Toonie
Encyclopedia
The Canadian 2 dollar
coin, commonly called Toonie, was introduced on February 19, 1996 by Public Works
minister Diane Marleau
. The Toonie is a bi-metallic
coin which bears an image of a polar bear
, by Campbellford, Ontario
artist Brent Townsend
, on the reverse
. The obverse
, like all other current Canadian coins, has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II
. It has the words "ELIZABETH II / D.G. REGINA
" in a different typeface
from any other Canadian coin; it is also the only coin to consistently bear its issue date on the obverse. According to its website, the coin "is manufactured using a distinctive bi-metallic coin locking mechanism patented by the Royal Canadian Mint".
It costs 16 cents to mint a Toonie, which is estimated to last 20 years. The discontinued two-dollar bill cost six cents to print and, on average, each bill lasted only one year.
When the coin was introduced, a number of nicknames were suggested. Some of the early ones included the bearie (analogous to the Loonie and its loon
), the bearly, the deuce, the doubloonie (a play on "double loonie" and the former Spanish doubloon
coin), and the moonie (because it depicted "the Queen with a bear behind").
Jack Iyerak Anawak
, Member of Parliament from Nunatsiaq
, Nunavut
, suggested the name Nanuq [nanook, polar bear
] in honour of Canada's Inuit
people and their northern culture; however, this culturally meaningful proposal went largely unnoticed beside the popular toonie.
The name toonie became so widely accepted that in 2006 the Royal Canadian Mint
secured the rights to it. A competition to name the bear resulted in the name "Churchill", a reference both to Winston Churchill
and to the common polar bear sightings in Churchill, Manitoba
. At the official website of the Royal Canadian Mint, the latest commemorative version of this coin is called the "Québec [City] 400th anniversary toonie."
The community of Campbellford, home to the coin's designer, constructed a 27-foot toonie monument
, similar to the "Big Loonie" in Echo Bay and the Big Nickel
in Sudbury.
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
coin, commonly called Toonie, was introduced on February 19, 1996 by Public Works
Minister of Public Works (Canada)
The position of Minister of Public Works existed as part of the Cabinet of Canada from Confederation to 1995.As part of substantial governmental reorganization, the position was merged with that of the Minister of Supply and Services to create the position of Minister of Public Works and Government...
minister Diane Marleau
Diane Marleau
Diane Marleau, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. She represented the riding of Sudbury in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 2008, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien...
. The Toonie is a bi-metallic
Bimetal
Bimetal refers to an object that is composed of two separate metals joined together. Instead of being a mixture of two or more metals, like alloys, bimetallic objects consist of layers of different metals...
coin which bears an image of a polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
, by Campbellford, Ontario
Campbellford, Ontario
Campbellford is a small town in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, in the municipality of Trent Hills.Located at , Campbellford lies approximately midway between Toronto and Ottawa. It is situated on both the Trent-Severn Waterway and the Trans Canada Trail. It can be reached from Highway...
artist Brent Townsend
Brent Townsend
Brent Townsend is a Canadian portrait artist who designed, in 1996, the most recent portrait of the Polar Bear in early summer on an ice floe on the current Canadian 2 dollar coin.-External links:*...
, on the reverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
. The obverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
, like all other current Canadian coins, has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. It has the words "ELIZABETH II / D.G. REGINA
Dei Gratia Regina
Dei Gratia Regina is Latin for By the Grace of God, Queen. This phrase appears on the obverse of all Canadian coins to the right of the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II....
" in a different typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
from any other Canadian coin; it is also the only coin to consistently bear its issue date on the obverse. According to its website, the coin "is manufactured using a distinctive bi-metallic coin locking mechanism patented by the Royal Canadian Mint".
It costs 16 cents to mint a Toonie, which is estimated to last 20 years. The discontinued two-dollar bill cost six cents to print and, on average, each bill lasted only one year.
Naming
Toonie (sometimes spelled "twonie") is the unofficial name for Canada's two-dollar coin; it is a portmanteau word combining the number "two" with the name of the loonie, Canada's one-dollar coin.When the coin was introduced, a number of nicknames were suggested. Some of the early ones included the bearie (analogous to the Loonie and its loon
Loon
The loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia...
), the bearly, the deuce, the doubloonie (a play on "double loonie" and the former Spanish doubloon
Doubloon
The doubloon , was a two-escudo or 32-reales gold coin, weighing 6.77 grams . Doubloons were minted in Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Nueva Granada...
coin), and the moonie (because it depicted "the Queen with a bear behind").
Jack Iyerak Anawak
Jack Anawak
Jack Iyerak Anawak is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Nunatsiaq in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1997. He sat in the house as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada...
, Member of Parliament from Nunatsiaq
Nunavut (electoral district)
Nunavut is a federal electoral district in Nunavut, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Nunatsiaq, its predecessor that covered the same area, was a federal electoral district in Northwest Territories, that was represented in the House of Commons from 1979...
, Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
, suggested the name Nanuq [nanook, polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
] in honour of Canada's Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
people and their northern culture; however, this culturally meaningful proposal went largely unnoticed beside the popular toonie.
The name toonie became so widely accepted that in 2006 the Royal Canadian Mint
Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and...
secured the rights to it. A competition to name the bear resulted in the name "Churchill", a reference both to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and to the common polar bear sightings in Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing tourism industry.-History:A variety of nomadic...
. At the official website of the Royal Canadian Mint, the latest commemorative version of this coin is called the "Québec [City] 400th anniversary toonie."
Launch
Under the direction of Dr. Hieu C. Truong, the RCM engineering division designed the two dollar coin to be made from two different metals. The metals for the bi-metallic coin would be lighter and thinner than those produced anywhere in the world. To join the two parts, the engineering division perfected a bi-mechanic locking mechanism which was patented. By the end of 1996, the Winnipeg facility had struck 375 million of these coins. The coin was officially launched at Ben’s Deli in Montreal on February 19, 1996.The community of Campbellford, home to the coin's designer, constructed a 27-foot toonie monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
, similar to the "Big Loonie" in Echo Bay and the Big Nickel
Big Nickel
The Big Nickel is a nine-metre replica of a 1951 Canadian nickel, located at the grounds of Dynamic Earth in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada...
in Sudbury.
Commemorative editions
| Year | Theme | Artist | Mintage | Special Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The founding of Nunavut Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993... |
G. Arnaktavyok | 25,130,000 | Commemorating the founding of Nunavut Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993... , featuring an Inuit Inuit The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language... drummer. |
| 2000 | Knowledge/Le Savoir | Tony Bianco | 29,880,000 | Millennium edition, the coin value "2 DOLLARS" appears on the obverse instead of on the reverse. It also features three polar bears. The issue date of the 2000 coin is on the reverse instead of the obverse side. |
| 2002 | The 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's reign | Brent Townsend | 27,020,000 | The issue date reads 1952-2002. |
| 2006 | 10th Anniversary | Tony Bianco | 35,319,000 | Featuring an updated pose of the bear looking up at the dramatic lines of an Aurora Borealis. The first circulation coin to be introduced with the new 'mintmark'. The issue date reads 1996-2006. |
| 2008 | 400th Anniversary of founding of Quebec City & 1st French settlement in North America. | The coin was designed by Quebec City native Genevieve Bertrand, a jeweller who practices her craft at a boutique in St-Georges-de-Beauce. The engraving was done by RCM engraver William Woodruff. | 6,000,000 | The design of the coin is dominated by a large fleur-de-lis. Other elements include a ship, and lines representing the St. Lawrence River. |
Specimen set editions
| Year | Theme | Artist | Mintage | Issue price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Young Lynx Lynx A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes... |
Christie Paquet | 15000 | $49.95 |
First strikes
| Year | Theme | Mintage | Issue Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Polar Bear | 2,375 | $14.95 |
| 2006 | 10th Anniversary Toonie | 5,000 | $15.95 |
| 2006 | New Mint Mark | 5,000 | $29.95 |