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| Archaeopteryx | Protoceratops |
| Atchaeopteryx "Error" Coin | Triceratops |
| Brontosaurus | Tyrannosaurus Rex |
| Corythosaurus |
Archaeopteryx
Coin - Liberia  |
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This 1994 coin from
Liberia features the Archaeopteryx (meaning "ancient
wing"), a very early prehistoric bird dating from about 150
million years ago during the Jurassic period. Archaeopteryx seemed
to be part bird and part dinosaur. Unlike modern-day birds, it had teeth,
three claws on each wing, a flat sternum (breastbone), belly ribs (gastralia),
and a long, bony tail. Like modern-day birds, it had feathers, a
lightly-built body with hollow bones, a wishbone (furcula) and reduced
fingers. This crow-sized animal may have been able to fly, but not very
far and not very well. Although it had feathers and could fly, it had
similarities to dinosaurs, including its teeth, skull, lack of horny bill,
and certain bone structures. The face value of the coin is 1 dollar, and the back of the coin features the national symbol for Liberia: a three-masted sailing ship in a lagoon with a palm tree and the setting sun. This coin is made from Cupro-Nickel (CuNi) and is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition which gives it amazingly fine detail on the shiny finish. The photo at left was enlarged to approximately 200 percent of the actual size of 38 mm, and the contrast in the photo was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
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Atchaeopteryx "Error"
Coin - Liberia |
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This 1994 coin from
Liberia features the Archaeopteryx (see the coin description
above), but it is an "error" coin because the mint misspelled the name as "Atchaeopteryx"
with a "T" instead of an "R" as the second character as the name. This
is a rare coin because only a small number of coins were created before the
mint fixed the printing mistake, and we have just a few of these coins in
stock. This is a fun and unusual addition to
any coin collection, particularly because coin collectors love to find "error"
coins! The face value of the coin is 1 dollar, and the back of the coin features the national symbol for Liberia: a three-masted sailing ship in a lagoon with a palm tree and the setting sun. This coin is made from Cupro-Nickel (CuNi) and is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition which gives it amazingly fine detail on the shiny finish. The photo at left was enlarged to approximately 200 percent of the actual size of 38 mm, and the contrast in the photo was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
Brontosaurus
Coin - Bosnia & Herzegovina  |
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This 1993 coin from Bosnia &
Herzegovina features the Brontosaurus. The Brontosaurus
[Greek, meaning "thunder lizard"], was a quadruped herbivorous
dinosaur, probably over 70 ft (21 m) long and weighing more than 30 tons.
It had a long, whiplike tail, stout legs, and was primarily a
land-dwelling animal. The eyes and nostrils of these amphibious dinosaurs
were located toward the top of the skull, permitting them to see and
breathe with only the top of the head above water. The coin has a face value of 500 Dinars, although most commerce in Bosnia & Herzegovina is conducted in either Italian Lira or German Marks. The back of the coin features the coat of arms for the country. This coin is made from Cupro-Nickel (CuNi) and is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition which gives it amazingly fine detail on the shiny finish. The photo at left was enlarged to approximately 200 percent of the actual size of 38 mm, and the contrast in the photo was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
| Corythosaurus
Coin - Liberia |
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This 1993 coin from
Liberia features the Corythosaurus. Corythosaurus was a
large, plant-eating, duck-billed dinosaur. It was about 30 feet (9 m) long
and may have weighed up to 5 tons. It had a hollow, bony crest on top of
its long head in the shape of a helmet flattened on the sides (Corythosaurus
means "helmet lizard"). Corythosaurus' nostrils went up through
the crest. The crest may have been used to make sounds, as a cooling
device, courtship displays, and/or as a sense-of-smell enhancer. Males had
larger crests than females and juveniles. It had a toothless beak and
hundreds of cheek teeth that it used to grind up its food. It walked on
two legs, had shorter arms, and a long, heavy tail. It had no natural
defenses. The face value of the coin is 1 dollar, and the back of the coin features the national symbol for Liberia: a three-masted sailing ship in a lagoon with a palm tree and the setting sun. This coin is made from Cupro-Nickel (CuNi) and is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition which gives it amazingly fine detail on the shiny finish. The photo at left was enlarged to approximately 200 percent of the actual size of 38 mm, and the contrast in the photo was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
| Protoceratops
Coin - Liberia |
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This 1993 coin from
Liberia features the Protoceratops. Living
90 million years ago, Protoceratops was the distant ancestor of the larger
and more familiar Triceratops. They shared many of the same features.
Measuring six feet long and weighing close to 400 pounds, Protoceratops
had a large, heavy skull framed by a bony neck frill which was made
lighter by two window-like openings in the skull. It also had a narrow,
parrot-like beak with powerful, toothed jaws. Protoceratops
had no horns, although it had a crest, or nose-horn, along the top ridge
of its snout. Some experts believe that this bump, only associated with
the male of the species, was used in combat between enemies.
The face value of the coin is 1 dollar, and the back of the coin features the national symbol for Liberia: a three-masted sailing ship in a lagoon with a palm tree and the setting sun. This coin is made from Cupro-Nickel (CuNi) and is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition which gives it amazingly fine detail on the shiny finish. The photo at left was enlarged to approximately 200 percent of the actual size of 38 mm, and the contrast in the photo was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
Triceratops
Coin - Eritrea  |
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This 1993 coin from Eritrea
features a common prey for the Tyrannosaurus Rex -- the Triceratops. The
full name for this dinosaur is Triceratops Horridus, which means "horrible
three-horned face". Triceratops
was a rhinoceros-like dinosaur. It walked on four sturdy legs and had three horns on its
face along with a large bony plate projecting from the back of its skull (a frill). One
short horn above its parrot-like beak and two longer horns above its eyes probably
provided protection from predators, and were possibly used in mating rivalry and rituals.
It had a large skull, up to 10 feet (3 m) long, one of the largest skulls of any land
animal ever discovered. Its head was nearly one-third as long as its body. Triceratops
hatched from eggs. Triceratops was about 30 feet long (9 m), 10 feet tall (3 m), and weighed up to 6-12 tons. It had a short, pointed tail, a bulky body, column-like legs with hoof-like claws, and a bony neck frill rimmed with bony bumps. It had a parrot-like beak, many cheek teeth, and powerful jaws. The face value of the coin is 1 dollar, and the back of the coin features the national symbol for Eritrea: a sailing ship in a harbor with a camel and palm tree. This coin is made from Cupro-Nickel (CuNi) and is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition which gives it amazingly fine detail on the shiny finish. The photo at left was enlarged to approximately 200 percent of the actual size of 38 mm, and the contrast in the photo was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
| Tyrannosaurus Rex Coin
- Bosnia & Herzegovina |
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This 1993 coin from Bosnia &
Herzegovina features the terrible and mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Tyrannosaurus Rex means "King of the Tyrant Lizards" because of its immense size
and evil teeth and claws. This meat-eater grew up to be about 40 feet (12.4 m) long,
about 15-20 feet (4.6-6 m)
tall, and about 5-7 tons in weight. It also had a huge head that measured four feet
in length. In its jaws were teeth up to nine inches long!
T. rex walked on two powerful legs with claws, had tiny
two-fingered arms, and a slim, pointed tail that provided balance and quick turning while
running. Fossilized specimens of T. rex's skin have been found. It was bumpy, like
an alligator's skin, and has been described as a "lightly pebbled skin." Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the most powerful carnivores ever to walk the planet and also one of the most highly evolved theropods known. Although not the biggest meat-eating dinosaur ever discovered, the Tyrannosaurus rex is certainly one of the largest terrestrial carnivores of all time. T. rex was a relatively smart dinosaur. Although the ratio of brain size to body mass was very small for T. rex, it was larger than most other dinosaurs. T. rex's brain was larger than the human brain, but the cerebrum (the part of the brain that we use to think) was tiny. T. rex's brain was a long, almost cylindrical shape. The coin has a face value of 500 Dinars, although most commerce in Bosnia & Herzegovina is conducted in either Italian Lira or German Marks. The back of the coin features the coat of arms for the country. This coin is made from Cupro-Nickel (CuNi) and is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition which gives it amazingly fine detail on the shiny finish. The photo at left was enlarged to approximately 200 percent of the actual size of 38 mm, and the contrast in the photo was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
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