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Thursday 24 June 2021

1911) "Deinonychus antirrhopus", Austria: Seventh coin in the 12 Coin “Supersaur Coin Series": The Austrian Mint, Vienna has issued a 3 Euro Cupro-nickel Coin featuring the fierce Deinonychus: Year/Date of Coin issue: 16.06.2021:

1911) "Deinonychus antirrhopus", Austria: Seventh coin in the 12 Coin “Supersaur Coin Series": The Austrian Mint, Vienna has issued a 3 Euro Cupro-nickel Coin featuring the fierce Deinonychus: Year/Date of Coin issue: 16.06.2021:

About the 3-Euro 12 Coin Series titled - "SUPERSAURS": 

The Supersaurs Series brings prehistoric giants back to life in the shape of 12 superb glow-in-the-dark coins

Each one is dedicated to a prehistoric behemoth and has a face value of three euros. 

The heyday of prehistoric reptiles began around 230 million years ago and they ruled the Earth for more than 160 million years. 

More than 1,000 different types of these extinct giants have already been found. 

The largest and most impressive animals to have ever lived, dinosaurs colonised all the continents and came in a huge variety of shapes and sizes.

Not every dinosaur is actually a dinosaur

In the Mesozoic period, creatures, which are commonly referred to as "dinosaurs" took over virtually all types of habitat on the planet. 

Large marine dinosaurs crossed the seas

Horned, armour-plated and equipped with razor-sharp claws and teeth, terrestrial dinosaurs roamed the land, while flying dinosaurs with wing spans of over 10 metres dominated the skies

However, these three groups were not related to each other, developed independently and can be clearly differentiated from each other

In fact, only the dominant vertebrates that lived on land during the Mesozoic period can actually be classed as dinosaurs

The animals that lived in the sea during the age of the dinosaurs were marine reptiles, not dinosaurs, and flying reptiles, such as the pterodactyl, are not considered dinosaurs either

However, as the majority of the "Supersaurs" that feature in this Coin Series and its Collector Album are attributed to the Dinosaur Group, the generic term "dinosaur", even though they may not all scientifically classified as dinosaurs.

Since the discovery of the existence of the dinosaurs around 200 years ago, our knowledge of the prehistoric creatures has continued to evolve.

 Thanks to the work of prehistoric researchers, also known as palaeontologists, our knowledge of the world of dinosaurs has improved enormously. New information is constantly coming to light; for example, the discovery of feathered dinosaurs was a scientific sensation.   

The Seventh Coin in the Series features the "Deinonychus antirrhopus":

The Austrian Mint has released its latest collector coin in the “Supersaurs Coin Series” - the "Deinonychus antirrhopus". 

The "Deinonychus antirrhopus", was a dinosaur which is believed to be three and a half meters in length, but it was one of the most dangerous (though intelligent) dinosaurs to have ever walked the earth.

An inhabitant of what is now known as North America, Deinonychus lived some 110 million years ago. 

When moving nimbly around on two legs, it used its flexible tail to maintain its balance. Studded with numerous blade-like teeth with jagged edges, Deinonychus's jaws very were much those of a carnivore. 

Despite containing a brain large enough to suggest a highly intelligent animal, its skull was relatively narrow.

 This enabled Deinonychus to see stereoscopically and to estimate distances precisely - an essential prerequisite for a successful predator. 

But perhaps the most striking feature of Deinonychus was the large sickle-shaped claws on the second toe of its hind legs. 

The fossilized tracks of a Deinonychus show that these claws were splayed upwards and did not touch the ground during walking, all the better for fixing its prey to the ground with one leg while tearing it open with the claws on its long front legs.

 Weighing between 45-68 kilograms (or 100-150 pounds), it was evidently a fast, agile predator whose large brain enabled it to perform relatively complex movements during the chase and kill. 

Deinonychus is believed to have been quite distinctive and became the model for the raptor dinosaurs of the motion picture Jurassic Park released in 1993. 

The Coin:

The Header/Banner presents the Reverse and Obverse of the 3 Euro Cupro-nickel Coin against a background image of the Deinonychus Dinosaur. The logo of the Austrian Mint is at bottom left.

The Banner

The Deinonychus Coin features all 12 of the extreme prehistoric animals in the Supersaurs series in silhouette on its obverse, while a colour-printed Deinonychus is shown in the company of a Xenoceratops.

The Reverse of the 3 Euro Cupro-nickel Coin, includes a colour depiction of what the Deinonychus might have looked like and within its habitation. 

The Obverse & Reverse of the Coin seen together in the above image. The image in the centre presents the "glow-in-the-dark" application

Part of the engraved design includes the featured supersaur in the company of a Xenoceratops. Each Reverse face also features a glow-in-the-dark application.

Below the primary design is the text "DEINONYCHUS 2021". 

The Obverse and Reverse of the 3 Euro Coin

The common Obverse of the 3 Euro Cupro-nickel Coin includes all 12 of the extreme prehistoric animals in the “Supersaurs” series in silhouette and is surrounded with bold lettering "REPUBBLIK OSTERREICH 3 EURO". 

The 3 Euro Supersaurs coins are legal tender in Austria.

The specifications of this Coin are:

Country of issue: Republic of Austria; Year/Date: 16.06.2021; Coin Series Name: "Supersaurs"; Coin theme: "Deinonychus antirrhopus"; Denomination/Face Value: 3 Euro; Metal Composition: Cupro-nickel; Weight: 16.0 grams; Diameter/Size: 34.0 mm; Coin Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) with applied colour; Mintage: 65,500 pieces; Packaging: Coin comes without packaging; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes; Coin Designer(s): Mag. Helmut Andexlinger, Kathrin Kuntner.

Remarks: A collector’s album is also available as a separate item which will house all 12 coins in the series and includes an abundance of lifelike yet imaginative illustrations, as well as, fascinating information about the super talents of the dinosaurs featured.

 






Links to posts on Austrian Mint Coin issues on this blog:














For posts on COTY (Coin of the Year) winners since 2015 in a competition held by Krause Publications of Germany, please visit the following links:

Links to posts on Federal Republic of Germany issues and other posts on this blog:




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6 comments:

  1. Santosh Khanna has commented:
    "Very nice and informative."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rajan Trikha has commented:
    "Very interesting 👍"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rsanker Sharma has commented:
    "Very nice and interesting."

    ReplyDelete