3 Euros Deinonychus

Austria's 3-euro denomination was introduced in 2018 specifically to anchor an annual dinosaur-themed children's collecting series, priced at a point accessible to young buyers. The Deinonychus entry in that series draws on the animal's outsized influence on paleontology — it was John Ostrom's 1969 description of this genus that directly overturned the cold-blooded, sluggish dinosaur model and ignited the dinosaur renaissance that eventually produced Jurassic Park.

The Austrian Mint struck these in relatively high volumes for face-value retail sale through newsagents and toy shops across Austria, not through traditional numismatic channels.