The prehistoric world clashes with modernity with PMC’s latest silver coin, Clash of the Eras – Jurassic

We love a dino coin around here, and designs that embrace an off-centre approach will always draw a little extra attention, so Precious Metal Collector’s latest issue was of particular interest. It asks the question, “What happens if dinosaurs hit the modern world?”. It’s a question that the Jurassic World films have mined extensively, so we’re not on virgin territory here, but it’s interesting, nevertheless.

The reverse face features a modern city, seemingly a New York mix of landmarks, in which a blue swirling vortex is overlaid. This holds a view of a prehistoric world on the other side of it, complete with the obligatory volcano (looking at u, Czech Mint…!) . Crashing through into our world are a T. Rex, and a Pteranodon. It’s a nice, chaotic design, with one annoyance I really hate.

The coin is called ‘Jurassic’, yet features a T. Rex and a Pteranodon. These two animals were from the Cretaceous. To give you some idea of the timescales, the Jurassic Period ran from 201-145 million years ago. Tyrannosaurus Rex lived from 68-66 m.y.a. Putting that into perspective, T. Rex lived closer in time to modern humans, than it did to the Jurassic. I know I’m overreacting, but this perpetuation of misinformation is why we are where we are today. This Hollywoodisation of facts is bad, and it’s a shame PMC have perpetuated it. Kids today just equate ‘Dinosaurs = Jurassic’, a patent fallacy. Rant over.

The obverse is neat, with a modern skyline above, and inverted, a prehistoric landscape below. In the centre, placed in that same blue swirling vortex, is the coat-of-arms of the Republic of Chad. The coin is a mix of copper and silver, with two-ounces of silver laid over a copper core. The end result is a large (80 mm) and thick coin, replete with high-relief, yet having a more sensible price-tag than a full silver coin with those dimensions would have. Despite the rant, I reckon this is a cool design. Available on pre-now, just 299 will be minted, and it comes boxed with a COA.