2017-09-27 Wed

12-year-old Mary Anning discovered the first complete Ichthyosaur skeleton in Dorset during the year 1811. From that moment onwards, she became passionate about fossils and palaeontology. The “fish lizard” was never heard of before this discovery. Its structure is close to that of a dolphin and is classified as a marine reptile. It evolved from its saurian precursors during the Triassic period almost 250 million years ago. Ichthyosaur lived in the oceans of the Mesozoic till almost 90 million years ago on fish, sea turtles, and ammonites.

Coin Invest Trust released “Ichthyosaur” coin for Mongolia in its Evolution of Life series. The Ammonite coin was released in 2015 and the Trilobite coin was released in 2016. The surface of the coin looks like a real fossil with a slate-grey background. Smartminting© technology is used to create an optical illusion.

The obverse features the coat of arms of the country, country name, weight, and fine content. The reverse depicts Ichthyosaur, like a real fossil, with rose gold finish. Other inscriptions on the silver coin include the year of issue, EVOLUTION OF LIFE, ICHTHYOSAURIA, and TRIASSIC PERIOD. The golden version features the inscription EVOLUTION and ICHTHYOSAURIA.