Sixty-six million years ago, in the final chapter of the age of dinosaurs, two of the most spectacular creatures ever to walk or fly the Earth shared the Late Cretaceous skies and plains. Tyrannosaurus rex — the “tyrant lizard king” — stood as one of the largest and most powerful theropod predators of all time, while the colossal pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi soared above with a wingspan that rivalled a small aircraft, ranking among the largest flying animals in Earth’s history. Canada’s fossil-rich landscapes, especially the badlands of Alberta, have yielded many of the clues that allow scientists to reconstruct these giants, and this coin celebrates both the living animals and the fossils that preserve their story.

Designed by renowned paleoartist Julius Csotonyi and reviewed by Dr. François Therrien of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, the reverse captures a dramatic encounter between these two titans. A powerfully built T. rex stands in a lush Cretaceous forest, jaws open, while a Quetzalcoatlus wheels overhead. Selective colour brings the dinosaurs to vivid life against the engraved landscape. Under the included black-light flashlight, however, a second layer appears: the flesh vanishes and the skeletal forms of both animals glow in luminous blue — a striking reminder of the fossils that continue to rewrite our understanding of the prehistoric world. Struck in 99.99% pure silver to proof quality and limited to a mintage of 8,500, the coin is presented in a black clamshell case, complete with its black-light flashlight for revealing the hidden fossil view.