Royal Mint launch collectable dinosaur 50p coins

The Royal Mint has teamed up with the National History Museum for a special series of collectable 'rawr-some' 50p coins.

The three-coin collection, which is named Tales of the Earth: Iconic Specimens features the Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus and Diplodocus designs printed onto the 50p pieces. 

Each dinosaur design has been created by paleo-artist Robert Nicholls, with expert guidance from the Natural History Museum’s Professor Paul Barett, to depict scientifically accurate images of the dinosaurs. 

Coins available to purchase from the collection will include; the original three-coin collection for £11, the colour three-coin collection for £20, and more variations of colour and metal type. 

The most expensive collectable coins in the Tales of the Earth: Iconic Specimens collection, are the gold-proof, limited edition 100, which are priced at £1,220.

Coins can be purchased as the trio, or as singular coins. 

Rebecca Morgan, Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint said, “We are excited to reveal the roar-some new collectable 50p coins by The Royal Mint, featuring some of the most legendary and mighty dinosaurs of all time - including Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Diplodocus. For nearly 200 million years, dinosaurs roamed the Earth so it’s fitting that they are honoured forever on an official UK coin.  Seeing these dinosaurs on a 50p coin we hope it will delight and inspire both current and budding palaeontologists for years to come.

“Our team of craftspeople have faithfully reproduced Robert Nicholls’ technical drawings to ensure each dinosaur appears in fine detail. Recreating the mighty Tyrannosaurus on the tiny canvas of a fifty pence takes a lot of skill, and we’re really proud of the result.

Designer of the collection, Robert Nicholls said: “I have dedicated my life to bringing extinct animals back to life through art, I started drawing dinosaurs as soon as I could hold a pencil – it is my obsession. Any project that allows me to work with long-dead animals is a joy but having an opportunity to create collectable coins for The Royal Mint, with royal approval, is very special indeed.”