FOSSIL hunter and palaeontologist Mary Anning is being celebrated in a new commemorative coin collection from the Royal Mint, in collaboration with the Natural History Museum.

The first release in the Mary Anning 50p coin collection features temnodontosaurus, a large-jawed predator which once roamed the ocean.

The other 50p coins in the series, released later in the year, will feature Anning’s discoveries of plesiosaurus and dimorphodon.

Clare Maclennan, divisional director of commemorative coin at the Royal Mint, said: “We have combined augmented reality technology with the coins to bring the animals to life through animation and allow people to explore the details of the prehistoric marine reptiles from the comfort of their home.”

Despite her extraordinary discoveries, Anning’s achievements were often overlooked by a scientific world dominated by men.

She was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, in 1799 where hr father Richard set up a curiosity table outside their home selling fossils to tourists.

Amongst the curiosities she and her father discovered were “snake stones” (ammonites), “devil fingers” (belemites) and “verteberries” (vertebrae).

Aged around 12, Anning discovered an articulated skeleton of an ichthyosaur, a type of marine reptile, sometimes nicknamed a “fish lizard”, that once lived in the Jurassic seas.

Anning died at the age of 47.

Kate Winslet recently played Anning in the film Ammonite.

Paleo-artist Robert Nicholls designed the new coins. The characteristics of the prehistoric creatures appear dynamic using the latest colour printing techniques.

Clare Matterson, executive director of engagement at the Natural History Museum, said: “The Mary Anning collection celebrates a pivotal figure in the understanding of palaeontology, important contributions to science that were rarely acknowledged in Mary’s lifetime. It is fantastic to see Mary celebrated in such a special way in 2021.”

The coin is available to buy on the Royal Mint’s website, with prices ranging from £10 for a brilliant uncirculated version and £20 for a colour version to £1,100 for a gold coin.