This article is about the current Canadian one-dollar coin. For the old dollar coin struck from 1935 to 1986, see Voyageur dollar. For the Canadian dollar as a currency, see Canadian dollar. For other uses, see Looney (disambiguation).
This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2023)
The loonie (French: huard), formally the Canadian one-dollar coin, is a gold-coloured Canadian coin that was introduced in 1987 and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint at its facility in Winnipeg. The most prevalent versions of the coin show a common loon, a bird found throughout Canada, on the reverse and Queen Elizabeth II, the nation's head of state at the time of the coin's issue, on the obverse. Various commemorative and specimen-set editions of the coin with special designs replacing the loon on the reverse have been minted over the years. Beginning in December 2023, a new version featuring King Charles III entered circulation, to replace the version featuring Elizabeth II.
The coin's outline is an 11-sidedReuleaux polygon. Its diameter of 26.5mm and its 11-sidedness matched that of the already-circulating Susan B. Anthony dollar in the United States, and its thickness of 1.95mm was a close match to the latter's 2.0mm. Its gold colour differed from the silver-coloured Anthony dollar; however, the succeeding Sacagawea and Presidential dollars matched the loonie's overall hue. Other coins using a non-circular curve of constant width include the 7-sided Britishtwenty pence and fifty pence coins (the latter of which has similar size and value to the loonie, but is silver in colour).
After its introduction, the coin became a metonym for the Canadian dollar: media often discuss the rate at which the loonie is trading against other currencies.[2] The nickname loonie became so widely recognized that in 2006, the Royal Canadian Mint secured the rights to it.[3] When the Canadian two-dollar coin was introduced in 1996, it was in turn nicknamed the "toonie" (a portmanteau of "two" and "loonie").
Background
Canada first minted a silver dollar coin in 1935 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of George V's reign as king.[4] The voyageur dollar, so named because it featured an Indigenous person and a French voyageur paddling a canoe on the reverse, was minted in silver until 1967, after which it was composed primarily of nickel.[5] The coins did not see wide circulation, mainly due to their size and weight; the nickel version weighed 15.6 grams (0.55oz) and was 32.1 millimetres (1.26in) in diameter,[6] and was itself smaller than the silver version.[7]
By 1982, the Royal Canadian Mint had begun work on a new composition for the dollar coin that it hoped would lead to increased circulation.[6] At the same time, vending machine operators and transit systems were lobbying the Government of Canada to replace the dollar banknotes with more widely circulating coins. A Commons committee recommended in 1985 that the dollar bill be eliminated despite a lack of evidence that Canadians would support the move.[8] The government argued that it would save between $175 million and $250 million over 20 years by switching from bills that had a lifespan of less than a year to coins that would last two decades.[9]
History
The government announced on March 25, 1986, that the new dollar coin would be launched the following year as a replacement for the dollar bill, which would be phased out.[10] It was expected to cost $31.8 million to produce the first 300 million coins, but through seigniorage (the difference between the cost of production and the coin's value), expected to make up to $40 million a year on the coins. From the proceeds, a total of $60 million over five years was dedicated toward funding the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.[11]
The failure of the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin in the United States had been considered and it was believed Americans refused to support the coin due to its similarity to their quarter coin and its lack of aesthetic appeal.[8] In announcing the new Canadian dollar coin, the government stated it would be the same overall size as the Susan B. Anthony coin – slightly larger than a quarter – to allow for compatibility with American manufactured vending machines, but would be eleven-sided and gold-coloured.[10]
It was planned that the coin would continue using the voyageur theme of its predecessor, but the master dies that had been struck in Ottawa were lost in transit en route to the Mint's facility at Winnipeg.[12] A Commons committee struck to investigate the loss discovered that the Mint had no documented procedures for transport of master dies and that it had shipped them via a local courier in a bid to save $43.50. It was also found to be the third time that the Mint had lost master dies within five years.[13] An internal review by the Royal Canadian Mint argued that while a policy existed to ship the obverse and reverse dies separately, the new coin dies were packaged separately but were part of the same shipment. The Mint also disagreed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's contention that the dies were simply lost in transit, believing instead that they were stolen.[14] The dies were never recovered.[12]
Fearing the possibility of counterfeiting, the government approved a new design for the reverse, replacing the voyageur with a Robert-Ralph Carmichael design of a common loon floating in water.[12] The coin was immediately nicknamed the "loonie" across English Canada, and became known as a "huard", French for "loon", in Quebec.[9] The loonie entered circulation on June 30, 1987, as 40 million coins were introduced into major cities across the country.[15] Over 800 million loonies had been struck by the coin's 20th anniversary.[16]
After a 21-month period in which the loonie and $1 note were produced concurrently with each other, the Bank of Canada ceased production of the dollar banknote. The final dollar bills were printed on June 30, 1989.[17] Initial support for the coin was mixed,[18] but withdrawing the banknote forced acceptance of the coin.[19]
The loonie has subsequently gained iconic status within Canada,[16] and is now regarded as a national symbol.[20] The term "loonie" has since become synonymous with the Canadian dollar itself.[21] The town of Echo Bay, Ontario, home of Robert-Ralph Carmichael, erected a large loonie monument in his honour in 1992 along the highway, similar to Sudbury's 'Big Nickel'.[22]
A year after the death of Elizabeth II, a new loonie featuring the image of Charles III designed by Steven Rosati was revealed on November 14, 2023. A small number of the coins entered circulation in December 2023.[23]
Lucky loonie
The 2010 Olympic "lucky" loonie
Officials for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics invited the National Hockey League's ice making consultant, Dan Craig, to oversee the city's E Center arena, where the ice hockey tournament was being held. Craig invited a couple of members from the ice crew in his hometown of Edmonton to assist. One of them, Trent Evans, secretly placed a loonie at centre ice. He had originally placed a dime, but added the loonie after the smaller coin quickly vanished as the ice surface was built up.[24] He placed the coins after realizing there was no target at centre ice for referees to aim for when dropping the puck for a faceoff. A thin yellow dot was painted on the ice surface over the coins, though the loonie was faintly visible to those who knew to look for it.[25]
Keeping the coin a secret, Evans told only a few people of its placement and swore them to secrecy. Among those told were the players of the men's and women's teams.[25] Both Canadian teams went on to win gold medals. Several members of the women's team kissed the spot where the coin was buried following their victory.[24] After the men won their final, the coin was dug up and given to Wayne Gretzky, the team's executive-director, who revealed the existence of the "lucky loonie" at a post-game press conference.[26]
Capitalizing on the tradition, the Royal Canadian Mint has released a commemorative edition "lucky loonie" for each Olympic Games since 2004.[29]
Composition
The weight of the coin was originally specified as 108 grains, equivalent to 6.998 grams.[31] The coin's diameter is 26.5mm.[32]
When introduced, loonie coins were made of aureate, a bronze–electroplatednickel combination. Beginning in 2007, some loonie blanks also began to be produced with a cyanide-free brass plating process. In the second quarter of 2012, the composition switched to multi-ply brass-plated steel. As a result, the weight dropped from 7.00 to 6.27 grams.[33] This resulted in the 2012 loonie not being accepted in some vending machines.[34] The Toronto Parking Authority estimated that at about $345 per machine, it would cost about $1 million to upgrade almost 3,000 machines to accept the new coins. The Mint stated that multi-ply plated steel technology, already used in Canada's smaller coinage, produces an electromagnetic signature that is harder to counterfeit than that of regular alloy coins; also, using steel provides cost savings and avoids fluctuations in price or supply of nickel.[35]
On April 10, 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint announced design changes to the loonie and toonie, which include new security features.[36][37]
Commemorative editions
Alongside the regular minting of the loonie with the standard image of the common loon on the coin's reverse, the Royal Canadian Mint has also released commemorative editions of the one-dollar coin for a variety of occasions. These coins have a circulation-grade finish and have been made available to the public in five-coin packs and in 25-coin rolls in addition to being released directly into circulation.
Fox is the first Canadian citizen to be featured on a circulated Canadian coin. There are versions that exist without grass on the reverse of the coin.[40]
To commemorate the centennial of the Canadian Navy. Features a Halifax-classfrigate below anchor, a 1910 naval serviceman and a modern-day female naval officer.
To celebrate Parks Canada's 100th anniversary. Features stylized land, air and aquatic fauna, varieties of flora, as well as a symbolic park building and the silhouette of a hiker framed by a snow-capped mountain range.[46]
2012
Olympic lucky loonie
Emily Damstra
5,000,000
Fifth lucky loonie. Released for the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, United Kingdom. Features a common loon with its wings spread, the Olympic rings, and a laser-etched maple leaf.[47]
To celebrate the 100th Grey Cup. Features the Grey Cup with "100th Grey Cup" in English and French.
2014
Olympic lucky loonie
Emily Damstra
5,000,000
Sixth lucky loonie. Released for the 2014 Winter Olympics held in Sochi, Russia. Features a common loon with its wings spread sitting on a lake, the Canadian Olympic Team logo, and a laser-etched maple leaf. Same design as the 2012 version of the lucky loonie.[49]
2016
Women's right to vote
Laurie McGaw
5,000,000
Features a woman casting a ballot with a girl to commemorate the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in Canada.
2016
Olympic lucky loonie
Derek Wicks
5,000,000
Seventh lucky loonie. Released for the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Shows the image of a common loon on the water, poised for take-off with an arched body and outstretched wings, with a stylized maple leaf in the background.[50]
Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. The design features the railroad and landmarks such as the Lions Gate Bridge, a prairie grain elevator, the CN Tower, Quebec City's Château Frontenac Hotel and an East Coast lighthouse. The theme of the coin is "Our Achievements".
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. The design features the Leafs logo, two hockey sticks crossed under a Canadian maple leaf, and a hockey puck between the words "Canada Dollar" written around the top of the coin.
50th anniversary of the 1969 decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada. Design features two overlapping human faces within a large circle, and the word "equality" in both French and English.[52] The design was issued both as a regular $1 coin and as a limited-edition $10 collector's coin in full colour.[53]
Commemorates the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) and its charter. In a nod to the UN logo, a world map within an olive branch wreath is paired with a maple leaf to symbolize Canada's commitment to the UN and its values.[55]
Commemorates the 125th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush. The design features the artist's rendition of the gold discovery that set off the Klondike Gold Rush. Under the shining sun, Keish ("Skookum" Jim Mason), Shaaw Tlàa (Kate Carmack), Kàa Goox (Dawson Charlie), all of whom were of Lingít and Tagish descent, and George Carmack can be seen panning for gold at the edge of Gàh Dek (Rabbit Creek / Bonanza Creek). A powerful symbol of cultural revitalization, the pictorial symbol for Ëdhä Dädhëchą (Moosehide Slide) is highlighted in red and white on selectively coloured coins; it appears on the opposite side of the creek and represents the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and their deep, abiding connection to the land.[57]
Celebration of the life and legacy of Oscar Peterson. The design features a depiction of the musician seated at his piano, playing his powerful civil rights anthem "Hymn to Freedom", while musical notes and chord symbols from that piece also appear in the design. On the $1 coin with selective colour, Peterson's favourite colour (purple) conveys the joy and love of music that were evident every time he played.[60]
Commemorates the 175th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Graham Bell, honouring his legacy of innovation. The design features a reproduction of Bell's signature, paired with a portrait of the inventor in his later years, when much of his scientific work was done at his estate in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Those experiments are represented by schematic illustrations of the Silver Dart—the aircraft that achieved the first controlled, powered flight in Canada—and the record-setting HD-4 hydrofoil; both crafts made history on Bras d'Or Lake, represented by the waves that are highlighted in blue on the colourized coin.[62]
Honouring Elizabeth "Elsie" MacGill for her aeronautical engineering and for championing women's rights. Featured on the coin is a Hawker Hurricane, which appears in colour on select coins.[64]
Terry Fox loonie
The Terry Fox Loonie was unveiled in 2005 and designed by Senior Engraver Stanley Witten.[65][66] The coin depicts the Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist Terry Fox.[67]
Following his design of the 2005 Terry Fox loonie, Witten told the Ottawa Citizen that "while sculpting the design, I wanted to capture Terry fighting the elements, running against the wind, towering over wind-bent trees on a lonely stretch of Canadian wilderness."[65]
Specimen set editions
In 1997, 2002, and each year since 2004, the Royal Canadian Mint has issued a one-dollar coin that depicts a different and unique image of a bird on the coin's reverse.[68] These special loonies have limited mintages and are available only in the six-coin specimen sets.
The toonie, formally the Canadian two-dollar coin, was introduced on February 19, 1996, by Minister of Public Works Diane Marleau. As of 2023, it possesses the highest monetary value of any circulating Canadian coin. The toonie is a bi-metallic coin which on the reverse side bears an image of a polar bear by artist Brent Townsend. The obverse, since 2023, bear a portrait of King Charles III. It has the words CHARLES III / D.G. REX; before 2023, the words were in a typeface different to other Canadian coins.
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used for distinction from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents (¢).
The Royal Canadian Mint is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under the Royal Canadian Mint Act. The shares of the Mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada.
In Canada, a dime is a coin worth ten cents. It has been the physically smallest Canadian coin since 1922; it is smaller even than the penny, despite its higher face value. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the 10-cent piece, but in practice, the term dime predominates in English-speaking Canada. It is nearly identical in size to the American dime. Unlike its American counterpart, the Canadian dime is magnetic due to a distinct metal composition. From 1968 to 1999, it was composed entirely of nickel, and since 2000, it has consisted of a steel core with plating composed of layers of nickel and copper.
The quarter, short for quarter dollar, is a Canadian coin worth 25 cents or one-fourth of a Canadian dollar. It is a small, circular coin of silver colour. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official name for the coin is the 25-cent piece, but in practice it is usually called a "quarter", much like its American counterpart. In Canadian French, it is called a caribou or trente sous. The coin is produced at the Royal Canadian Mint's facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The Canadian five-cent coin, commonly called a nickel, is a coin worth five cents or one-twentieth of a Canadian dollar. It was patterned on the corresponding coin in the neighbouring United States. It became the smallest-valued coin in the currency upon the discontinuation of the penny in 2013. Due to inflation, the purchasing power of the nickel continues to drop and currently the coin represents less than 0.5% of the country's lowest minimum hourly wage.
In Canada, a penny is an out-of-production coin worth one cent, or 1⁄100 of a dollar. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official term for the coin is the one-cent piece, but in practice the terms penny and cent predominate. Penny was likely readily adopted because the previous coinage in Canada was the British monetary system, where Canada used British pounds, shillings, and pence as coinage alongside U.S. decimal coins and Spanish milled dollars.
The coins of Canada are produced by the Royal Canadian Mint and denominated in Canadian dollars ($) and the subunit of dollars, cents (¢). An effigy of the reigning monarch always appears on the obverse of all coins. There are standard images which appear on the reverse, but there are also commemorative and numismatic issues with different images on the reverse.
The voyageur dollar is a coin of Canada that was struck for circulation from 1935 through 1986. Until 1968, the coin was composed of 80% silver. A smaller, nickel version for general circulation was struck from 1968 through 1986. In 1987, the coin was replaced by the loonie. Like all of Canada's discontinued coins, the voyageur dollar coins remain legal tender.
Since the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the Royal Canadian Mint has struck Summer and Winter Olympic coins to mark Games held in Canada.
Commemorative coins of Canada are coins issued by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate significant persons, special events, and anniversaries.
The Canadian silver dollar was first issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 1935 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. The coin's reverse design was sculpted by Emanuel Hahn and portrays a voyageur and a person of Indigenous descent paddling a birch-bark canoe. The faint lines in the background represent the Northern Lights. The voyageur design was used on the dollar until 1986. It was then replaced with the 1987 Canadian 1-dollar coin. 1967 marked the end of the silver dollar as a business strike, or a coin issued for circulation. After 1967, the dollar coin was made of nickel, except for non-circulating commemorative issues for the collector market, which continue to contain silver.
One of the most highly profitable aspects of the Royal Canadian Mint's enterprise is in its Numismatic product line. The euphoria surrounding the year 2000 led to the birth of the Millennium 25-cent coin program. The numismatic line included proof quality coins sold individually or as a complete set. This level of excess would come to signify the coming decade. The number of numismatic releases would increase on an annual basis starting in 2003. Numismatic three cents, five cents, and ten cents would be introduced, along with numismatic three dollars and eight dollars. Luxury coins would not be immune to the dramatic increases that ensued. Coins with face values of 250, 300 and 350 dollars would be introduced by 2006.
Scenes of Canada is the fourth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada. It was first circulated in 1970 to succeed the 1954 Canadian Landscape series and was followed by the 1986 Birds of Canada banknote series. This was the last series to feature a $1 bill, which was replaced by a $1 coin known as the loonie in 1987, although both the $1 bill and the loonie were produced concurrently for 21 months, from June 1987 to April 1989.
The Royal Canadian Mint has made coins with various themes. Most recently, ice hockey has been used for many numismatic releases. The first known ice hockey coin was for the 1988 Winter Olympics. Issued on February 25, 1986, the coin featured a goalie on the coin. Edge lettering was also used for the coin, the first time that it was used on silver coins.
Starting in 1997, the Royal Canadian Mint started to sell hockey medallions to the public. To commemorate the induction of Mario Lemieux in the Hockey Hall of Fame, a set was issued honouring all three inductees. One set was issued in Sterling Silver while another was issued in Nickel. The success of the release led to future issues.
Stanley Witten is a Canadian artist and engraver. Witten has received national recognition in Canada for his coin designs, including Big Maple Leaf in 2003, and the Terry Fox loonie in 2005.
The five-dollar gold piece was a gold Canadian coin that was struck for circulation from 1912 to 1914, consisting of 90% gold and 10% copper.
The ten-dollar piece was a gold Canadian coin that was struck for circulation from 1912 to 1914, consisting of 90% gold and 10% copper.
Cross, W. K., ed. (2011), Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins; Volume One, Numismatic Issues 2012 (66thed.), Toronto: The Charlton Press, ISBN978-0-88968-347-1
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