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The Tales of the Earth 50p series continued with the 2024 UK T-Rex 50p in December last year, kicking off the Iconic Specimens Collection!

The collection celebrates some of the most legendary dinosaurs to roam the Earth, with designs by renowned paleo-artist Robert Nicholls who had expert guidance from Professor Paul Barrett from the Natural History Museum. Still to come in the Iconic Specimens Collection are the Stegosaurus 50p and the Diplodocus 50p.

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Continue your Tales of the Earth 50p collection

Secure your T-Rex 50p and pre-order the others in the collection >>

The dinosaur 50ps STOMPING into your collection!

Look out Change Checkers, because a brand new collection of UK Dinosaur 50ps are causing a rumbling in the collecting world! Three roarsome 50ps in the Iconic Specimens Collection have been issued as part of the Tales of the Earth series.


2024 Diplodocus 50p

The third and final 50p in the Iconic Specimens Collection features the Diplodocus, a gentle giant of the late Jurassic period. As one of the most on-display dinosaurs in the world, it’s only fitting that the Diplodocus closes this collection.

The 2024 Diplodocus 50p completes the Iconic Specimens Collection

The Diplodocus could reach up to 90 feet long, with the neck alone measuring 26 feet! As a herbivore, it had no need for sharp teeth, and was better equipped with peg-like teeth for stripping leaves from branches. Despite its usually docile nature, the Diplodocus boasted a powerful whip-like tail which may have been able to break the sound barrier when cracked, probably used to scare predators or in courtship rituals.

Designer, paleo artist Robert Nicholls had expert guidance from Professor Paul Barret from the Natural History Museum to ensure the Diplodocus was accurately depicted, with its winding neck and impressive serpentine tail. In the foreground, you can even see a Diplodocus skeleton, further emphasising its sheer length.

Secure the 2024 UK Diplodocus 50p for your collection >>


2024 Stegosaurus 50p

The second 50p in the Iconic Specimens collection takes us back to the Jurassic period and pays tribute to the colossal stegosaurus. The stegosaurus is often nicknamed the ‘dumbest dinosaur’ due to its tiny plum-sized brain, however, it had no problem defending itself against predators with its formidable spiked tail.

Stegosaurus 50p obverse and reverse
The second coin in the Iconic Specimens Collection pays tribute to the colossal Stegosaurus

The 2024 UK Stegosaurus 50p depicts the armoured herbivore in all its glory, with those unmistakable diamond-shaped plates down its back and a powerful spiked tail. In the foreground, you can even see a stegosaurus skeleton amongst Jurassic foliage and the inscription ‘JURASSIC’.

2024 UK Stegosaurus 50p in hand
2024 UK Stegosaurus 50p in hand

Paleo artist Robert Nichols worked with Professor Paul Barret from the Natural History Museum to create the design, which was based on the world’s most complete stegosaurus specimen – the ‘Sophie’ skeleton.

Did you know?
The time between when the Stegosaurus roamed the earth and the Tyrannosaurus is actually greater than the time separating the Tyrannosaurus and us!

Click here to secure the 2024 UK Stegosaurus 50p for your collection >>


2024 UK T-Rex 50p

Kicking off the new Iconic Specimens collection in December 2023 was the 2024 UK T-Rex 50p, featuring one of the most ferocious predators to ever walk the earth. Not only was this the first time the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex had appeared on a UK 50p, but it was also the first 2024 dated 50p to be issued!

The first in the Iconic Specimens Collection

The Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the most fearsome animals of all time, boasting a 5 foot long skull,  armed with 60 razor sharp teeth, and a bite 3 times more powerful than a lion!

Perhaps thankfully, you won’t find yourself up against a real T-Rex in this age. However, the ferocious predator is so realistically portrayed on the 2024 T-Rex 50p, that you’ll be instantly transported back to the Cretaceous Period.

UK 2024 T-Rex 50p in hand
UK 2024 T-Rex 50p in hand

The reverse design was created by paleo-artist Robert Nicholls, with expert guidance from Professor Paul Barret from the Natural History Museum. They worked together on a design that portrays the T-Rex ready for action in a defensive stance, bearing its tremendous teeth. In the foreground, you can also see a T-Rex skeleton and the inscriptions ‘TYRANNOSAURUS’ and ‘CRETACEOUS’, in reference to the period in which it lived.

Click here to secure the 2024 UK Tyrannosaurus 50p for your collection >>


Previous Tales of the Earth 50ps

The Royal Mint’s Tales of the Earth series celebrates the most legendary prehistoric creatures to ever roam the planet.

Dinosauria Collection

The series started in 2020 with the Dinosauria collection, which celebrated the first dinosaurs recorded in scientific literature. The Dinosauria collection included 50ps featuring the Iguanodon, the Hylaeosaurus and the Megalosaurus.

Did you know? The Megalosaurus is thought to be the first dinosaur described in scientific literature in the 1600s.

2020 Dinosauria 50p Collection
2020 Dinosauria 50p Collection

Mary Anning Collection

A year later in 2021, the Mary Anning collection was released, celebrating the first prehistoric creatures discovered by Mary Anning on the Jurassic coast. Mighty prehistoric beasts the Dimorphodon, Plesiosaurus and Temnodontosaurus all featured on UK 50ps.

Did you know? Mary Anning was just 12 years old when she discovered her first fossil. The 5.2 metre long skeleton was studied and eventually named Ichthyosaurus, or ‘fish lizard’, which lived 201-194 million years ago.

2021 Mary Anning 50p Series
2021 Mary Anning 50p Collection

Complete your Iconic Specimens 50p Collection

Secure the Iconic Specimens Collection for your collection >>

The Giants of the Jurassic – brand new 2021 Mary Anning 50p Collection!

Are you ready to discover the mighty beasts of the sea and sky?

The Royal Mint have revealed a brand new 50p series celebrating Mary Anning and her fossil discoveries on the Jurassic coast.

Dimorphodon 50p

Secure the brand new 2021 UK Dimorphodon 50p for your collection today! Simply click here

The final coin in the series has JUST been released and it features a design of the Dimorphodon.

The Dimorphodon was a primitive flying reptile that coexisted during the age of the dinosaurs and was first discovered by Mary Anning in Dorset.

Whilst the Dimorphodon’s 1.7m wing-span is impressive, what makes this Jurassic Giant so unique, is that its name literally translates to ‘two-form tooth’. This is due to the Dimorphodon having several large pointed teeth in the front of its jaws and much smaller ones set in the back.

The design of this brand new 50p shows both of these features in perfect detail, with the creature’s wings spanning across nearly the entire diameter of the coin and its sharp teeth in clear view.

This series has proven incredibly popular with collectors, with the Temnodontosaurus and Plesiosaurus 50p coins having taken the collecting world by storm.

Today, you can secure the brand new 2021 UK Dimorphodon 50p for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £4.50 (+p&p). To order yours, simply click here >>

What’s more, you can also order the Temnodontosaurus 50p and the Plesiosaurus 50p coins in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.

Pre-order the 2021 UK Dimorphodon 50p, by clicking here >>

To secure the 2021 UK Plesiosaurus 50p for JUST £4.50 (+p&p), click here >>

To secure the 2021 UK Temnodontosaurus 50p for JUST £4.50 (+p&p), click here >>

Plesiosaurus 50p

The second coin in the series celebrates one of the Jurassic Coast’s greatest marine reptiles, the Plesiosaurus.

Secure the 2021 UK Plesiosaurus 50p for your collection by clicking here >>

The Plesiosaurus was about 4.5 metres in length and is estimated to have weighed about 45 tonnes (that’s about 7 elephants!)

But what makes this Jurassic Giant so unique, is the power of its bite! It’s estimated that the Plesiosaurus had the largest bite force of any known animal and with teeth as sharp as needles, there’s no doubt this reptile dominated the oceans!

If you look closely, you can even see this Jurassic Giant’s teeth in the design of this 50p coin!

To secure your 2021 UK Plesiosaurus 50p in official Change Checker packaging, simply click here >>

Temnodontosaurus 50p

The first coin in the series celebrates Mary Anning’s very first ichthyosaur, the Temnodontosaurus.

Secure yours for your collection for JUST £4.50 (+p&p) here >>

The ‘cutting tooth lizard’ (as it’s otherwise known) is one of the largest ichthyosaurs to have been discovered by Mary Anning in Lyme Regis, Dorset.

This apex marine predator hunted in the deep ocean millions of years ago, but now this prehistoric beast has been brought to life once more – its likeness captured in exquisite detail on this brand new 50p.

This was first coin in the series to have been issued and you can secure one for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £4.50 (+p&p). To secure yours in official Change Checker packaging, simply click here >>

The Unsung Hero of Fossil Discovery

Mary Anning is remembered as being one of the greatest fossil hunters and paleontologists to have ever lived.

At the start of her career, she claimed her excavations were merely to explore her ‘curiosities’. Later, she was to discover remains of some of the greatest creatures to have ever swam in our shores and soared in our skies.

Famous in her home town of Lyme Regis, Dorset, Anning’s work left a legacy of fossil hunting, paleontology and science

Dinosaur fans and historians alike, still flock to the seaside town in their thousands every year to learn more about her discoveries and to try and unearth their very own creatures in the sand and rocks!

Sought-after Series

This collection follows in the gigantic footsteps of the 2020 Dinosauria 50p series, which brought us the Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus 50p coins.

These coins were a definite numismatic highlight of 2020, with collectors quickly snapping up these dino-mite coins for their own collections. This was the FIRST-TIME ever that Dinosaurs featured on a UK coin and this year the theme continues with three prehistoric creatures being celebrated on coins.

In 2021, we get up close and personal with the Jurassic giants of the sea and air, with the Mary Anning 50p Collection.

Each coin in the collection has been designed by renowned British palaeo-artist Robert Nicholls with the expert guidance of Sandra Chapman of the Earth Sciences Department of the Natural History Museum.

It’s fair to say that the influence of the designs from the Natural History Museum will certainly make these coins popular with dinosaur fans and collectors alike!


Will you be securing these coins for your collection?

Let us know in the comments which Mary Anning 50p is your favourite from the collection!


Secure the 2021 Dimorphodon 50p in Brilliant Uncirculated quality!

You can secure the brand new 2021 UK Dimorphodon 50p for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality and in official Change Checker packaging for JUST £4.50 (+p&p) by clicking here >>

You can also order the complete set of three 2021 UK Mary Anning 50p coins by clicking here >>