Dimorphodon 50p (2021)
The Dimorphodon 50p is the third and final coin of the Royal Mint's 2021 Mary Anning Collection, showing a flying reptile she found in Dorset. It was sold only in collector packs, never issued into change. It is one of the nine Dinosaur 50p coins and one of the 172 50p designs struck since 1969.
Dimorphodon 50p value
- Uncirculated
- typical £9, range £8 to £10
Worked out from 6 published prices (4 dealer prices, 1 price guide and 1 sold-price report), each condition from its own prices, checked in September 2026.
The Dimorphodon 50p was sold only as a brilliant uncirculated coin, so its price depends on the state of the finish and the packaging rather than on wear from use. A coin in its original Royal Mint pack, or sealed in a certified dealer card, is worth more than one that has been taken out and handled. Colour printing is a separate edition sold only by the Royal Mint, and the silver and gold proofs trade as their own products, so compare like with like.
Dimorphodon 50p mintage and rarity
The Dimorphodon 50p was not issued for circulation, so it has no rarity rank.
How to spot a Dimorphodon 50p
Dimorphodon is the one coin in the Mary Anning set with a winged animal: its wings spread almost from rim to rim, and its sharp teeth show clearly. Above it runs DIMORPHODON and beneath it MARY ANNING with a date, with Robert Nicholls's RN on the design. Heads shows Elizabeth II by Jody Clark, dated 2021. The Royal Mint also sold a colour-printed edition.
Known varieties of the Dimorphodon 50p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:
- Colour edition: A colour-printed brilliant uncirculated edition sold only by The Royal Mint; 10,354 were made.
Dimorphodon 50p design
With the Dimorphodon 50p, the Royal Mint finished the Mary Anning Collection, its 2021 contribution to the Tales of the Earth series made with the Natural History Museum. After an ichthyosaur and a plesiosaur, the final coin moves from the sea to the air. Dimorphodon was an early flying reptile, a pterosaur, that lived in the age of the dinosaurs, and the first one was discovered by Mary Anning in Dorset. Its name translates as two-form tooth, because a few big, pointed teeth sat near the tip of its snout while those further back were far smaller. Robert Nicholls built both of those features into the reverse: the wings reach nearly the full width of the coin and the teeth are clearly shown. DIMORPHODON is lettered above the animal and MARY ANNING with a date below it, together with his initials RN. The Royal Mint released it on 19 April 2021, completing the trio.
It was one of the three coins in the Dinosaur set issued in 2021.
Dimorphodon 50p specifications
- Denomination
- 50p
- Year
- 2021
- Type
- Commemorative
- Issue
- Not issued for circulation
- Series
- Dinosaurs
- Occasion
- The Mary Anning Collection (Tales of the Earth), with the Natural History Museum: Dimorphodon
- Designer
- Robert Nicholls
- Composition
- Cupro-nickel
- Weight
- 8 g
- Diameter
- 27.3 mm
- Shape
- Seven-sided
- Edge
- Plain
- Obverse
- Elizabeth II, fifth portrait by Jody Clark
Dimorphodon 50p questions
Is the Dimorphodon on the 50p a dinosaur?
No. Dimorphodon was a pterosaur, an early flying reptile that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. The coin still belongs to the Tales of the Earth series that collectors know as the dinosaur 50p coins.
What does the name Dimorphodon mean?
Two-form tooth. Its jaws held two kinds of teeth, a few large pointed ones at the front and smaller ones behind, and the coin shows both.
Did the Dimorphodon 50p ever go into circulation?
No. It was issued only in collector formats: brilliant uncirculated packs, a colour edition and silver and gold proofs.