Royal Canadian Mint Releases 2009 'Age of the Dinosaurs' Issue - Tyrannosaurus Rex

The Royal Canadian Mint has released the latest in their unique and popular series of silver coins entitled "Age of the Dinosaurs". For 2009 the RCM has chosen the most famous of all dwellers of the Cretaceous period, the King of the Dinosaurs himself, the Tyrannosaurus Rex!


Canada 2009 $4 Tyrannosaurus Rex Silver Proof

The Tyrannosaurus Rex (Tyrant Lizard King) lived predominately in the west of North America for the last 3 million years of the Cretaceous Period of history (around 65-145 million years ago). More commonly known as T-Rex, the Tyrannosaurus has become a fixture of popular culture over the years, made even more popular due to the Jurassic Park series of movies (this is despite no evidence of T-Rex existing as far back as the Jurassic Period (165-145 million years ago)). The Tyrannosaurus Rex was a bi-pedal carnivore growing to around 13 metres in length, making it one of the largest land predators in history.

The first fossilised skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex was discovered in 1902 by fossil hunter Barnum Brown - and was given its name by paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1905. Since then, some 30 specimens of T-Rex have been identified by fossil discovery, with some being found in nearly complete condition. The large number of fossil discoveries has allowed scientists to accumulate significant amounts of research into the workings of the T-Rex.

The “Age of the Dinosaurs” series of coins from the Royal Canadian Mint began in 2007 with the silver proof issue commemorating the duck-billed species known as Parasaurolophus. The idea was to honor a group of 4 dinosaurs that made their home in the western North American region that is now encompassed by the state of Alberta. This first coin was embraced with keen interest and excitement from collectors around the world and so it was no surprise when the 2008 Triceratops issue was released that it was snapped up with speed. Next year, the mint finishes the series with an issue dedicated to the Dromaeosaurus.

What makes these coins particularly special and appealing to collectors is their unique design and appearance, and that fact that two coins are exactly the same! Each $4 Canadian coin is struck from 99.99% fine silver on a 34.00mm flan. Designed by Canadian artist Kerri Burnett, each coin is applied with a selective finish that gives the look of real stone against the striking skeletal image of the dinosaur. Because this finish process creates variations in tone and colour, no two issues are ever the same, making this series especially unique and appealing to collectors.

Each 2009 $4 Tyrannosaurus Silver Proof coin is presented in an official Royal Canadian Mint case with a numbered certificate confirming the limited mintage of only 20,000 coins. Euro Collections International currently has stocks of this captivating tribute to the Granddaddy of all Dinosaurs available to purchase through our website – with extremely limited numbers of the 2008 Triceratops Silver coin also available.