For millions of years, dinosaurs roamed the planet before they became extinct. Their fossilised remains lay buried underground until the earth was ready to give them up. The story of their discovery started right here in the UK.

British Anatomist Richard Owen was the first to realise that the remains of three creatures discovered in England – Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus – shared common characteristics.

He named this new group of animals ‘Dinosauria’ in a paper published in 1842, sparking a fascination with these creatures that continues to the present day.

The Dinosauria Collection is an exciting new series celebrating this landmark British discovery. Featuring each creature that led Owen to his groundbreaking conclusion in turn, this is the first time dinosaurs have featured on official UK coins and the series starts with Megalosaurus.

All three dinosaurs have been brought back to life by palaeo-artist Robert Nicholls with the expert guidance of the Earth Sciences Department of the Natural History Museum.

Available as a limited-edition gold and silver Proof, colour-printed silver Proof, colour-printed Brilliant Uncirculated and standard Brilliant Uncirculated edition, the coins in this collection perfectly encapsulate the wonder that dinosaurs inspire in people of all ages.

In my opinion, the Royal Mint has struck "gold" with these new coins. Its unsure if these will be released into circulation, but I'm definitely getting my hands on the coloured, silver Proof coon set.

Now, like most over priced coins from the RM, the silver Proof versions start at £60 for the Non-coloured(NC) and £65 for the coloured(C) versions. I think they've learned that low mintage coins sell better and so have only made 3000 NC and 7000 C. I would have liked a low number for the coloured version, but they knew more people would want this version, but still those NC ones look very temping with only 3000 made.

These coins will appeal to a wide range of collectors, adults and kids alike. So much so that within 1 day, they sold out online.

Prices on the secondhand market are already increasing, these are definitely HODLers and once all 3 coins have been released (March, June) I'm sure the set will be worth quite a bit of money.

Posted via Steemleo