Scott's Obligatory Page

On this particular evening, something changed hands quietly in
the back of a hobbit-hole in the Shire many miles from the dark
realm of Mordor. A small, metallic something. Something which
could be accurately described as a circular loop of shining metal.

The land of Middle Earth was almost oblivious to the change of
ownership, which was wonderful for the two parties concerned.
The trade went unnoticed among the citizens of Rivendell, it
escaped the Nazgul completely, and even the dark lord himself
continued straight on with his day without noticing. This was a
pity for him, because it was exactly the thing he had been
searching for all these years.

  -- from The Mostly Harmless Ring of Power, by Douglas Adams