Loonie is 25 years old!

What?! Is that possible? It’s been 25 years?

Canada's Loonie

From the Canadian Mint website:

“It has been a quarter of a century since Canadians said goodbye to one-dollar banknotes and welcomed the new coin in their pockets and change purses. At that time, it was the most significant change to Canada’s coinage system in over 50 years.

The one-dollar coin was introduced into circulation on June 30, 1987 as a cost-saving measure by the Government of Canada. The coin was instantly dubbed the “Loonie,” after the solitary loon that graces the coin’s reverse side. The nickname caught on and Canadians have been using it ever since.

Initially, the Loonie as we know it was never meant to be. The original master dies of the one-dollar coin, which depicted the motif of a voyageur, were lost in transit on their way to Winnipeg in November, 1986. To preserve the integrity of the Canadian coinage system, the Government of Canada authorized a new design of the coin, which was of the loon.

The loon design was created by noted Northern Ontario wildlife artist Robert-Ralph Carmichael and was engraved by the Mint’s own Terrence N.E. Smith.

The one-dollar coin is eleven sided and is produced at the Mint’s Winnipeg facility, along with the rest of Canada’s circulation coins. Since 1987, 1.5 billion one-dollar coins have been produced.”

Read more on the Mint’s website.