Coins of the Canadian dollar
This article concerns Canadian coinage, the coinage of Canada. Modern Canadian coins are produced by the Royal Canadian Mint and denominated in Canadian dollars ($) or cents (¢).
Denominations
There are seven denominations of Canadian coinage circulating: 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, and $2. In everyday speech they are respectively called the penny, nickel, dime, quarter, 50 cent piece, loonie, and toonie (or twoonie), although none of these names are official. The 50 cent piece, though in circulation, is far less common to find than other coins. Except for the $2, these denominations correspond to those of United States coinage. The historical sizes of the coins less than 50¢ are identical to those of U.S. coins due to both nations using the Spanish dollar as the basis of their money. Modest quantities of U.S. coinage circulate in Canada at par, and some Canadian coins (generally less than one-dollar) circulate in some places in the United States as well, though recent changes to the appearance and composition of Canadian coinage have made it more difficult for these coins to be used in the United States. In Canada, it is common to find U.S. 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, and 25¢ coins in circulation, and vice versa). This interchangeability led to some concern when the United States Mint decided that the new Sacagawea Dollar coin would have the same colouring as the Canadian $1 coin, the "loonie", although this proved to be a non-issue.
Introduction of $1 and $2 coins
The most significant recent developments in Canadian currency were the withdrawal of the $1 and $2 bills in 1987 and 1996, respectively, and their replacement with coins of new design. The $1 coin, first issued in 1987, is colloquially called the "loonie," for the common loon on its reverse, and the name is frequently applied to the currency unit as well. It is made of nickel plated with "aureate bronze". The $2 coin, carrying a polar bear, introduced in 1996, is called by analogy the "toonie" and has two sections differing in colour. Unlike several U.S. attempts to introduce a dollar coin, the new coins were quickly accepted by the public, owing largely to the fact that the mint and government forced the switch by removing the $1 and $2 bills from circulation.
The Canadian government has occasionally considered the possibility of eliminating the 1¢ coin from circulation[citation needed], though as of early 2005 no serious discussion has been undertaken about dropping the coin. Likewise, rumours that the government was considering a $5 coin to replace the bill have yet to be realized.
Production
Canadian coins are issued by the Royal Canadian Mint and struck at their facilities in Winnipeg. All special wording on commemorative coins appears in both of Canada's languages, English and French. All of the standard wording on the reverse sides of non-commemorative coins is identical in both languages. On the obverse sides, however, the name and title of the Canadian Monarch appear in an abbreviated-Latin circumscription. Currently, this reads "ELIZABETH II D. G. REGINA". The initials stand for "Dei Gratia"; the entire phrase means, "Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen".
History
Canadian coins were originally issued in bronze (1¢) and silver (5¢ up). Gold coins for circulation were issued from 1912 to 1914 only, though sovereigns, to British standards, were issued in small quantities for some years. In 1922, copying an earlier change in the United States, the 5¢ coin was enlarged and changed to nickel; unlike the United States, pure nickel was used except during World War II and the Korean War. A silver dollar coin similar to that issued in the United States was first proposed in 1911 and a few trial pieces exist (one of which is in a museum in Ottawa and the other sold to a private collector a few years ago for C$1.1 million), but a proper dollar coin did not arrive until 1935. The percentage of silver in silver coins was reduced in 1920 from 92.5% to 80%. In 1968 silver was replaced by pure nickel coins of the same size or nearly so. The rising price of nickel eventually forced the 5¢ coin (commonly called the "nickel") to be changed to cupro-nickel in 1982.
At about the same time the 1¢ coin was twice made smaller, and in 1997 it was changed to copper-plated zinc. Finally, in 2000 all coins below $1 were changed to steel with copper or nickel plating. Unfortunately, there have been some problems with compatibility between the new coins and coin-operated devices like vending machines and public telephones. The 50¢ piece is regularly minted, but not in large quantities; it is very rare to come across this coin in circulation, although an unsuccessful attempt was made by the Mint to promote the use of the coin when a special edition was released in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II ascending the throne.
Queen Victoria Coinage
The following Province of Canada coins with the image of Queen Victoria were struck in 1858 at the Royal Mint, London, England: 1 Cent, 5 Cents, 10 Cents, and 20 Cents. In 1859, the 1 Cent piece was also issued. The 1¢ coin was very unpopular due to their extremely light weight. They had to be discounted by around 20% to get them into circulation.
Confederation coinage began in 1870 and Victoria coins in the denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents were issued most years until 1901.
King Edward VII Coinage
In 1902, the first coins of King Edward VII's coinage was issued. The 1902 5¢ coin is of interest to collectors, as its design includes the outmoded St. Edward's Crown instead of the Imperial State Crown. These coins were hoarded upon being issued, as the public believed that an error had been made. In 1903, the design on the 5¢ was modified accordingly.
In 1907, Heaton's Mint struck its last issue of Canadian coins - the 1907H 1¢, which is quite scarce. In 1908, the Royal Canadian Mint at Ottawa was opened. At that time the Ottawa mint was known as the Royal Mint, Ottawa branch. The name 'Royal Canadian Mint' was first used in 1931.
The reverse design on the 10¢ coins include several varieties in relation to the leaves.
King George V
This coinage is affectionately known as the 'Godless' coinage, because the abbreviation 'DEI GRA' was omitted from King George V's titles. When the public noticed this, there was a huge outcry at this breach of tradition. All the coins from the 1¢ through to the 50¢ were issued. The 50¢ is the scarcest of all the coins minted in 1911 with a mintage of 209,972.[1] The Canadian Coin News publication printed an article showing a well-worn 1911 50¢ example that did have the 'DEI GRA' abbreviation. [citation needed] As of yet, this coin has not been certified as genuine, having been rejected by ICCS, the popular Canadian grading company. The 1911 pattern silver dollar was produced with the 'DEI GRA' abbreviation on the 3 known examples.
Because of the outcry over the 'Godless' coinage of 1911, the King's titles include 'DEI GRA'. The large 1¢ coin was struck right up to and including 1920, when it was replaced with a small 1¢ coin similar in size to the 1¢ coin of the United States. The small 1¢ coin was struck in 1920 as well. There are a few key dates in the series, (1922-26, 1930-31), with the 1925 being the rarest, although 1923 dated coins are the most valuable.
The fineness of the silver coins was changed from .925 fine silver to .800 fine silver in 1920. In 1921, the last silver 5¢ coins were struck. These are extremely rare, numbering less than 400. In 1922, the first nickel 5¢ coins were struck.
There are a few scarce dates, especially the 1925 and the 1926. There are two types of the 1926 - Near '6' type, which has the tail of the '6' lower down, and the Far '6' type, which has the tail of the '6' high up away from the date. On the first variety which is common, the tail of the "6" is "near" to the maple leaf, while on the other variety which is more rare, it is "far" from the maple leaf. The 1921 50¢ is also an extremely rare coin. It is the rarest of the King George V series.
The 1936 coins are technically a posthumous issue under King Edward VIII, as King George V died on the 20 January, 1936, but as the coins depict King George V's portrait, they are included here.
The first Canadian silver $1 coin was issued as a commemorative coin in 1935 to commemorate King George V's Silver Jubilee. The portrait of the King on this coin was the same as that of the coins of several other countries. This coin also bears the famous coureur des bois design, which was designed by Emmanuel Hahn. This coin, and others issued since with this reverse design, have the affectionate nickname of 'Voyageur Dollars'.
There was a pressing demand for 1¢, 10¢, and 25¢ coins, but as the Royal Canadian Mint was waiting for new tools and matrices to arrive from the Royal Mint, the decision was made to strike coins dated 1936, but a dot would be added in the area near the date to indicate that the coins were struck in 1937. The 1¢ and 10¢ coins with the dot are excessively rare, so rare in fact that only four or five specimens are known. The 25¢ coin is a very difficult coin to find.
King George VI Coinage
In late 1937, the tools and matrices finally arrived from London, so the issue of the new coins of the reign of King George VI was struck immediately. The coins' current designs date from this period. The coins were as follows:
- 1 Cent - A twig with two maple leaves. (Designer: George Kruger-Gray).
- 5 Cents - A beaver sitting on a log. (Designer: George Kruger-Gray).
- 10 Cents - The famous Nova Scotian racing yacht Bluenose. (Designer: Emmanuel Hahn)
- 25 Cents - A caribou's head. (Designer: Emmanuel Hahn)
- 50 Cents - The Coat-of-Arms of Canada. (Designer: George Kruger-Gray).
- 1 Dollar - Voyageur. (Designer: Emmanuel Hahn).
There was also a silver $1 that was issued in 1939 to commemorate the Royal Visit. This was also designed by Emmanuel Hahn.
Canada's George VI cents and nickels are the only remaining George VI coinage in any nation that remain in circulation, and have not been either demonitized or effectively withdrawn from circulation due to precious metal content.
1947 Maple Leaf Coinage
As India became independent in 1947 as the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, the King's titles needed to be modified on the coinage, but there was a demand for coinage. While waiting for the new tools and matrices to arrive from the Royal Mint, the decision was made to strike 1947-dated coinage, but a maple leaf symbol would be added next to the date to indicate that the coins were actually struck in 1948. The silver $1 exists in two types - Tall '7' and Short '7'. The Voyageur $1 is also the rarest coin. The 1¢ is the most common coin. The 1¢ exists as two varieties, blunt and pointed '7'. The blunt '7' is scarcer and thus more valuable. The upper part of the '7' near the maple twig is slighly blunted compared to the normally found pointed variety. The pointed '7' is actually the same as used on the 1947 regular-issue 1¢. The 50¢ coin also exists with two '7' varieties. While fairly scarce, the curved left, (or straight), '7' is much more common than the curved right '7'. The regular 1947 50¢ coins also came with left and right curved '7' numerals. These 1947 varieties without the maple leaf are similarly valued except for the curved right '7' in extremely high grade. The 1947 maple leaf 5¢, 10¢, and 25¢ do not have notable varieties and are all fairly common coins.
King George VI Royal Coinage (1948-52)
The new tools and matrices arrived from London, so the issuing of the 'Maple Leaf' coinage ceased as a result. the obverse of the coins are inscribed GEORGIVS VI DEI GRATIA REX (George VI by the Grace of God, King). During the issue of this coinage, a commemorate silver $1 was struck in 1949 to commemorate Newfoundland becoming the tenth province of Canada. The 1948 coins are very scarce, especially the 50¢ and the silver $1. This is due to the slow delivery of the modified tools and matrices from London.
In this coinage, there are several notable varieties. The first of these is the 1950 "No lines in 0" 50¢ coin. The most famous variety of this series, is the "Arnprior Dollar", which has one and a half waterlines near the bow of the canoe instead of the normal three waterlines. This variety is named after the town of Arnprior, Ontario where this variety was discovered.
Queen Elizabeth II Coinage
Several series of coins issued under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, including the current series. The first was the 1953-1959 coins. In 1960, the 50¢ piece was redesigned. In 1965, the portrait was modified, and the coins were debased in 1968. The dime of 1969 has 2 varieties. In 1973, an RCMP quarter came out, it has 2 varieties. In 1987, the 'loonie' came out when they replaced the Voyageur on the dollar with a loon, and made the blanks smaller. This coin also replaced the $1 note which was subsequently withdrawn from circulation by the Bank of Canada. In February 1996, the toonie, or $2 coin, was released, and currently has 3 varieties. The toonie replaced the $2 note.
Special edition coins
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Although the Mint has produced many special edition coins in recent years, Canada does have a history of such coins. From 1943 to 1945, the Mint issued the "Victory nickel" to promote the Canadian war effort. In 1967, all Canadian coins were issued with special reverses to celebrate the Canadian centennial. Six years later, a "Mountie quarter" was issued in 1973 to commemorate the centennial of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In recent years, the Mint has issued several series of coins with special reverses. Most of them have been 25¢ coins, particularly in the years 1999–2001. There were also versions of the $2 coin commemorating the founding of Nunavut, and another with a family of polar bears; there have been several variants of the $1 coin, one of which featured the Canadian peacekeepers' monument in Ottawa to commemorate the award of the Nobel Peace Prize. A commemorative Terry Fox $1 coin began circulating on April 4, 2005.
On October 21, 2004, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a 25¢ poppy coin. This coin features a red-coloured poppy embedded in the centre of a maple leaf above a banner reading "Remember - Souvenir". While some countries' mints have produced colourized coins for market to collectors, this is the first colourized coin in general circulation in the world.[2]
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The Mint states that, with normal wear and tear, the colour should remain for a number of years, although this claim was quickly disproved. The colouration compounds are attached to the metal on a specially prepared 'dimpled' section of the coin, and seem to come off easily if deliberately rubbed. The coin will retain its full value even if the red poppy has worn off or been removed; however it is now expected that fully coloured specimens will become collectible in the future.
In the Unitied States these coins were briefly considered a 'spy tool' by some US Defense Contractors and raised espionage warnings.[3][4]
On May 4, 2005 the Mint unveiled a new "Victory nickel", reminiscent of the original issued during the Second World War. The new coin commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War II. A mintage of 59,258,000 Victory nickels were produced and treated as regular circulation coins.[5]
In 2005, 25¢ and $5 coins commemorating the centennial of two of Canada's provinces were released: the coin for Alberta represents oil exploration in that province; the coin for Saskatchewan depicts a singing meadowlark and a grain elevator. Later the same year, the Mint later issued a Year Of The Veteran coin to honour military veterans, again in the 25¢ denomination.
As of fall/autumn 2004, the highest-denomination coin minted in Canada is a $350 gold coin produced for the collector market, though the bullion values make its market value much higher than its face value. On February 21, 2007, the mint announced that they would be producing a 100 kilogram coin the size of a large pizza with a face value of $1 million. When produced, this new coin will bear the highest face value in the world, using approximately $2 million of 99.999% pure bullion, and is expected to sell for $2.25 million.[6][7]
Specifications
| Canadian coins | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Value | Technical parameters | Description | Common name | ||||||
| Obverse | Reverse | Diameter | Thickness | Mass | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | ||
| File:Cdn-penny-obverse.jpg | File:Cdn-penny-reverse.jpg | 1¢ | 19.05 mm | 1.45 mm | 2.35 g | 94% steel 1.5% nickel 4.5% copper plating |
Plain | Queen Elizabeth II | Maple leaf | Penny (Fr. sou, cenne, cent noir) |
| File:Cdn-nickel-obverse.jpg | File:Cdn-nickel-reverse.jpg | 5¢ | 21.2 mm | 1.76 mm | 3.95 g | 94.5% steel 3.5% copper 2% nickel plating |
Plain | Queen Elizabeth II | Beaver | Nickel |
| File:Cdn-dime-obverse.jpg | File:Cdn-dime-reverse.jpg | 10¢ | 18.03 mm | 1.22 mm | 1.75 g | 92% steel 5.5% copper 2.5% nickel plating |
Milled | The Bluenose (a famous schooner) | Dime | |
| File:Cdn-quarter-obverse.jpg | File:Cdn-quarter-reverse.jpg | 25¢ | 23.88 mm | 1.58 mm | 4.4 g | 94% steel 3.8% copper 2.2% nickel plating |
Caribou | Quarter | ||
| File:Cdn 50 Cent Piece Obverse.JPG | File:Cdn 50 Cent Piece.JPG | 50¢ | 27.13 mm | 1.95 mm | 6.9 g | 93.15% steel 4.75% copper 2.1% nickel plating |
Canadian coat of arms | 50¢ piece, Half Dollar | ||
| File:Loonie obverse view.png | This file may be deleted after Sunday, 29 July 2007. |
$1 | 26.5 mm Hendecagon |
1.75 mm | 7 g | 91.5% nickel 8.5% bronze plating (88% copper, 12% tin) |
Plain | Queen Elizabeth II | Common loon | Loonie (Fr. dollar huard) |
| File:Toonie-obverse2004.jpg | 
|
$2 | 28 mm | 1.8 mm | 7.3 g | Ring: 99% nickel Center: 92% copper 6% aluminium 2% nickel |
Intermittent milled/smooth | Polar bear | Toonie | |
| These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. | ||||||||||
Canadians coins have medallic orientation, like British or Euro coins, and unlike U.S. coins which have coin orientation.
Urban legends
Several urban legends and other bits of false information have circulated regarding Canadian coinage.
- You can pop the centre out of a toonie. This is (or was) in fact true. Many toonies in the first shipment of the coins were defective, and could separate if struck hard or frozen, as the centre piece would shrink more than the outside. This problem was quickly corrected, and the initial wave of "toonie popping" blew over a few months after the coin's introduction.
- The 50¢ piece is no longer minted and/or has been withdrawn from circulation. The 50¢ coin indeed circulates so little that many people have never personally seen nor handled one. Shop proprietors have been known to refuse to accept them as payment because they do not recognize them as Canadian currency. However, the RCM continues to produce the 50¢ coin annually for coin collections such as the Uncirculated, Specimen, and Proof Sets. Although the RCM does produce the coin in small numbers (in 2005, the mintage for the coins was 200,000, and the coins were not produced for circulation in 2003 and 2004);[8] most of them are purchased by coin collectors. The remainder go to banks, though most do not give them out unless the customer specifically requests so. [citation needed] Given enough notice, any bank should be able to obtain them in a significant quantity for their customers. [citation needed] The 50¢ coin is also commonly handed out as regular change at some Canada Post locations. [citation needed]
- The crown is wrong in the Queen's portrait. When the new coin portrait was first issued in 1990 (see above), a legend surfaced that the artist had simply added the image of a crown to a portrait of the Queen, and that she was never meant to be seen wearing that headgear. This is patently false; she posed personally for the portrait wearing one of her usual crowns.
- Canadian coins are minted in Regina, Saskatchewan. The expression D.G. Regina appears on the obverse of Canadian coins, leading to the (wrong) idea that the coins were minted in Regina. As noted, the Royal Canadian Mint branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba is responsible for minting Canadian circulation coinage. The expression D.G. Regina is an abbreviated form of Dei gratia Regina - Latin for by the grace of God, Queen, referring to the effigy of Elizabeth II. The city of Regina takes its name from the same Latin word, creating its nickname, "the Queen City." (Prior to the Winnipeg facility, all coins were minted at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa, Ontario. The Ottawa mint mainly deals with numismatic and collector coins as well as bullion. In addition, coins struck for foreign governments are minted at the Winnipeg Mint.)
References
- ^ The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, W.K. Cross, p.142, The Charlton Press, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 0-88968-297-6
- ^ The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, W.K. Cross, p.135, The Charlton Press, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 0-88968-297-6
- ^ Bridis, Ted, Mystery revealed: Poppy quarter led to U.S. spy warnings May 72007, retrieved May 72007
- ^ CNN Canadian 'poppy coin' culprit behind U.S. spy warning, May 72007, retrieved May 72007
- ^ 2005 Royal Canadian Mint Annual Report, page 38
- ^ Mint's new coin not exactly pocket change
- ^ Royal Canadian Mint, Press Release, Royal Canadian Mint promotes new line of 99.999% pure gold bullion coins by unveiling world's purest, largest and highest denomination gold coin May 32007 retrieved May 42007
- ^ The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, W.K. Cross, p.154, The Charlton Press, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 0-88968-297-6
- Coins of Canada by J.A. Haxby and R.C. Willey.