Loonie
18400
223328378
2008-07-03T16:17:43Z
Nihiltres
236191
Standardize hatnotes and condense both into one longer hatnote; add {{lang}} around a French bit, and wikilink "French" to [[French language]] using piping.
{{otheruses4|the coin|the Canadian dollar as a currency|Canadian dollar|a mentally ill person|lunatic}}
{{Infobox Coin |
Country = Canada |
Denomination = One dollar (''Loonie'') |
Value = 1 |
Unit = [[Canadian dollar|CAD]] |
Mass = 7 |
Diameter = 26.5 [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070627/canadian_loonie_070627/20070627/]|
Thickness = 1.75 |
Edge = [[Hendecagon|Eleven-sided]], smooth |
Composition = 91.5% [[Nickel|Ni]],<br>8.5% [[bronze]] plating<br>(88% [[Copper|Cu]], 12% [[Tin|Sn]]) |
Years of Minting = 1987–present |
Catalog Number = - |
Obverse = Loonie obverse view.png |
Obverse Design = [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]], [[Monarchy of Canada|Queen of Canada]] |
Obverse Designer = [[Susanna Blunt]] |
Obverse Design Date = [[2003]] |
Reverse = Loonie reverse view.png |
Reverse Design = [[Great Northern Diver|common loon]] in [[water]] |
Reverse Designer = [[Robert-Ralph Carmichael]] |
Reverse Design Date = [[1987]] |
}}
'''Loonie''' is the name [[Canadian]]s gave the gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar [[coin]] shortly after its introduction in [[1987]]. It bears images of a [[Great Northern Diver|common loon]], a well-known Canadian bird, on the [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]], and of [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] on the [[obverse]].
The design for the coin was meant to be a [[Coureur des bois|voyageur]] theme, similar to the country's [[Voyageur dollar|previous one dollar/silver dollar coin]], but the master dies were lost by the courier service while in transit to the [[Royal Canadian Mint]] in [[Winnipeg, Manitoba|Winnipeg]]. In order to avoid possible [[counterfeiting]], a different design was used.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/business/money/loonie.asp Snopes: Loonie Design]</ref>
The coin has become the symbol of its currency. Newspapers will often discuss the rate at which the ''loonie'' is trading against the United States "greenback". The nickname ''loonie'' ({{lang|fr|''huard''}} in [[French language|French]]), initially a slang term for the [[Canadian dollar]], became so widely recognized that on [[March 15]], [[2006]] the Royal Canadian Mint secured the rights to the name "Loonie".<ref>[http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/app/cipo/trademarks/search/viewTrademark.do?language=eng&fileNumber=0916677 Canadian Intellectual Property Office record]</ref>
The coin — an [[hendecagon|11-sided polygon]] — is made of Aureate, a [[bronze]]-[[Electroplating|electroplated]] [[nickel]] combination. The total composition of the coin is 91.5% nickel and 8.5% bronze. The bronze is about 88% [[copper]] and 12% [[tin]].
==Public reaction==
[[Image:Big loonie.jpg|right|thumb|The big loonie in Echo Bay, ON]]
The coin was released to the populace on [[30 June]] [[1987]], and [[Withdrawn Canadian banknotes|circulation of the one-dollar banknote was intentionally reduced]] at the same time to forestall any reluctance by the public to accept the new coin.
The coin has been met with a general public acceptance. American comedian [[Robin Williams]] referenced the Loonie during his 2002 Live On Broadway special, taking a jab at its peculiar name. He said, ''"Canadian money is also called "the Looney"; how can you take an economic crisis seriously?"''. Though the Loonie has received its share of humorous jabs, the coin was quickly embraced by the Canadian public. The town of [[Echo Bay, Ontario]], home of loonie designer [[Robert-Ralph Carmichael]], has erected an enormous loonie in honour of Mr. Carmichael along the highway — similar to [[Big Nickel|Sudbury's 'Big Nickel']]. On [[Deal or No Deal Canada|Canada's version of the television gameshow ''Deal or No Deal'']], the loonie has replaced the one dollar case.
==Commemorative editions==
The design has been changed several times for commemorative editions:
{|class="wikitable"
!Year
!Theme
!Artist
!Mintage
!Special notes
|-
|1992
|125th Anniversary of the [[Confederation]] <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, p. 174 </ref>
|Rita Swanson
|23,010,000
|showing children and the [[Parliament Hill|Parliament Building]]. The regular ''loon'' design was also minted that year bearing the double date "1867-1992".
|-
|1994
|Remembrance Design <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, p. 175 </ref>
|RCM Staff
|15,000,000
|image of the [[National War Memorial (Canada)|National War Memorial]] in Ottawa
|-
|1995
|[[Peacekeeping Monument]] <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, p. 175 </ref>
|J.K. Harman, R.G. Enriquez, C.H. Oberlander, Susan Taylor
|41,813,100 (see note)
|Included in 1995 Loon Mintage
|-
|2004
|[[Lucky Loonie]] <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, p. 177 </ref>
|R.R. Carmichael
|6,526,000
|A Sterling Silver Edition was produced
|-
|2005
|[[Terry Fox]]
|Stan Witten
|12,909,000 <ref> 2006 Royal Canadian Mint Annual Report, p. 46 </ref>
|Fox is the first Canadian citizen to be featured on a circulated Canadian coin. There are versions that exist without grass on the reverse of the coin. <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, p. 177 </ref>
|-
|2006
|Lucky Loonie
|Jean-Luc Grondin
|2,145,000 <ref> 2006 Royal Canadian Mint Annual Report, p. 46 </ref>
|This is the second Lucky Loonie.
|-
|2008
|Lucky Loonie
|N/A
|N/A
|This will be the third Lucky Loonie.
|-
|2010
|Lucky Loonie
|N/A
|N/A
|This will be the fourth Lucky Loonie.
|-
|}
[[Image:FoxLoonie.jpg|thumb|left|The 2005 [[Terry Fox]] dollar]]
{{-}}
==Specimen set variant dollars==
{|class="wikitable"
!Year
!Theme
!Artist
!Mintage
!Issue price
|-
|2002
|15th Anniversary Loonie <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, p. 315 </ref>
|Dora de Pédery-Hunt
|67,672
|$39.95
|-
|2004
|[[Jack Miner]] Bird Sanctuary <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 62nd Edition, p. 236 </ref>
|Susan Taylor
|46,493
|$39.95
|-
|2005
|[[Tufted Puffin]] <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 62nd Edition, p. 237 </ref>
|N/A
|39,818
|$39.95
|-
|2006
|[[Snowy Owl]] <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 62nd Edition, p. 238 </ref>
|[[Glen Loates]]
|39,935
|$44.95
|-
|2007
|[[Trumpeter Swan]]
|Kerri Burnett
|40,000
|$45.95
|-
|}
==First strikes==
{|class="wikitable"
!Year
!Theme
!Mintage
!Issue Price
|-
|2005
|Common Loon
|1,944
|$14.95
|-
|2005
|Terry Fox <ref> Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, p. 177 </ref>
|19,949
|$14.95
|-
|2006
|Lucky Loonie
|20,010
|$15.95
|-
|2006
|With New Mint Mark
|5,000
|$29.95
|-
|}
==The lucky loonie==
In recent years, the golden-coloured loonie became associated with Canada's winning [[ice hockey|hockey]] and [[curling]] teams and has been viewed as a good-luck charm in international competition. The legend began during the [[2002 Winter Olympics]], when a Canadian icemaker for the ice surfaces in the [[Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics|ice hockey tournament]], [[Trent Evans]], had buried a loonie under centre ice.<ref>http://www.mint.ca/luckyloonie/default.htm</ref> The original reason for placing the loonie was to assist in the puck-drop: the centre ice at Salt Lake was emblazoned with a large logo, and was missing the customary circle used by the referee and face-off players as a target for the puck - so he needed to add some kind of a dot as a puck target that would not stand out, and a loonie buried under the ice served well. Both the [[Canadian national men's hockey team|men's]] and [[Canadian national women's hockey team|women's]] hockey teams would win gold in the tournament, the men's 50 years to the day after their last gold medal victory. Following the Games, Team Canada executive director [[Wayne Gretzky]] recovered the coin and gave it to the [[Hockey Hall of Fame]].
A loonie was also used at the [[IIHF]] World Hockey Championships between Canada and Sweden on [[May 11]], [[2003]]. This lucky loonie is known affectionately as the Helsinki Loonie. It was hidden surreptitiously before the Gold-Medal hockey game and saw Team Canada to victory. After forward [[Anson Carter]] scored against Swedish goaltender Mikael Tellqvist in overtime to win the World Hockey Championship for Canada, Team Canada officials admitted they had placed a Loonie in the padding beneath the crossbar of the Swedish net. <ref>[http://www.hhof.com/html/newsloon2.shtml Hockey Hall of Fame - 1st Annual Hockey hall of Fame Game<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The legend is also prevalent in [[curling]], as the [[Kevin Martin (curling)|Kevin Martin]] rink at the same Olympics had won silver medals on a sheet with silver-coloured quarters underneath the surface. At the [[2006 Winter Olympics]], the Canadian icemakers in the [[Curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics|curling tournament]] buried two loonies, one at each end of the sheet — coincidentally, [[Brad Gushue]] would win the gold medal there. In the same Olympics, the icemakers at the [[Ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics|hockey tournament]] announced that they would not bury a loonie under the ice. The men's team finished out of the medals while the women's team won gold.
This legend is kept alive by the [[Royal Canadian Mint]], which has since issued specially-designed "Lucky Loonies" for each year the summer and winter Olympics Games are held. Two new Olympic-themed loonies are due to be released in commemoration of the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] being held in [[Vancouver]]-[[Whistler, British Columbia|Whistler]].
An episode of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' ("[[Blaze of Glory (DS9 episode)|Blaze of Glory]]") also made mention of a lucky loonie – although the episode's air date ([[12 May]] [[1997]]) predates the more-recent Olympic tradition, making it impossible for the scriptwriter to have intended a connection between the fictional coin and its real-world counterpart. The character, [[Michael Eddington]], had a family heirloom in the form of a [[22nd century]] Canadian one dollar coin that he called his "lucky loonie".
Team Russia has also made use of the lucky loonie - in the IIHF world championhips in the year 2008 the coin was burried by Alexander Ovechkin at the center of the ice and then dug out after Russia beat Canada 5 - 4 in overtime.
==References==
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== External links ==
===Multimedia===
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/economy_business/banks/clip/13535/ CBC Archives] News item talking about the introduction of the Loonie.
* [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070503/loonie_070503/20070503?hub=TopStories The loonie's American trade secret revealed]
*[http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070627/canadian_loonie_070627/20070627?hub=Canada Loonie 20 years old]
===Web===
*[http://ncwsnc.cheminst.ca/articles/1991_loonie_e.html The chemistry of the loonie]
*[http://www.snopes.com/business/money/loonie.asp Snopes: A loon appears on Canada's one-dollar coin because the original dies, featuring a different design, were lost in transit.]
*[http://www.distant.ca/UselessFacts/fact.asp?ID=52 Loonie at centre ice]
{{Canadian_currency_and_coinage}}
[[Category:Coins of Canada]]