell torches

        I wonder how much my 1940 Centennial Half-Crown is worth these days

      • I believe current NZ coins are made by the Royal Canadian Mint. We make a lot of countries coins as they invented some interesting electroplating technique that makes nice looking plated steel coins that are difficult to counterfeit.

    • The article says the coins are legal tender if that answers your question.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jrumney ( 197329 )
      Commemorative coins are legal tender. They are seldom used as such, since their market value is usually higher than their face value. Though sometimes they have been released into the market by Post Office counters giving them as change, and you do see the odd one in circulation for a while after release.
  • . . . turn Hobbits into cash - it is actually a pretty involved process like breeding an army of Uruk-Hai - lots of resources and planning

  • I always knew the All Blacks were created by Saruman at Isengard.

  • You'd getting 1 oz gold in a $3,695.00 coin. Granted there's numismatic value, but at ( spot price last I checked ) $1767, that's quite a markup.

  • ANY OLD HOBBIT!
    ANY OLD HOBBIT!
    ANY OLD HOBBIT!

    We pay cash for any old hobbit! Go to tradeahobbit.com

  • Good luck surpassing the success of New Zealand's previous commerative stamp collection: The Large, Dark-Brown Areolae of Xena: Warrior Princess

  • I know Gargamel was trying to catch the Smurfs to turn them into gold. But Hobbits?!

  • The title had me thinking of a scene out of The Wall, with hobbits on a conveyor belt being dropped into a grinder oozing cash out of it.

    Never mixed Pink Floyd with Tolkien before. I usually don't get really creative, screwed up images like that unless I'm dreaming. Thanks, Slashdot!

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