12°c Overcast
18°c Cloudy with sunny breaks
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
As the loonie turns 25, a look back at its significant history
The silver anniversary collector's coin marking the loonie's 25th birthday. (POSTMEDIA)
THE loonie, that brassy bird inhabiting millions of pockets and purses across Canada, has turned 25 years old -- a milestone being marked by the Royal Canadian Mint with the release of a new silver collector coin that finally gives the lonely lake-dweller a swimming companion.
The anniversary recalls the bizarre events surrounding the birth of the one-dollar coin in 1987, when the templates for the intended design -- the classic canoe scene used for decades on Canada's silver dollar -- mysteriously went missing while being couriered between the mint's Ottawa headquarters and its Winnipeg production facility.
"They have never been found," the mint's communications director, Christine Aquino, told Postmedia News.
Concerned about the counterfeit risk, the mint scrapped plans for the canoe buck. The agency happened to have a proposed coin design in reserve -- a loon drifting along a northern shoreline, by Echo Bay, Ont., artist Robert Ralph Carmichael -- and scrambled to put that image on the first batch of metal dollars in time for the coin's scheduled, nationwide release on June 30, 1987.
In 1992, Echo Bay erected a giant statue of the coin -- the "Loon Dollar Monument" -- rivalling nearby Sudbury's famous Big Nickel.
The introduction of the 11-sided loonie "was the most significant change to Canada's coinage in over 50 years," said Aquino, noting the scrapping of the $1 bill vastly increased the lifespan of the average dollar and presaged the introduction of the polar bear "toonie" in 1996.
She said the switch to loonies was pushed by various interest groups across Canada, including transit companies eager to end the use of small-denomination paper money.
"Organizations for the visually impaired, which we consulted with quite extensively back then, really appreciated the coin's 11-sided shape," she added.
The coin went on achieve mythic status at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics when a "lucky loonie" was secretly placed at centre ice by Canadian icemaker Trent Evans ahead of the gold-medal match -- won by Canada over the hosting U.S., this country's first Olympic hockey title in 50 years.
Capitalizing on the story, the mint has struck special "lucky loonie" coins before each subsequent Olympic Games.
The loonie also made history in 2005 when Terry Fox -- the heroic one-legged runner whose 1980 Marathon of Hope raised millions of dollars for cancer research -- became the first Canadian-born individual depicted on a Canadian circulation coin. The 2005 loonie celebrated the 25th anniversary of Fox's epic marathon across Canada, which ended in Northern Ontario with a recurrence of his cancer. The illness claimed his life in 1981.
Earlier this year, after the minting of about 1.5 billion loonies since 1987, the coin was given its first major production makeover in a quarter-century.
The 2012 loonie is the first edition of the coin to be made of multi-ply, brass-plated steel -- at 6.27 grams, a slightly lighter composition than the original nickel-core loonie.
-- Postmedia News
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 4, 2012 B3
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 35 articles for today)
Province announces service for Elijah Harper
4:56 PM 0View Related
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Two women face rare charges of harbouring alleged murderer
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- One dead in Highway 10 collision
- Leaving a gang isn't easy — Sidney Letandre, now a paraplegic, knows it all too well
- Head-on collision kills pickup driver
- Manitoba's changing spiritual landscape
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- 'It's a beautiful story': There's not always a tomorrow to say you're sorry or make things right
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Flood victim gets six years for shotgun threat, attack
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- VIDEO: Left on the ice to rot
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Manitoba's changing spiritual landscape
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Li granted additional day passes
- Raleigh holds annual tour of backyard chicken coops, part of national spread of urban farming
- WHO warns Saudi coronavirus may be spreading; calls for urgent search for source
- Province announces service for Elijah Harper
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- U.S. bill would give Canadian snowbirds more time to spend in the sun
- Guitar-playing astronaut bows out of space station with music video of Bowie's 'Space Oddity'
- Microsoft update to address Windows 8 complaints, confusion will be free; to be called 8.1
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Uganda: Blessed are the children
- Winning 6/49 ticket purchased in Winnipeg
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- VIDEO: Left on the ice to rot
- Paul McCartney to play Winnipeg Aug. 12
- Ontario steps in to help save ELA
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- An uncommon phenomenon
- RCMP charge man with double-homicide in Ethelbert
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.