Fifty Pence 2021 Dinosaurs - Dimorphodon, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

The obverse of the coin depicts the crowned old head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Royal Diamond Diadem crown worn for her Coronation (her effigy known as the "Fifth Portrait").

In small letters below the head, the artist's initials J.C (for Jody Clark).

Running continuously around the effigy is the monarch's legend, followed by the date of issue and the face value: ELIZABETH II · D · G · REG · F · D · 50 PENCE · 2021 ·. Translated from Latin: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith, followed by the value and denomination in English and the year.

The reverse of the coin shows an artist's impression of a dinosaur of the Dimorphodon species in flight, amid Jurassic plants. Below, separating the design from the exergue, fossilised wing bones.

Dimorphodon was a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from the early Jurassic Period. It was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1859. Dimorphodon means "two-form tooth", derived from the Greek δι (di) meaning "two", μορφη (morphe) meaning "shape" and οδων (odon) meaning "tooth", referring to the fact that it had two distinct types of teeth in its jaws - which is comparatively rare among reptiles. The first fossil remains now attributed to Dimorphodon were found in England by fossil collector Mary Anning, at Lyme Regis in Dorset, UK in December 1828.

Around above, the inscription DIMORPHODON. Around below in the exergue, MARRY ANNING 1823. The designer's initials RN (for Robert Nicholls) are above the exergue line, to the right.

Value and denomination are on the obverse.

The coins were announced for pre-sale in March 2021, for delivery in April.

Base metal mintage also includes 48,297 BU coins "in trade packaging".

From the Royal Mint description:
"Mary Anning was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, in 1799 and spent her entire life in this small seaside town on England’s south coast. During her childhood, the Napoleonic wars curtailed travel to Europe and tourists flocked to the seaside instead. Here, fossil hunting became a popular pastime for fashionable Georgians looking to add to their cabinets of curiosities, and a new cottage industry sprang up.

Anning’s father Richard had a large family to support and, in order to supplement his modest income as a carpenter, he set up a curiosity table outside their home selling fossils to tourists. These objects were a source of great fascination, but no one knew what they were. Petrified in the rocks on the shore were strange shapes that resembled backbones of giant creatures, along with enormous pointed teeth, which led to speculation that they belonged to crocodiles or alligators. At the time, absolute faith in the word of the Bible was commonplace and people believed these were the remains of creatures that had died during the Great Flood. Anning took a keen interest in helping her father and amongst the curiosities they discovered were ‘snake stones’ (ammonites), ‘devil fingers’ (belemnites) and ‘verteberries’ (vertebrae).

Anning was still aged only around 12 or 13 when she found the first articulated skeleton of an ichthyosaur, a type of marine reptile that once roamed Jurassic seas. In 1823, she found another sea lizard, unearthing the first complete plesiosaur skeleton, which initially baffled scientists because of its abnormally long neck. In 1828, she discovered the first pterosaur skeleton in England. Combing the beaches in all weathers, this series of astonishing discoveries make Anning the greatest fossil hunter of the Victorian era.

As a working-class woman, Anning lacked a formal education, but acquired the skills needed to collect and prepare fossils. She had taught herself anatomy and became quite an expert in the subject of marine palaeontology. However, because of her gender and class, Anning did not write or publish any academic papers. Instead, she contributed drawings and imparted her knowledge to many notable geologists, but her role in unearthing so many historically important specimens, while advancing scientific understanding, was rarely acknowledged."

Coins in the Tales of the Earth collection include:
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Dinosauria - Megalosaurus, 2020
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Dinosauria - Iguanodon, 2020
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Dinosauria - Hylaeosaurus, 2020
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Mary Anning Collection - Temnodontosaurus, 2021
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Mary Anning Collection - Plesiosaurus, 2021
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Mary Anning Collection - Dimorphodon, 2021
- 1/4 oz Gold, Iconic Specimens - Tyrannosaurus, 2024
- 1 oz Silver, Iconic Specimens - Tyrannosaurus, 2024
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Iconic Specimens - Tyrannosaurus, 2024
- 1/4 oz Gold, Iconic Specimens - Stegosaurus, 2024
- 1 oz Silver, Iconic Specimens - Stegosaurus, 2024
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Iconic Specimens - Stegosaurus, 2024
- 1/4 oz Gold, Iconic Specimens - Diplodocus, 2024
- 1 oz Silver, Iconic Specimens - Diplodocus, 2024
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), Iconic Specimens - Diplodocus, 2024
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), ice Age Giants - Steppe Mammoth, 2024
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), ice Age Giants - Woolly Rhinoceros, 2024
- 50p (with silver and gold versions), ice Age Giants - Giant Deer, 2024