855) Ichthyosaur, from the Mesozoic Era - "The Age of the Reptiles" (70 to 225 million years ago): Third Coin in the "Evolution of Life Coin Series" brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of the Republic of Mongolia in 2017:
Mongolia is famous for its rich fossil record, including dramatic species like Velociraptor - popularised by the Jurassic Park movies.
The "Evolution of Life" coin Series pays tribute to past eras by portraying extinct prehistoric creatures in luxurious rose-gilded Smartminting High relief on antique rock matrix background for silver coins or portrayed on gold coins.
The 2017 coins are the third ones issued in the Series, after the Ammonite Coins (2015) and the Tribolite Coins (2016), and feature the Ichthyosaur of the Mesozoic Era - "The Age of the Reptiles".
The Ichthyosaur fossil coin is covered in rose-gold, while the Smartminting High relief accentuates the bony scleral eye ring and pointy teeth of this Triassic predator.
The Mesozoic Era (70 to 225 million years ago):
Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that lived 250 to 90 million years ago (thus living through all the periods of the Mesozoic - Triassic (180 to 225 million years ago, Jurassic - 135 to 180 million years ago and the Cretaceous - about 70 million to 135 million years ago).
The various species of Ichthyosaurs resembled modern dolphins by convergent evolution or the development of similar traits in similar environments.
The Reverse of the 1000 Togrog Gold Coin, placed against the outline of a 500 Togrog Silver Coin on a rocky background, from one of which, the Ichthyosaur fossil has been found
The Reverse of the 500 Togrog Silver Coin placed on a stand-alone basis on the rocky outcrop
The Triassic saw the emergence of the first mammals and the first dinosaurs, the Jurassic saw the emergence of the first birds, while the Cretaceous saw the emergence of the first flowering plants and the last of the dinosaurs.
By the end of the Permian period ( 225 to 270 million years ago) of the Paleozoic era (225 to 600 million years ago - also called the "Era of Ancient Life") closed, the first few reptiles had already evolved and had overcome the amphibious life forms.
The reptiles included large and small plant eaters and large and small flesh eaters to prey upon the plant eaters. They diversified and spread out to fill almost every niche on land.
More about Ichthyosaurs:
The name means "fish" or "lizard" and these were large marine reptiles belonging to the order "Ichthyosauria" or "Ichthyopterygia".
Ichthyosaurs thrived during much of the Mesozoic Era and fossil evidence indicates that they first appeared around 250 million years ago and at least one species survived until about 90 million years ago into the Late Cretaceous period.
During the early Triassic period, Ichthyosaurs evolved from a group of unidentified land reptiles that returned to the sea, in a development similar to how the mammalian land-dwelling ancestors of modern day dolphins and whales returned to the sea millions of years later, which they gradually came to resemble in a case of convergent evolution.
Ichthyosaurs were quite abundant in the later Triassic and early Jurassic periods, until they were overtaken as top aquatic predators by another marine reptilian group - the Plesiosauria. Ichthyosaurs were badly hit by the "Cenomanian-Turonian anoxic event" (Extinction Event), but their last species became extinct for unknown reasons.
Ichthyosaur species varied from one to over sixteen metres in length and resembled both modern day fishes and dolphins. Their limbs fully transformed into flippers. Their heads were pointed and jaws equipped with conical teeth to catch smaller prey. Some species had larger, bladed teeth to attack large animals. The eyes were very large, evolved for deep sea diving. The neck was short and later species had a stiff trunk. They possessed a disc-like vertebral column and were air-breathing creatures.
The Coins:
The Reverse of the 1000 Togrog Gold Coin shows the fossil of the Ichthyosaur. The inscriptions are - "Ichthyosauria", "EVOLUTION" and "2017".
The Ichthyosaur fossil coin is covered in rose-gold, while the Smartminting High relief accentuates the bony scleral eye ring and pointy teeth of this Triassic predator.
The Mesozoic Era (70 to 225 million years ago):
Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that lived 250 to 90 million years ago (thus living through all the periods of the Mesozoic - Triassic (180 to 225 million years ago, Jurassic - 135 to 180 million years ago and the Cretaceous - about 70 million to 135 million years ago).
The various species of Ichthyosaurs resembled modern dolphins by convergent evolution or the development of similar traits in similar environments.
By the end of the Permian period ( 225 to 270 million years ago) of the Paleozoic era (225 to 600 million years ago - also called the "Era of Ancient Life") closed, the first few reptiles had already evolved and had overcome the amphibious life forms.
The reptiles included large and small plant eaters and large and small flesh eaters to prey upon the plant eaters. They diversified and spread out to fill almost every niche on land.
More about Ichthyosaurs:
The name means "fish" or "lizard" and these were large marine reptiles belonging to the order "Ichthyosauria" or "Ichthyopterygia".
Ichthyosaurs thrived during much of the Mesozoic Era and fossil evidence indicates that they first appeared around 250 million years ago and at least one species survived until about 90 million years ago into the Late Cretaceous period.
During the early Triassic period, Ichthyosaurs evolved from a group of unidentified land reptiles that returned to the sea, in a development similar to how the mammalian land-dwelling ancestors of modern day dolphins and whales returned to the sea millions of years later, which they gradually came to resemble in a case of convergent evolution.
Ichthyosaurs were quite abundant in the later Triassic and early Jurassic periods, until they were overtaken as top aquatic predators by another marine reptilian group - the Plesiosauria. Ichthyosaurs were badly hit by the "Cenomanian-Turonian anoxic event" (Extinction Event), but their last species became extinct for unknown reasons.
Ichthyosaur species varied from one to over sixteen metres in length and resembled both modern day fishes and dolphins. Their limbs fully transformed into flippers. Their heads were pointed and jaws equipped with conical teeth to catch smaller prey. Some species had larger, bladed teeth to attack large animals. The eyes were very large, evolved for deep sea diving. The neck was short and later species had a stiff trunk. They possessed a disc-like vertebral column and were air-breathing creatures.
The Coins:
The Obverse of the 1000 Togrog Gold Coin shows the Soyombo emblem of Mongolia in the centre, below which is the denomination of the coin "1000 Togrog". On the lower periphery is mentioned "MONGOLIA 0.5 gr .9999 GOLD".
The specifications of this Gold Coin are:
Country of issue: Mongolia; Year: 2017; Denomination:1 000 Togrog; Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 0.5 grams; Diameter/Size: 11.0 mm; Coin Quality: Proof; Mintage: 15,000 pieces.
The Reverse of the 500 Togrog Silver coin shows the fossil of the Ichthyosaur placed on an antique finish rock matrix. The inscriptions are "ICHTHYOSAURIA", "EVOLUTION OF LIFE", "TRIASSIC PERIOD", "2017".
The Obverse of the 500 Togrog Silver coin shows the Soyombo emblem of Mongolia in the centre, below which is the denomination of the Coin "500 Togrog". On the lower periphery is mentioned the metallic composition of the Coin & country of issue - "MONGOLIA, 1 Oz .999 SILVER".
The specifications of the Silver Coin are:
Country: Mongolia; Year: 2017; Denomination: 500 Togrog; Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 1 Oz; Diameter/Size: 38.61 mm; Coin Quality: Antique Finish; Mintage: 999 pieces.
The elegant custom made wooden box in which the coins are housed shows an image of the Ichthyosaur and is titled "EVOLUTION OF LIFE 2017".
The four coins issued so far (2015 onwards) - Ammonite, Trilobite, Ichthyosaur and Pterosaur
Other links to interesting posts on Coins brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of other countries:
2) 150th Anniversary of "The Great Tea Race - 1866": Commemorative Coins in the denomination of 10 and 2 Dollars issued by Cook Islands in 2016
3) The Mystical Ancient Egyptian Labyrinth depicted on $10 Silver coins issued by Cook islands in 2016, under its "Milestones of Mankind Series".
4) King Arthur: The first coin in the six coins "Camelot Series".
5) Quilling Art: Silver 2 Dollars coins issued - Flowers (2016) & Bird (2017)
Other links to interesting posts on Coins brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of other countries:
2) 150th Anniversary of "The Great Tea Race - 1866": Commemorative Coins in the denomination of 10 and 2 Dollars issued by Cook Islands in 2016
3) The Mystical Ancient Egyptian Labyrinth depicted on $10 Silver coins issued by Cook islands in 2016, under its "Milestones of Mankind Series".
4) King Arthur: The first coin in the six coins "Camelot Series".
5) Quilling Art: Silver 2 Dollars coins issued - Flowers (2016) & Bird (2017)
12) Trilobite: Second coin in the "Evolution of Life Coin Series" brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of the Republic of Mongolia in 2016
13) Ichthyosaur, from the Mesozoic Era - "The Age of the Reptiles": Third Coin in the "Evolution of Life Coin Series" brought out by Coin Invest trust on behalf of the Republic of Mongolia in 2017
13) Ichthyosaur, from the Mesozoic Era - "The Age of the Reptiles": Third Coin in the "Evolution of Life Coin Series" brought out by Coin Invest trust on behalf of the Republic of Mongolia in 2017
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