The 2004 Royal Mail issue related to the Lord of the Rings marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first books in the series. Consequently they focussed on the books and showed the author's drawings illustrating locations in the books. This set, incidentally, was one of many consisting of 10 x 1st class.
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| 2004 set of 10 x 1st class Lord of the Rings stamps. |
Now, it's 25 years since The Fellowshop of the Ring hit a screen near you bringing New Zealand director Peter Jackson to our notice - not his first film, but the series which has featured most on stamps, notably those of New Zealand.
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| Selection of New Zealand Lord of the Rings stamps depicting Frodo, Gandalf, Aragon and Legolas. |
New Zealand Post has issued several sets of LOTR stamps. How will Royal Mail's stamps compare? Time will tell, and they will be revealed around 11 March.
As you have probably predicted, Royal Mail have made this another blockbuster issue, aiming to sell much more merchandise to fan collectors than stamp collectors. For this reason there is the usual wide range of products available, starting with...
The set of 8 x 1st class stamps
[Royal Mail] This set of 8 mint stamps showing montages from the film trilogy are perfect for film fans.
Each stamp celebrates iconic characters from the 3 films. British Actors from the epic featured are Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Ian McKellan as Gandalf, Dominic Monaghan as Merry, Billy Boyd as Pippin and Christopher Lee as Saruman.
This stunning imagery also has a secret UV layer revealed using a UV light, Elvish writing in a circle appears on each stamp. Fans will recognise this as the writing on the One Ring.
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| Set of 8 1st class stamps illustrated with montages from the Lord of the Rings films./The lower illustration shows the Elvish writing revealed if you have a UV lamp. |
The characters: The Hobbits, Gandalf, Arwen, Gimli, Saruman, Aragon, Legolas, and Frodo & Gollum.
The miniature sheet
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| Lord of the Rings miniature sheet of four x 1st class stamps issued 20 March 2026 depicting The Shire at Hobbiton, Rivendell, The Gates of Argonath and Mount Doom. |
Technical details and acknowledgements
The 50 x 30 mm stamps were designed by True North, veterans of Royal Mail stamp design - Harry Potter, Women's Rugby, Blackadder, Visions of the Universe etc. They were printed in litho by Cartor Security Printers in sheets of 60 (30 se-tenant pairs), perforated 14½ x 14. The 192 x 74 mm self-adhesive* miniature sheet contains 60 x 30 mm stamps, perforated 14½. (*Not gummed as stated on Royal Mail's web shop).
© New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY and all names of the characters, items, events, and places therein are TM of Middle- earth Enterprises, LLC under license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s26).
Prestige Stamp Book (£25.32) (Thank you JohnH for the correction to my typo.)
"The Prestige Stamp book brings together all the stamps from the Lord of the Rings issue plus a unique pane of definitive stamps available only in this book.
"Inside readers will find expertly written pieces on some of the battles between good and evil, like Arwen vs the Black Riders, Gandalf vs the Balrog and Frodo vs Gollum. Whilst many people are aware of the lead character Frodo, many fans acknowledge that the saga is made up of a host of heroes and this stamp book celebrates the feats and battles won and lost throughout the three films.
"A real journey through Middle Earth, this stamp book is a wonderful addition to any Lord of the Rings Fan’s collection."
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| The Limited Edition (2001) PSB with gold cover in gold-coloured presentation box (£49.99) |
Fan Sheets (£8 each)
Two gummed Fan Sheets containing three of the relevant stamps - Frodo and Sam, and Gandalf. Limited editions of 5,000.
Gandalf's picture looks familiar, doesn't it? Scroll up to the New Zealand stamps!
Collector Sheet (£14.80)
The landscape-oriented Collector Sheet as usual features all 8 stamps, with additional imagery on the attached labels. As usual the sheet is self-adhesive.
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| Lord of the Rings self-adhesive Collector Sheet of 8 stamps issued 20 March 2026. |
Products Available from Royal Mail
Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, first day covers (2), presentation pack, stamp cards (13), press sheet of 10 miniature sheets (edition of 200), framed products.
(Incidentally, in each of NZ Post's LOTR issues they had six gummed stamps, the same six stamps in individual miniature sheets, the same six stamps in a single self-adhesive miniature sheet, and a self-adhesive folded booklet containing four of the lowest value, two of one other, and one each of the rest. There are also official maximum cards which had a stamp stuck to the picture side and postmarked, and also printed in black & white on the address side; the cards are thus prepaid for posting to anywhere in the world.)
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