New issues of the Evolution of Life collection are one of the most anticipated CIT coins at the yearly ANA show.

The astonishing and detailed high relief fossils, plated in rose gold and set in an antique finish matrix, have garnered a huge following among coin collectors. After lingering in the Paleozoic Era for two years, the series now presents the Ichthyosaur of the Mesozoic Era – the Age of Reptiles.

The Ichthyosaur fossil is covered in rose-gold while the smartminting© relief accentuates the bony scleral eye ring and pointy teeth of this Triassic predator.

Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that lived 250 to 90 million years ago. The various species resembled modern dolphins by convergent evolution or the development of similar traits in similar environments.