Prehistoric world

The eighth Mesozoic lizard appearing on the Czech Mint's silver coin from the Prehistoric World series is the Archaeopteryx.

The Archaeopteryx was long thought to be a primeval bird, but apparently it was actually a theropod dinosaur. By the time its first fossil was found, as the missing link between reptiles and birds, it had become a mainstay of Darwin's doctrine of evolution. Its outline feathers were well developed, its limb geometry resembled some of today's birds, and its weight did not exceed one kilogram. It can therefore be assumed that it was capable of gliding or even active flight. Its 70-centimetre wingspan was also used for hunting, and for knocking down prey. With jaws full of sharp teeth, it could catch insects and small vertebrates.

The reverse side of the coin was dedicated by the medal maker Petr Patka, DiS., to the depiction of a flying archaeopteryx in vivid colours, which were achieved by means of colouring technology. No photographs or computer graphics were used as a template - the author of the coin created an original painting. The embossed relief presents a tiny lizard that the feathered dinosaur is trying to hunt. The composition of the reverse side is concluded by the inscription ARCHAEOPTERYX. The obverse side of the coin, which is common to the entire cycle, bears the fossilised skeleton of a tyrannosaurus and the English inscription PREHISTORIC WORLD. As the licence to issue the commemorative coins of the Czech Mint is granted by the Pacific island of Niue, the obverse side bears its necessary elelements - the national emblem, the nominal value of 1 DOLLAR (NZD) and the year of issue 2023.

You can save the coin dedicated to the dinosaur in a collector's album, which is full of interesting facts about the life of giant lizards.