Plesiosaurus 50p (2021)
The Plesiosaurus 50p sits between the Temnodontosaurus and the Dimorphodon in the Royal Mint's 2021 Mary Anning Collection and shows a marine reptile Anning found on the Dorset coast. It was sold only in packs, so collectors buy it rather than find it in change. It is one of the nine Dinosaur 50p coins and one of the 172 50p designs struck since 1969.
Plesiosaurus 50p value
- Uncirculated
- typical £8, range £7 to £9
Worked out from 6 published prices (3 dealer prices, 2 sold-price reports and 1 price guide), each condition from its own prices, checked in September 2026.
Because the Plesiosaurus 50p exists only as a brilliant uncirculated coin, buyers judge it on its surface and packaging rather than on wear. Dealers list it in unopened Royal Mint packs and sealed certified cards, and those command more than a loose coin with fingerprints or hairline scratches. Apart from the standard coin, the Royal Mint offered a colour-printed edition and silver and gold proofs, and each of those has its own market.
Plesiosaurus 50p mintage and rarity
The Plesiosaurus 50p was not issued for circulation, so it has no rarity rank.
How to spot a Plesiosaurus 50p
Look for PLESIOSAURUS lettered over the reptile and MARY ANNING with a date under it. The Temnodontosaurus and Dimorphodon coins carry Anning's name too, so the creature's name is the part to check; the Dimorphodon is also easy to rule out because its wings stretch almost across the coin. Close up, the Plesiosaurus's teeth are visible in the design. Its date, 2021, sits with the Queen's portrait by Jody Clark on the obverse. The Royal Mint also sold it in a colour-printed edition.
Known varieties of the Plesiosaurus 50p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:
- Colour edition: A colour-printed brilliant uncirculated edition sold only by The Royal Mint; 10,364 were made.
Plesiosaurus 50p design
The Plesiosaurus 50p is the middle coin of the Mary Anning Collection, the 2021 set in the Royal Mint's Tales of the Earth range produced with the Natural History Museum. Where the first coin featured an ichthyosaur, this one turns to Plesiosaurus, a sea-going reptile that lived alongside the dinosaurs. Anning found the first complete skeleton of one in Dorset. Its jaws were lined with needle-sharp teeth. Palaeo-artist Robert Nicholls designed the reverse with expert help from Sandra Chapman of the museum's Earth Sciences Department, and those teeth can be picked out in the design if you look closely. The reptile occupies the centre of the coin, PLESIOSAURUS runs above it, MARY ANNING and a date are set beneath, and the initials RN mark the artist. Its release date was 22 March 2021.
It was one of the three coins in the Dinosaur set issued in 2021.
Plesiosaurus 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: Plesiosaurus
- 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
Plesiosaurus 50p questions
Why is the Plesiosaurus 50p grouped with the dinosaur coins?
It is part of the Royal Mint's Tales of the Earth series, which collectors call the dinosaur 50p range. Plesiosaurus itself was a marine reptile that lived alongside the dinosaurs rather than a dinosaur.
Can you find the Plesiosaurus 50p in change?
No. Plesiosaurus coins were only ever sold to collectors, so checking your change will not turn one up.
Who designed the Plesiosaurus 50p?
Robert Nicholls, the palaeo-artist who also drew the 2020 dinosaur coins, with guidance from Sandra Chapman of the Natural History Museum.