Fifty Pence 2021 Dinosaurs - Plesiosaurus, 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 (effigy known as the "Fifth Portrait").

Running continuously around the effigy is the monarch's legend and the date: 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.

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

The reverse of the coin shows an artist's impression of a dinosaur of the Plesiosaurus species, amid Jurassic sea creatures. Below, separating the design from the exergue, a fossilised dinosaur "hand paddle".

Plesiosaurus (Greek: πλησίος (plesios), near to + σαῦρος (sauros), lizard) is a genus of extinct, large marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the early part of the Jurassic Period, and is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England. It is distinguishable by its small head, long and slender neck, broad turtle-like body, a short tail, and two pairs of large, elongated paddles. The first complete skeleton of Plesiosaurus was discovered by early paleontologist and fossil hunter Mary Anning in Sinemurian (Early Jurassic)-age rocks of the lower Lias Group in December 1823.

Around above, the inscription PLESIOSAURUS. 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.

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 Dinosauria - Megalosaurus, 2020
- 50p Dinosauria - Iguanodon, 2020
- 50p Dinosauria - Hylaeosaurus, 2020
- 50p Mary Anning Collection - Temnodontosaurus, 2021
- 50p Mary Anning Collection - Plesiosaurus, 2021
- 50p Mary Anning Collection - Dimorphodon, 2021