Loonie often discuss the rate at which the "loonie" is trading against other currencies. The nickname "loonie" became so widely recognized that in 2006, the Royal Canadian Mint secured the rights to it. When the Canadian two-dollar coin was introduced in 1996, it was in turn nicknamed the "toonie" (a portmanteau of "two" and "loonie"). Canada first minted a silver dollar coin in 1935 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of George V's reign as king. The voyageur dollar, so named because it featured an Indigenous person and a French voyageur paddling a canoe on the reverse, was minted in silver until
Gold dollar coin. In January 1849, McKay introduced a bill for a gold dollar, which was referred to his committee. There was much discussion in the press about the proposed coin; one newspaper published a proposal for an annular gold dollar; that is, with a hole in the middle to increase its small diameter. McKay amended his legislation to provide for a double eagle ($20 gold coin) and wrote to Patterson, who replied stating that the annular gold dollar would not work, and neither would another proposal to have dollar piece consisting of a gold plug in a silver coin. Nevertheless, Gobrecht's