First things first: what is a loonie? A loonie is a colloquial term for the Canadian $1 coin or Canadian dollar, introduced in 1987 to replace the paper dollar. The name comes from the coin’s reverse design featuring a loon, a common bird in Canada and a longtime representation of the country. A toonie is a portmanteau term combining “two” and “loonie” for the $2 coin introduced in 1995. The terms became so popular that the Canadian Mint trademarked them in 2006.
The Designs of Loonies and Toonies
The loonie was not the first $1 coin in Canadian currency. The first circulated in 1935, made of silver and bearing King George V on the obverse to commemorate the Silver Jubilee. The reverse featured the popular “Voyageur” design, depicting a voyager and a guide paddling a canoe. The $1 banknote, having been circulating since 1870, was replaced over 3 years with a new version of the $1 coin to cut down on production costs because coins lasted 20+ years while a banknote often didn’t last more than a year.
The $1 coin was originally to feature its predecessor’s familiar “Voyageur” design. The design was approved, and the dies were cast, but they were lost en route to the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg during a snowstorm. An alternative was needed quickly, and Robert-Ralph Carmichael pitched the loon design:
The reverse shows a loon swimming through the water with an island covered in trees in the background. The inscriptions “CANADA” and “DOLLAR” are along the top and bottom borders, with the year just below the image. “RRC” is to the right of the loon above the water line, the artist’s initials. In 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint added a laser mark of a maple leaf above the loon’s head as a security feature to prevent counterfeiting.
The obverse bears the English royal currently on the throne in the United Kingdom. When the coin was first introduced, it bore the 1966 bust of Queen Elizabeth II, designed by Arnold Machin. This portrait was also used on other Canadian currency. To the left of her portrait is her name, Elizabeth II. To the right is “D.G. REGINA,” which is an abbreviation of the phrase “Dei Gratia Regina,” Latin for “By the Grace of God, Queen.”
There have been four different obverse portraits of the Queen used in Canadian currency:
Mary Gillick designed the first in 1953.
Arnold Marchin designed the second in 1966.
Dora dePedery-Hunt designed the third iteration in 1990.
Susanna Blunt designed the fourth effigy in 2003 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation.
Canadian artists designed the third and fourth versions of the Queen’s portrait, which are unique to Canadian currency.
In 2023, King Charles ascended the English throne, and Canadian artist Steven Rosati designed a new obverse for the loonie. Like the previous version, it bears the royal bust and name. To the right, it now bears the inscription “D. G. REX,” which is short for the Latin phrase “De Gratia Rex,” or “By the Grace of God. King.”
Over the years, the Canadian Mint has released temporary commemorative designs on the obverse of the loonie to celebrate special events, historical moments, and notable people. Many people enjoy collecting these variations, much like American quarters.
Like the loonie, the $2 coin was announced in 1995 as a replacement for the paper banknote to save on production costs. Instead of a slow release, the coin immediately replaced the banknote and was not produced concurrently. The government conducted a national survey to determine the design theme, and most preferred that it feature Canada’s wildlife. Brent Townsend created the reverse’s iconic polar bear, hunting on the ice floes of the Arctic and looking off into the distance. His initials are inscribed at the bottom right corner of the ice floe.
The reverse of the original toonie design was the polar bear with the inscriptions “CANADA” and “2 DOLLARS” along the borders at the top and bottom. The obverse bore Queen Elizabeth’s bust, designed in 1990 by Dora de Pedery-Hunt, along with her name to the left, the year of the coin’s issue at the bottom, and “D.G. REGINA” on the right.
In 2006, a competition was announced to name the polar bear on the coin, resulting in the name Churchill to reference Winston Churchill and common sightings of the actual bear in Churchill, Manitoba. Also in 2006, a mint mark was added to all Canadian coinage on the obverse: a maple leaf within a circle, with an M for Mint and a crown for Royal and Crown Corporation. Another minor change to the design in 2006 was that the date was moved to the top of the obverse, and the logo for the Royal Canadian Mint was moved to the bottom.
From 1996 to 2012, the toonie was made of 92% copper, 6% aluminum, and 2% nickel in the center, surrounded by a pure nickel outer ring. In 2010, the government announced that the coin would change to be primarily multi-ply plated steel on the outer ring and the core to multi-ply brass-plated aluminum bronze. The reverse design of the coin was also modified in 2012. The bimetal coin initially had some quality issues where the outer ring would separate from the inner ring, but this was quickly remedied with some improvements during the minting process to ensure the two stayed together.
The newer reverse is inscribed with “CANADA 2 DOLLARS” on the bottom, with two maple leaf laser marks separating the words. The coin was designed to be bimetallic, with a nickel outer ring and bronze-aluminum center visible front and back. The edge is lettered with “CANADA” and “2 DOLLARS” with serrations in between. At the top is a virtual image of two maple leaves, which you can see as you tilt the coin from side to side.
Over 20 commemorative versions of the toonie have replaced the polar bear obverse. The first was in 1999, featuring an Inuit drummer who founded Nunavut, and the following year, a special version was released as part of the Millenium coin series.
In 2022, the toonie’s last version featuring Queen Elizabeth II was released with an outer ring and a black-nickel design to signify the end of her reign.
The new obverse design featuring King Charles, the same one designed by Steven Rosati on the loonie, and the inscription “D. G. REX” was released in 2023.
Collecting Loonies and Toonies
The Canadian dollar coins are among the most widely traded currencies in the world. For over a decade, the loonie was the best-performing currency against the U.S. dollar. After the 2008 financial crisis, the currency’s value fell quickly, and collectors and investors turned to other currencies. The loonie has regained its status over the years with the rise in demand for Canada’s natural resources.
Periodically, the Canadian Mint releases limited editions of the loonies and toonies, which are highly sought-after by collectors. These unique versions often feature colorized or holographic imagery, like the 2010 colorized loonie that commemorated the Vancouver Olympics. In 2017, for Canada’s 150th anniversary, a glow-in-the-dark edition of the loonie was released, which was very popular.
Like most currencies, there are bound to be errors during the minting process: die varieties, planchet errors, misaligned dies, off-metal strikes, etc. These error coins are rare and valuable, making them ideal for collecting. In 2004, a loonie was struck with a Winnipeg mint mark instead of an Ottawa mint mark and was highly sought after for this mistake. Some mistakes like that are noticeable, but others are a bit harder to spot: In 2006, some loonies were struck with a non-magnetic core and released into circulation before the error was discovered, and collectors are always on the hunt for these elusive versions.
One of the most popular toonies is from the 1996 issue when the Canadian government borrowed blank planchets from Germany to cover a production shortage. These coins have machining lines across the ring and core and are duller than the standard circulated coin. Another highly sought-after toonie is the 1999 Nunavut, the first commemorative toonie marking the founding of a new territory. Both the circulated and uncirculated versions are widely collected.
Test tokens for the toonie can even be purchased as a unique collector’s item. These tokens were used to test during the minting process before the toonie was circulated.
The Beaded Twoonie (twoonie is an alternate spelling some use) is one of the rarest toonies. Four of them were issued in 1996 and featured distinct beads on both sides of the coin. No one knows why this version exists, and some coin experts believe it was an experimental design.
Some loonies and toonies collectors focus on specific types: commemoratives, errors, or one for each year. Most coin collectors suggest starting your collection with a particular theme in mind to help you stay focused on your search. Uncirculated and bullion versions of the dollar coins are valuable and highly popular among investors and collectors.
