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New 50p coin: Dinosaurs feature on coins for the first time

Three dinosaurs on coinsImage source, The Royal Mint

Get ready to spend some...dinosaurs!?

Well not quite, but for the first time, three of the prehistoric creatures are going to appear on an official UK coin.

The Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus will feature on commemorative 50 pence coins to celebrate Britain's part in the discovery of dinosaurs.

Unfortunately the dinosaur 50ps can't actually be used as payment, but they do look roar-some!

They've been launched by the Royal Mint and the Natural History Museum.

Dinosaurs roamed the Earth for more than 160 million years until around 66 million years ago when they became extinct.

People started finding dinosaur fossils in the 1800s, but didn't know what they were.

British biologist Sir Richard Owen was one of the first to people to recognise that the remains of the Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus all had common characteristics.

In 1842 Owen named this new group of animals 'Dinosauria', which is where the name dinosaur came from.

Megalosaurus. Pronounced: MEG-ah-low-sore-us
  • The name means 'big lizard'

  • It was one of the first dinosaurs to be discovered!

Image source, The Royal Mint
Hylaeosaurus. Pronounced: HIGH-lee-oh-sore-us
  • The name means 'woodland lizard'

  • It was a herbivore which means it lived off plants.

Image source, The Royal Mint
Iguanodon. Pronounced: ig-WHA-noh-don
  • The name means 'iguana tooth'

  • It had a large thumb spike which it probably used to fight off predators!

Image source, The Royal Mint