Tyrannosaurus 50p (2024)

The T-Rex 50p has only ever been sold in collector quality, so there are no worn circulation coins to compare it with. Its price follows the condition of the brilliant uncirculated finish and whether the coin is still in its illustrated Royal Mint pack or a sealed certified card; a loose coin with handling marks sells for less. Treat the colour version and the precious-metal proofs as separate coins when comparing prices.

The Tyrannosaurus 50p was not issued for circulation, so it has no rarity rank.

Check the word under the dinosaur. The T-Rex 50p is the only coin in the 2024 Iconic Specimens set that reads CRETACEOUS; the Stegosaurus and Diplodocus both read JURASSIC. TYRANNOSAURUS runs above the animal, whose bared teeth and defensive stance set it apart from the other two designs. Heads carries King Charles III rather than the Queen, which rules out the 2020 and 2021 coins at once. The Royal Mint also issued a colour-printed version.

Known varieties of the Tyrannosaurus 50p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:

• Colour edition: A colour-printed brilliant uncirculated edition sold by The Royal Mint.

The Tyrannosaurus 50p started Iconic Specimens, the third collection in the Royal Mint's Tales of the Earth series after the Dinosauria and Mary Anning sets. Where those coins looked at British discoveries, this collection turns to famous specimens from palaeontology, and it begins with the animal often called the king of the dinosaurs. The design draws on a Tyrannosaurus jawbone in the Natural History Museum's collection. Robert Nicholls, who drew the Dinosauria and Mary Anning coins, returned as designer and worked with expert guidance from Professor Paul Barrett of the museum. His T-Rex stands in a defensive pose with its teeth bared, and a Tyrannosaurus skeleton stands in the foreground beneath it. TYRANNOSAURUS is lettered above and CRETACEOUS, the period it lived in, below, together with the RN initials. As the first coin in the series struck after the change of reign, it pairs the design with Martin Jennings's portrait of King Charles III. Although dated 2024, the coin was issued on 14 December 2023, and the Stegosaurus and Diplodocus followed it.

It was one of the three coins in the Dinosaur set issued in 2024.