The loonie (), formally the Canadian one-dollar coin, is a gold-coloured Canadian coin introduced in 1987 to replace the Canadian one-dollar bill The nickname loonie became so widely recognized that in 2006, the Royal Canadian Mint secured the rights to it. 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. 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. The coins did not see wide circulation, mainly due to their size and weight; the nickel version weighs and is in diameter, and is itself smaller than the silver version. By 1978, Canadian businesses, namely vending machine operators, and transit authorities were advocating for a one-dollar coin that circulated more easily.
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. The government argued that it would save between $175million and $250million over 20 years by switching from bills that had a lifespan of less than a year to coins that would last two decades.
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. Two proposals for the coin were considered, one by Inco for the Nigold coin, and one by Sheritt Gordon Mines for an aureate bronze plated on pure nickel (aureate nickel) coin. The government selected the Sherritt Gordon Mines proposal as it was less costly and the innovative technology behind the coin could serve to demonstrate the Royal Canadian Mint's capabilities in the international coinage market.
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. 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. 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. The dies were never recovered. Over 800million loonies had been struck by the coin's 20th anniversary.
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. Initial support for the coin was mixed, but withdrawing the banknote forced acceptance of the coin.
The loonie has subsequently gained iconic status within Canada, The term "loonie" has since become synonymous with the Canadian dollar itself. 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'.
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.
Lucky loonie
thumb|right|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. 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. 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.
The lucky loonie quickly became a piece of Canadian lore. The original lucky loonie was donated to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and Canadians have subsequently hidden loonies at several international competitions, including the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2010 IIHF World Championships. Loonies were buried in the foundations of facilities built for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Capitalizing on the tradition, the Royal Canadian Mint has released a commemorative edition "lucky loonie" for each Olympic Games since 2004. The coin's diameter is .
When introduced, loonie coins were made of aureate, a bronze–electroplated nickel 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. This resulted in the 2012 loonie not being accepted in some vending machines. The Toronto Parking Authority estimated that at about $345 per machine, it would cost about $1million 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.
On April 10, 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint announced design changes to the loonie and toonie, which include new security features.
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.
{|class="wikitable"
|+ Commemorative editions of the Canadian $1 coin
!Year
!Theme
!Artist
!Mintage
!Notes
|-
|1992
|125th anniversary of Confederation
|Rita Swanson
|23,010,000
|Showing children and the Parliament Building. The regular loon design was also minted that year bearing the double date "1867–1992".
|-
|1994
|Remembrance design
|RCM Staff
|15,000,000
|R.R. Carmichael
|6,526,000
|The coin features the Montreal Canadiens' "CH" logo and is double-dated 1909–2009.
|-
|2010
|Olympic lucky loonie
|RCM Staff
|10,250,000
|Nolin BBDO Montreal
|5,000,000
|-
|2012
| 100th Grey Cup
|RCM Staff
|5,000,000
|-
|2016
|Women's right to vote
|Laurie McGaw
|5,000,000
|-
|2017
|Connecting a Nation
|Wesley Klassen
|10,000,000
|-
|2017
|Toronto Maple Leafs 100th anniversary
|Steven Rosati
|5,150,000 The design was issued both as a regular $1 coin and as a limited-edition $10 collector's coin in full colour.
|-
|2020
|75th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations
|Joel Kimmel
|
|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.
|-
|2021
|125th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush
|Jori van der Linde
|
|The coin features a 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). The pictorial symbol for Ëdhä Dädhëchą (Moosehide Slide) is highlighted in red and white on 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.
|-
|2022
|Celebrating Oscar Peterson
|Valentine De Landro
|
|The coin features Peterson seated at a piano, playing his civil rights anthem "Hymn to Freedom", while musical notes and chord symbols from that piece also appear in the design. Coloured coins feature a purple background as a nod to Peterson's favourite colour.
|-
|2022
|175th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Graham Bell
|Christopher Gorey
|
|The coin features a reproduction of Bell's signature, paired with a portrait of the inventor. He is accompanied 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.
|-
|2023
|Honouring Elsie MacGill
|Claire Watson
|
|Featured on the coin is Elsie MacGill, the word Canada at the top, the word dollar at the bottom, and a Hawker Hurricane in the sky which appears in colour on select coins. On the obverse is Queen Elizabeth II and the dates "1952–2022" in honour of her reign.
|-
|2024
|150th anniversary of the birth of L. M. Montgomery
|Brenda Jones
|