MintLAB - Exceptional Dis...
MintLAB - Exceptional Discoveries: Dinosaurs of Canada – Fine Silver Coin
MintLAB - Exceptional Discoveries: Dinosaurs of Canada – Fine Silver Coin
About
Join us at the dig site, where science unearths a dinosaur’s story.
It’s rare to find the skeleton of a young tyrannosaur, but a Gorgosaurus libratus specimen discovered in Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park in 2009 revealed something even rarer: a last meal, preserved inside its stomach cavity.
Merging science and story in one unforgettable piece, this dinosaur-themed coin features a new technology – Double-dimension Relief—two minting technologies are incorporated into one coin! The coin’s obverse is struck Super Incuse (incuse relief struck below the coin’s surface), while the coin’s reverse is struck in Ultra High Relief (raised relief struck above the coin’s surface). It brings to life an exceptional palaeontological discovery: the first fossil evidence that juvenile tyrannosaurs ate differently than adults. The coin’s obverse takes you to the dig site, where the deep trench encircling the fossil is struck Super Incuse. Flip over the coin for a reimagining of the past on the coin’s reverse, where Ultra High Relief highlights the young Gorgosaurus as it chases down a yearling Citipes elegans, offering a glimpse into Late Cretaceous predator-prey interactions.
Unearth the moment: A dinosaur’s last meal.
Special features
- MintLAB coins challenge the status quo. Lead by the R&D team, they showcase authentic trial pieces – real prototypes created during the development of future coin technologies. Each piece is rare, innovative, and complete with exclusive packaging and a Chief Technology Officer‑signed certificate.
- Past and present: A dinosaur’s story. Inspired by an exceptional palaeontological discovery made in Canada, both sides of the coin tell the same dinosaur story using two Mint technologies.
- Guided by the story it set out to tell. The fossil’s story inspired the R&D behind this coin, which marks the first time Super Incuse technology is applied to the obverse, and Ultra High Relief on the reverse.
- Action scene on one side, fossil on the other. Get to know Gorgosaurus, a tyrannosaur, and Citipes, a caenagnathid, dinosaur species that lived 75 million years ago in what is today southern Alberta! That past is represented on the reverse, while the fossilized specimen discovered in 2009 is on the obverse.
- Scientifically verified. Both the reverse and obverse designs have been reviewed by Dr. François Therrien, paleontologist and Curator of Dinosaur Palaeoecology at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Dr. Therrien co-led the study on these fossils and consulted on the coin’s design.
- A must-have for dino lovers of all ages. This is your opportunity to hold a re-created piece of the past, and to enjoy unlimited views of the exceptional discovery represented here!
- A fine silver rarity. Crafted in 99.99% pure silver, with mintage set to just 647 coins available worldwide.
- Includes serialized certificate. The Royal Canadian Mint certifies all of its collector coins.
- No GST/HST.
Packaging
Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a black Royal Canadian Mint-branded case with a custom MintLAB beauty box. Included with each coin is a serialized certificate in the form of an art card showcasing a photo of the fossil specimen that resulted in a groundbreaking paleontological discovery that inspired this design.
Features
A new minting technology!
Gorgosaurus libratus and Citipes elegans, predator and prey, appear in the Mint’s new technology, Double-dimension Relief that includes a trench on the obverse struck Super Incuse to a depth of 1.5mm and Ultra High Relief (2.0mm high) on the coin’s reverse, offering a glimpse into Late Cretaceous predator-prey interactions.
Frosted to perfection
Instead of colour, frostings help tell the story by diffusing light and creating soft contrasts between the design elements on both sides of the coin.
Specifications
Photo Credit Line: Photo courtesy of Andre Gogol.
Design & Artist
Reverse
Julius Csotonyi
Obverse
Steven Rosati
Designed by Canadian paleoartist Julius Csotonyi, the coin’s reverse is an artistic rendering of Late Cretaceous Alberta, showing a predator-prey interaction in the lush prehistoric ecosystem. A young Gorgosaurus libratus is depicted as an active hunter, pursuing the smaller Citipes elegans; both are rendered in Ultra High Relief to create a more dimensional appearance. Bridging paleoart with fossil evidence, the obverse features an engraved representation of the Gorgosaurus skeleton, specimen “TMP 2009.12.14” curated at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta, with Citipes remains inside the stomach cavity in the exact position they were preserved. The fossils are surrounded by a trench struck Super Incuse, to simulate their discovery and excavation in Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park in 2009, while the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III by Canadian artist Steven Rosati appears below. The illustrations were reviewed for scientific accuracy by paleontologists at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.
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