Canada: Hatching hadrosaurs are let loose on latest silver and colour Proof coins

The Royal Canadian Mint has released new silver Proof and colour coins, which, for those who are enthusiasts of prehistoric and pre-paleolithic history, will appreciate the theme of this new coin. Humans seem to have an unending fascination with prehistoric artefacts. The various items explain our origins and often pose further questions as to what our world may have been like millions of years ago. Palaeontology is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene Epoch — our current period of geologic time, which has enjoyed a great resurgence in recent days. This may be due to the increase in artefacts discovered by archaeologists worldwide that compel us to piece together that which is known and that which is still unexplained about the beginning of time. Although there are few places in the world where dinosaur embryos have been discovered, Canada is one of them. In 1987, eggshells found at Devil’s Coulee, in southern Alberta, led to the discovery of one of the largest dinosaur nesting sites in North America. There, palaeontologists from the Royal Tyrrell Museum unearthed the fossilized remains of Hypacrosaurus stebingeri nests, eggs, and even embryos—a rare find for a species that roamed the land 75 million years ago.

The Hypacrosaurus species belonged to the hadrosaur family, dubbed the “duck-billed dinosaurs,” which were one of the most common dinosaurs to roam North America during the Late Cretaceous period. Hypacrosaurus hatchlings measured about a metre (3.2 feet) long, but by the age of 10, its full adult size was 10 metres (32 feet) long. They had to outgrow predators such as tyrannosaurids and dromaeosaurs in order to survive. Hypacrosaurus may have returned to the same area over time to nest, where it would deposit about 26 eggs in a single nest. Each egg was approximately 20 centimetres (8 inches) in diameter, or roughly the size of a volleyball. Similar to the nests of modern crocodiles, Hypacrosaurus eggs would have been buried under a mound of vegetation for incubation as the decomposition of the plant matter would have produced the heat required to incubate the eggs, since parents were too large to sit on the eggs, as modern birds do. An adult Hypacrosaurus had a hollow crest on top of its head. This bony feature was connected to its airways to amplify its call, so others could hear it from far away. These plant-eaters had thousands of teeth, with new ones replacing older ones as they wore down.

The new egg-shaped coins are designed by Julius T. Csotonyi, whose depictions have been reviewed for scientific accuracy by palaeontologists at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta. The reverse features an amazingly detailed coloured rendering of a young Hypacrosaurus stebingeri, as it may have appeared 75 million years ago. The hatchling emerges from its egg against an engraved prehistoric landscape of evergreens, conifers, shrubs, and low plants. The Hypacrosaurus’ uniquely shaped beak is viewed in right side profile as the hatchling looks up and does not yet have the bony crest that is a distinctive feature of the adult Hypacrosaurus.

When the coin is viewed in the dark, a glow-in-the-dark application reveals fossilized remains that are based on those uncovered at Devil’s Coulee in southern Alberta.

The obverse features the effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II created by Susanna Blunt and has been seen on all circulation and many commemorative coins since 2003.

Denom.	Metal	Weight	Dimensions	Quality	Maximum Mintage
20 dollars	.999 Silver	31.8 g	45 by 33 mm	Proof with applied colour	4,000

The Proof and colour quality coins are encapsulated and housed in a custom presentation case to accommodate their egg-shape along with a numbered certificate of authenticity. For additional information about this coin and others available from the Royal Canadian Mint, please visit their website.

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