Mongolia – 2018 – 500 Togrog – Evolution of Life PTEROSAUR

Description

Mongolia is famous for its rich fossil record including dramatic species such as Velociraptor, known from the Jurassic Park movies. Now in its fourth year, the Evolution of Life series pays tribute to past eras by portraying extinct prehistoric creatures in luxurious rose-gilded smartminting relief on an antique finish rock matrix background.

In 2018, Evolution of Life takes from the sea to the skies with Pterosauria. The Mongolian coin portrays the native Noripterus parvus, that roamed Mongolian skies 140 million years ago with a wingspan of over four meters. Their fossils were first described from Central Mongolia in 1982.

Pterosauria represents the most detailed and finely gilded coin in the series to date. Even remnants of the delicate wing membranes are hinted at in the rock matrix. Pterosaurs were one of three groups of vertebrates that evolved powered flight alongside birds and bats.