Autographed Lord of the Rings cards fetch nearly £3k

Autographed Lord of the Rings cards have bagged just under £3,000 at auction.

The complete set of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring memorabilia cards was sold for £2,860 by Ewbank’s Auction near Woking in Surrey.

Auctioneer Andrew Ewbank told the BBC it was a “good result”.

“It is testament to the ongoing popularity of both the films, and the story itself.”

Mr Ewbank said two young children bid in the auction with their father and bought some Pokémon cards that were also on sale.

“It is wonderful to see young people at the saleroom getting the collecting bug,” he added.

The set contains 10 autographed cards, signed by actors including Sir Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen – who played Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn in the film respectively.

Cards have also been signed by the actors of Gimli, Pippin, Arwen, Bilbo, Galadriel, Sam and Boromir in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, based on JRR Tolkien’s fantasy novels.

It also comprises all 162 base set cards, 10 prismatic foil cards, checklist cards, The Legend Comes to Life cards parts one and two, both bonus foils cards and three empty booster packs.

Mr Ewbank previously said it was “quite unusual” to have a complete set, which would have taken “quite a feat” to collect.

“A lot of people in their 30s and 40s would’ve bought these cards when they were children in the 1990s and early 2000s,” he continued.

“Trading cards are an increasingly popular area of collecting, attracting a new generation of collectors,” said Mr Ewbank.