2 Pounds - Charles III JRR Tolkien, Gold Proof

The Royal Mint has issued commemorative Tolkien pieces since 2021, timed loosely around the centenary of early publications in the legendarium, though the timing has never mapped precisely onto a single clean anniversary. This 2023 gold proof continues that series under Charles III's effigy following the September 2022 accession — making it one of the earliest collector issues to bear his portrait in that denomination.

Tolkien spent much of his academic career at Oxford's Merton College as Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, a position he held until 1959. He reportedly disliked most commercial adaptations of his work during his lifetime.