Voyageur dollar Voyageur dollar The Voyageur Dollar was a coin of Canada struck for circulation from 1935 through 1986. Until 1968, the coin was composed of 80% silver. A smaller, nickel version for general circulation was struck from 1968 through 1986. In 1987, the coin was replaced by the loonie. However, like all of Canada's discontinued coins, the voyageur dollar coins remain legal tender. In 1911, after lengthy debate, the first Canadian silver dollar was struck. Only two remain, one in a museum, the other in private hands, and recently auctioned for $1.4 million. In 1935, a commemorative silver dollar was struck
History of the Canadian dollar and British coppers, low-value tokens issued by private banks or merchants, even brass buttons in some cases. Working with the banks, the federal government gradually had all of the pre-Confederation and foreign pennies removed from circulation. In 1876, the Canadian one-cent coin finally was issued. The new Canadian government issued its first notes in 1870. The first issue was in denominations of twenty-five cents (nicknamed a "shinplaster"), one dollar and two dollars. The twenty-five cent note featured Britannia, the one-dollar note featured Jacques Cartier, and the two-dollar note featured General James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm. The twenty-five cent