Limited edition 50p dinosaur coin launched by Royal Mint and Natural History Museum

The coins are available from Thursday

A collection of limited edition 50p dinosaur coins went on general sale at 9am on Thursday on the Royal Mint website.

The collection was produced in collaboration with the Natural History museum and a group of palaeontologists.

It includes a silver proof 50p coin for £60 or a colour version of the silver proof coin for £65. You can also get your hands on a cheaper version for £10 each or £20 in colour.

A limited edition of 350 gold dinosaur coins, costing £945 each, are all already fully reserved three hours after the launch.

The Royal Mint confirmed to The Independent that all 350 of the gold proof megalosaurus 50p coins are “currently fully reserved”.

The coins will feature three different dinosaurs; the megalosaurus, iguanodon, and hylaeosaurus. Fossilised remains of all three creatures have been found in England.

British anatomist Richard Owen named the group of animals ‘Dinosauria’ in a paper published in 1842.

Only the megalosaurus is available today while the other two coins are arriving in March and April respectively.

The coloured coins are the first ever to incorporate augmented reality technology.

This means owners can use the Royal Mint app to scan the coin and learn about the reptile featured on it.

The Royal Mint says of the collection: “The coins in this collection perfectly encapsulate the wonder that dinosaurs inspire in people of all ages.”

In January the Treasury commissioned a commemorative 50p Brexit coin. 

The new coin, which features the inscription “peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations,” was unveiled by Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid. 

It is the third iteration of the coin after previous versions were shredded and melted down as the Brexit date was missed and had to be changed on the coinage.

Coins to denote historic events are regularly produced by the Royal Mint: the new Brexit coin joins other EU-inspired coinage such as the 1973 coin created when we joined the European Economic Community (EEC) and when the UK held the presidency of the EU council in 1998.