It’s dinosaur time again, and you know we can’t resist a dino-coin, especially one like this new issue from Mint of MK. This producer has a reputation for pushing boundaries, especially when it comes to fully dimensional designs, either struck, or in the case of this latest release, using a new casting process that brings benefits of its own.

Triceratops is an extinct herbivorous dinosaur that first appeared during the same period, and region (North America), that the infamous Tyrannosaurus Rex did, the Late Cretaceous period (68 mya). It became extinct, along with every other non-avian dinosaur, when the asteroid hit 66 million years ago. This is one of the all-time iconic dinosaurs, with its distinctive bony frill and three horned head, but it was also a real behemoth, running to 9 metres in length, and hitting 12 metric tons. Despite that, T. Rex would dine on them, but likely mostly through scavenging. There is evidence of direct conflict, however.

We’ve seen Triceratops coins before, it’s a popular beastie, but we certainly haven’t seen it turned into a numismatic quite like this one. The reverse side of the coin is a fine reproduction of this huge animal, right down to skin texture, and frill edges. Turn the coin over to its obverse, and we get a detailed look at its skeleton. It’s a clever piece, that treats its subject correctly, not sensationalising it, but keeping it all as accurate as you would expect, given the format. Best of all is the size. Despite utilising just 7 grams of silver, this one is a relatively huge 40 x 80 mm in size, quite the feat given the detail and relief.

As Mint of MK often does, there are two finish variants on offer that make up the total mintage of 999 pieces. The rarest of the two is a fully gilded coin, of which there will be 333 offered. My favourite, by far, is the antiqued version, which suits it so well. Both of them have two-sided UV glow-in-the-dark colour highlights, which work especially well on the skeletal side, although the eye is odd. The coins come boxed with a serialised certificate of authenticity, and are available to pre-order now. A triceraterriffic release.