Carcharodontosaurus was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs that ever lived on Earth. Its name means “shark-toothed lizard”. It got this name because its teeth were long, sharp, and serrated – similar to the teeth of a great white shark. This dinosaur lived about 100 to 93 million years ago in what is now North Africa.
With a length of approximately 12 to 13 meters and a weight of up to 8 tons, Carcharodontosaurus was an impressive top predator. Its skull could grow to over one and a half meters in length. Its long legs and muscular body indicate that, despite its size, it was probably able to run quite fast. It presumably hunted sauropods, giant, long-necked herbivores. Unlike many well-known dinosaurs, Carcharodontosaurus was not well researched until relatively late. Fossils found at the beginning of the 20th century were lost during World War II. It was only new discoveries in the 1990s that helped to find out more about this dinosaur.
Carcharodontosaurus did not live at the same time as the famous Tyrannosaurus rex. There is a gap of around 25 to 30 million years between the two, so they could never have encountered each other. Nevertheless, Carcharodontosaurus is often compared to T-Rex because of its size and dangerousness. Both are considered two of the largest and most dangerous predators that ever lived on land.
Each of the 999 limited edition ultra-high relief coins contains a genuine tooth fragment – in this case, from the razor-sharp tooth of a Carcharodontosaurus. Secure yourself a piece of numismatic prehistory.
