Commemorative coins of Canada note issued by the Bank of Canada and the Voyageur dollar. For the list of commemorative one dollar coins issued by the Mint since 1987, see: Loonie. The fifty cent coin has borne the Canadian coat of arms on its reverse since the current coin designs were introduced in 1937. There were minor changes to the design of the arms in 1959, when the depiction of the arms was simplified. As well, the Queen suggested that the Tudor crown on the arms be replaced with the crown of St Edward the Confessor. Although a circulating coin, the fifty-cent coin is
Canadian dollar after the then Prime Minister, John Diefenbaker. This peg lasted until 1970, after which the currency's value has floated. Canadian English, like American English, used the slang term "buck" for a former paper dollar. The Canadian origin of this term derives from a coin struck by the Hudson's Bay Company during the 17th century with a value equal to the pelt of a male beaver – a "buck". Because of the appearance of the common loon on the back of the $1 coin that replaced the dollar bill in 1987, the word "loonie" was adopted in Canadian parlance to distinguish