Canadian Two Dollar Coins (Toonies)

Collecting Canadian $2 Coins or "Toonies"

In 1996, Canada introduced a $2 coin, distinctive for being composed of two metals — aluminum bronze in the center with a nickel outer ring. Since 2012, the coins have featured brass-plated aluminum bronze centers with nickel-plated steel outer rings instead. The $2 coin features Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and Chesterton the polar bear on the reverse, and if you're a collector, you may find that numerous commemorative editions and a wildlife series make it especially attractive.

A Canadian "toonie" coin that glows in the dark

The Canadian $2 Northern Lights commemorative edition made history as the first coin in circulation to glow in the dark. This new toonie in 2017 was issued to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation. The coin, entitled "Dance of the Spirits," is printed with ink that contains luminescent metal. The sky above the canoe paddlers on the coin's reverse side appears brilliant blue with a green aurora borealis in ordinary light, but when the lights go out, the aurora continues to shine.

Other commemorative editions of the Canadian $2 coin

Collectible editions of the toonie with alternate imagery on the reverse are released every few years, usually to celebrate the anniversary of a historic event.

The Canadian $2 coin for 2018 commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918. In 2017, alongside the sesquicentennial glow-in-the-dark coin, a coin for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge was issued. The year 2016 had a coin for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, and 2015 had two commemorative editions: one for Sir John A. Macdonald's 200th birthday and one for the 100th anniversary of John McCrae's poem, "In Flanders Fields." In 2014, the special coin recreated Claude Dettloff's "Wait For Me Daddy" photograph, while 2012 depicted the HMS Shannon from the War of 1812. The 2011 coin celebrates Canada's boreal forests, the 2008 coin honors Quebec City's 400th birthday, and the coin for 2006 recognizes the 10th anniversary of the toonie itself, showing its polar bear looking up at the northern lights.

The 2002 special coin is the most subtle departure from the usual design, with the date shown as 1952–2002 to recognize Queen Elizabeth's 50-year reign. The millennium coin for 2000 shows three bears, and the first commemorative edition, for the founding of Nunavut in 1999, features an Inuit drummer.

What other animals have appeared on the back of the toonie?

A special series known as the Specimen Set showed the young of a different species each year from 2000 to 2015. The first coin depicted a young lynx, followed by an elk calf in 2011, wolf cubs in 2012, black bear cubs in 2013, baby rabbits in 2014, and baby raccoons to conclude the series.

Content provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.