Toonie

Toonie

Canada
Value	2.00 CAD
Mass	6.92 g
Diameter	28 mm
Thickness	1.75 mm
Edge	Intermittent milled/smooth
Composition	1996–2012 Outer ring   99% Ni Inner core   Aluminum bronze    (92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni)   2012–present Outer ring   Steel, nickel plating Inner core    Aluminum bronze, brass plating
Years of minting	1996–present
Catalog number	-
Obverse
Design	Queen Elizabeth II
Designer	Susanna Blunt
Design date	2003
Reverse
Design	Polar bear in early summer on an ice floe
Designer	Brent Townsend
Design date	1996
Design discontinued	2012
Design	Polar bear in early summer on an ice floe
Designer	Brent Townsend
Design date	2012

The toonie (also spelled twonie or twoonie), formally the Canadian two-dollar coin (Template:Lang-fr, nicknamed deux piastres or deux piastres rond), was introduced on February 19, 1996, by Minister of Public Works Diane Marleau. As of 2022, 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, like all other current Canadian circulation coins, has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. It has the words ELIZABETH II / D.G. REGINA in a typeface different from any other Canadian coin.

The coin is manufactured using a patented distinctive bi-metallic coin-locking mechanism. The coins are estimated to last 20 years. The discontinued two-dollar bill was less expensive to manufacture but lasted only one year on average.

On April 10, 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) announced design changes to the loonie and toonie, which include new security features.

Coins minted prior to 2012 consist of an aluminum bronze inner core with a pure nickel outer ring; but in March–May 2012, the composition of the inner core switched to aluminum bronze coated with multi-ply plated brass, and the outer ring switched to steel coated with multi-ply plated nickel. The weight dropped from 7.30 to 6.92 g, and the thickness changed from 1.8 to 1.75 mm. The Mint said 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 the price or supply of nickel.

Naming

"Toonie" is a portmanteau word combining the number "two" with the name of the loonie, Canada's one-dollar coin. Two loonies would be equivalent to one "toonie", hence the name. It is occasionally spelled "twonie" or "twoonie", but Canadian newspapers and the Royal Canadian Mint use the "toonie" spelling.

Jack Iyerak Anawak, member of Parliament from Nunatsiaq (the electoral district representing what is now the territory of Nunavut), suggested the name "Nanuq" [nanook, polar bear] in honour of the Inuit and their northern culture; however, this proposal went largely unnoticed beside the popular "toonie".

The name "toonie" became so widely accepted that in 2006, the RCM 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.

Launch

Finance Minister Paul Martin announced the replacement of the $2 banknote with a coin in the 1995 Canadian federal budget speech. The RCM spent CA$17,400 to canvass 2,000 Canadian households regarding which of the 10 theme options they preferred.

Under the direction of Hieu C. Truong, the RCM engineering division designed the two-dollar coin to be made from two different metals. The metals for the bimetallic coin would be lighter and thinner than those produced anywhere in the world. To join the two parts, the engineering division selected a bimechanical locking mechanism. 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 weight of the coin was originally specified as 112.64 grains (7.299 g).

The community of Campbellford, Ontario, home to the coin's designer, constructed an 8-metre-tall (26 ft) toonie monument, similar to the "Big Loonie" in Echo Bay and the Big Nickel in Sudbury.

Unlike the loonie before it, the toonie and the $2 bill were not produced concurrently with each other, as the $2 bill was withdrawn from circulation on February 16, 1996, three days prior to the toonie's introduction.

The obverse side of the Giant Toonie Monument located in Campbellford, Ontario

Commemorative editions

Commemorative editions of the Canadian $2 coin

Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Notes
1999	The founding of Nunavut	G. Arnaktavyok	25,130,000	Commemorating the founding of Nunavut, featuring an Inuit 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.
2006	Churchill, 10th anniversary of $2 coin	Tony Bianco	5,005,000	Featuring an updated pose of the bear looking up at the dramatic lines of the aurora borealis. The first circulation coin to be introduced with the new mintmark. The issue date reads 1996–2006.
2008	Québec, 400th anniversary of founding of Quebec City, the first French settlement in North America	The coin was designed by jeweller Genevieve Bertrand, a Quebec City native. The engraving was done by RCM engraver William Woodruff.	6,010,000	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.
2011	Boreal Forest, honouring Canada's boreal forest dedicated to the centennial of Parks Canada.	Nolin BBDO Montreal	5,000,000	Celebrates Canada's boreal forest that covers over half of Canada's landmass. Features three stylized trees, a bird and a man.
2012	War of 1812: HMS Shannon	Bonnie Ross	5,000,000	Part of a series of commemorative issues on the War of 1812. Features a modified reverse with HMS Shannon in the centre core, as well as artwork with "The War of 1812, HMS Shannon" in the outer ring.
2014	Wait for Me Daddy	Claude Dettloff	5,000,000	Inspired by the iconic photograph Wait for Me, Daddy, which was taken on October 1, 1940, in New Westminster, British Columbia, by photographer Claude Dettloff.
2015	200th anniversary of the birth of John A. Macdonald	Glen Green	5,000,000	The design features a portrait of John A. Macdonald superimposed on the map of Canada in the centre; in the outer ring are the dates "1815" and "2015". 2,150,000 of these coins were produced in 2014 (though still dated 2015), with the remaining 2,850,000 being produced in 2015.
2015	100th anniversary of the poem "In Flanders Fields"	Glen Loates	5,000,000	Part of a collection featuring a coloured and uncoloured quarter duo, the reverse depicts John McCrae sitting in a field of poppies as he composes the poem.
2016	75th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic	Yves Bérubé	5,000,000	Features a sailor aboard a Canadian warship who presses his eye to the viewfinder of his anti-aircraft gun, scanning the skies for threats. Two other Canadian vessels in the distance while a Bristol Beaufighter flies overhead.
2017	Canada 150	Timothy Hsia	10,000,000 (including coloured and regular issues)	Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. The design is titled Dance of the Spirits and shows a pair of paddlers dwarfed by a night sky alive with the ever-shifting movement of the aurora borealis. The aurora portion glows in the dark. The theme of the coin is "Our Wonders".
2017	100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge	Tony Bianco	5,130,000	Designed by Canadian artist Tony Bianco, the coin design features the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Vimy, France, flanked by a First World War soldier on the left and a veteran soldier on the right.
2018	100th anniversary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918	Laurie McGaw	2,000,000 (with applied colour) 1,000,000 (regular issue)	Designed by Canadian artist Laurie McGaw, the coin design features two symbols of remembrance: a soldier's helmet represents the end of the First World War and serves as a reminder of the many lives lost during history's first mechanized war. Below the helmet lies a large poppy, the official bloom of remembrance, whose bright scarlet colour is re-created on the selectively coloured coins.
2019	75th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy	Alan Daniel	2,000,000 (with applied colour) 1,000,000 (regular issue)	Designed by Canadian artist Alan Daniel, the coin features Canadian soldiers en route to Juno Beach.
2020	100th anniversary of the birth of artist Bill Reid	Bill Reid	2,000,000 (with applied colour) 1,000,000 (regular issue)	Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Haida artist Bill Reid, the design features a rendering of the Xhuwaji, the Haida grizzly bear, along with his name and the year of issue placed between two micro-engraved maple leaves.
2020	75th anniversary of the end of the World War II	Thomas Shingles	2,000,000 (with applied colour) 1,000,000 (regular issue)	Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the design is based on the Victory nickel by Thomas Shingles, featuring a large "V" for Victory overlaid with a torch topped by orange and yellow flames. The Canadian victory emblem is flanked by maple leaves, while the double dates "1945" and "2020" appear at both left and right, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. The words "Victory" (English) and "Victoire" (French) appear on the outer ring, with an inscription in International Morse code, that when translated reads "We win when we work willingly" (English) and "La bonne volonté est gage de victoire" (French). The words "Remember" (English) and "Souvenir" (French) are added to the bottom part of the outer ring.
2021	100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin	Jesse Koreck	2,000,000 (with applied colour) 1,000,000 (regular issue)	Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, the design features a monomer, the building block of the insulin molecule, along with scientific instruments used in the early formulation of insulin, including a vial, mortar and pestle, and Erlenmeyer flask overlaid on a maple leaf, with red blood cells, glucose and insulin molecules, the words "INSULIN" and "INSULINE" appearing on the coin's outer ring and the dates "1921" and "2021" on the upper part of the coin's outer ring.
2022	50th anniversary of the Summit Series	Joel Kimmel	2,000,000 (with applied colour) 1,000,000 (regular issue)	Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Summit Series, the design features two hockey players representing Team Canada, with the team's stylized maple leaf emblem, with "THE SERIES" in English and French, and the words "50 YEARS" and "ANS" appearing on the coin.

Specimen set editions

From 2010 to 2015, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a two-dollar coin that depicts a different and unique image of a young animal on the coin's reverse. These special toonies have limited mintages and are available only in the six-coin specimen sets.

Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Full-set issue price
2010	Young lynx	Christie Paquet	15,000	$49.95
2011	Elk calf	Christie Paquet	15,000	$49.95
2012	Wolf cubs	Emily Damstra	15,000	$49.95
2013	Black bear cubs	Glen Loates	17,500	$49.95
2014	Baby rabbits	Pierre Leduc	17,500	$49.95
2015	Baby raccoons	Clinton Jammer	15,000	$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

Separation of metals

A failure in the bimetallic locking mechanism in the first batch of toonies caused some coins to separate if struck hard or frozen. Despite media reports of defective toonies, the RCM responded that the odds of a toonie falling apart were about one in 60 million. Deliberately attempting to separate a toonie is considered to be "defacing coin currency", a summary offence under section 456 of the Canadian Criminal Code.

See also

• Newfoundland 2-dollar coin (antedating Canada's coin)

External links

• Jack Iyerak Anawak on Two-Dollar Coin - Hansard April 26th, 1996