Nicknamed dinosaur gets own medal
News junkies among readers may be aware that in late August KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) flew a very special passenger to The Netherlands from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. It was Trix,…
News junkies among readers may be aware that in late August KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) flew a very special passenger to The Netherlands from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. It was Trix, a 6-ton, 43- foot, partially mounted skeleton of a 66 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex.
Trix came with her own passport complete with head shot and signature, the latter consisting of two claw strokes. She now has her very own silver medal thanks to the Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt.
The 38.6 mm, 31.1 g .925 fine silver proof version of the medal depicts the entire skeleton on one side. The pose is that taken by Trix where she is displayed at Naturalis Biodiversity Centre in Leiden.
The other side shows a stylized silhouette of the skull with the text ‘T.REX IN TOWN” below. This is a replica of the marketing logo used to raise funds for the dig. The whole logo glows in the dark. Mintage is 750. Trix is also available as a 33.0 mm, 15.5 g cupronickel BU card mounted version. Mintage is 5,000.
The skeleton was found in Montana in mid-2013 by a team from Leiden’s Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The quality of the skeleton is remarkable with some 80 percent having been recovered. It is the first and only T-rex skeleton to be permanently displayed in Europe and one of the only ones to use the original skull.
Her nickname “Trix” is after Princess Beatrix, former Queen of Netherlands.
This article was originally printed in World Coin News.
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