Loonie into circulation. In 1997, 2002, and each year since 2004, the Royal Canadian Mint has issued a one-dollar coin that depicts a different and unique image of a bird on the coin's reverse. These special loonies have limited mintages and are available only in the six-coin specimen sets. Footnotes Bibliography Loonie The loonie (), formally the Canadian one-dollar coin, is a gold-coloured coin that was introduced in 1987 and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint at its facility in Winnipeg. The most prevalent versions of the coin show a common loon, a bird found throughout Canada, on the reverse
Coins of the Canadian dollar had previously been in limited circulation. The dies were lost or stolen in November 1986, requiring a redesign. The new coin is colloquially called the "loonie", for the common loon on its reverse, and the name is frequently applied to the currency unit as well. It is made of nickel-plated with aureate bronze. The $2 coin, carrying a polar bear, was introduced in 1996. It is usually called the "toonie" and is bimetallic. The $2 banknote was withdrawn at the same time that the coin was released. Unlike several U.S. attempts to introduce a dollar coin, the new coins were