Anyone Following the Canada Oxidized Fossil Dino Series?

GritsMan

I bought the first issue a few years ago and did not follow up, but now notice that the '07 seems to be regularly selling in the $2-300 range, while the new issues are understandably a lot lower. They all have the same mintage limits (20,000), however, and I'm wondering if the first issue had a lower mintage. Anyone have any info on these?

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Canada Oxidized Fossil Dino Series >>

What-huh-wh-?

Man, I'm behind the times.

Daltonista

Lord M, rest assured: you are not alone. I did some Googling to figure out what the "oxidized" part of this mystery means,
and here's what I turned up:

Oxidized Fossil Technology Note
The Euoplocephalus Dinosaur Fossil $4 Silver Proof features a new and patented technology from the Royal Canadian Mint, a special finish selectively applied to the dinosaur fossil image. The RCM leads the world with its proprietary technologies, in which the finish is actually sealed on the coin. The unique patination gives the fossil skeleton an aged appearance. Variations in tone and color are a direct and intentional result of this process, so no two coins will look exactly alike!

So now we've got technicolor coins, holograms on coins, and (deliberately!) oxidized coins...

What could be next? 3-D coins, with LED backlighting?

Oy! The mind reels.

Daltonista

Oops! Meant to include this:

lordmarcovan

Wow. Ugly, but interesting.

GritsMan

Actually, these are really cool-looking in hand. I hate gimmicks on coins in general, but love the look of these--and the theme, of course. In fact, I ordered the last three of the series yesterday, but am still missing the Triceratops, which has also appreciated a lot in price.

Still wondering, though, why the first one has gotten so expensive? Short-struck, or just big demand?